It’s time for the Drupal Association Annual Member Survey. Will you take 10 minutes to give us input on how to restructure the Drupal Association Membership Program?

Where is the Drupal Association today?

Today, the Drupal Association Membership Program has 3,000 members (2,000 Individual and 800 Organization Members) and 36 Supporting Partners. Dues from these members funded Drupal.org hosting ($90,000/year), Community Cultivation Grants ($40,000), and DrupalCon Scholarships ($30,000/year). We know that with your input and help we can make effective program improvements and improve promotion to increase our member base, allowing us to fund more community programs.

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drupalassoc/7893609020/

Results from the 2012 survey

Last year, the Drupal Association conducted the 2012 Membership Survey to better understand our member base and to improve the program. The survey told us that 85% joined because "We want to help" and "We feel it is our duty" and most were “very happy” to “OK” with the benefits.

And, the community requested we offer the following items, which we gladly implemented:

• Auto-renew for recurring annual payments
• A DA Newsletter for improved communication and more @DrupalAssoc tweets
• Discounts to books, tools, etc

2013 survey focus: membership structure

This year, the Drupal Association will restructure the Membership Program, by offering more price points so community members can select the amount that is right for them. Some say they want to be able to give more. Others want to give whatever they can.

We want to offer everyone greater flexibility and choice, because today there are only three choices based on a great study done in 2007:

• Individual Membership: $30 / €22 year
• Organization Membership: $100 / € 22 /year
• Supporting Partner Program: $2,500/€1,900 - $10,000/€7,725

Our members receive simple benefits like a web badge, listing in the Individual and Organization member directory, a monthly Drupal Association newsletter, and product discounts.

In order to find the right way to prove more pricing options, the 2013 Membership Survey proposes two pricing structures, which we are cleverly referring to as Option A and Option B.

Option A: "Keep the individual/ organization structure"

We can offer different price points within the framework of our current membership program, which is split between Individual and Organization Memberships. Rather than just offering the one price point of $30 to an Individual, we can give them choices ($50, $100, $200) and we can offer the same flexibility to Organization Members (We won’t offer just $100, but also $200, $400,...$1,000).

Option B: "Offer levels that anyone (individual or company) can select from”

In this scenario, we get rid of the concept of tying membership levels to INDIVIDUAL and ORGANIZATION status. The difference between an individual and an organization is relevant only in demonstrating relationships between the two.

You, as an individual, or you, as an organization, select the level that is right for you. 

As an example, your company may buy the Level 5 Membership for $1,000, while you as an individual could buy the Level 2 membership for $200. In this scenario, your profile page will have two badges designating membership levels: yours Level 2), and your employer’s (Level 5). Neither badge designates “individual” or “organization” status, only the name of the member entity and their membership levels.

(If we go this route, we'll probably think up catchier names than "Level 1," "Level 2," etc...)

A note on benefits

You will see in both options that--with the exception of Supporting Partners--we do not offer more benefits if you pay more. Why?

Many studies show that people become a member due to emotional benefits rather than “what they get.” Remember, 85% joined the DA Membership Program because it felt good to them. So, adding additional benefits by level doesn’t make much sense, because for most of our members those benefits really aren’t the point. Novel benefits are also tricky, because it is almost impossible to offer a new benefit that everyone wants. You end up creating a wide range of benefits that is costly to fulfill, eroding the impact of all the membership dues that should be going to community programming. 

Go vote!

You may not love either option. That’s ok! Take the survey, tell us your thoughts, and provide ideas on how we can restructure the Drupal Association Membership Program.

Start the Survey!