At New Citizen Project, we believe membership matters.
In a world shaped by short-term transactions and fleeting attention, membership offers something different: commitment, connection and a shared sense of purpose. Done well, it can shape how organisations work and how people feel about belonging to them.
Over more than a decade of working with membership organisations, we’ve seen how strong membership relationships can build loyalty, improve retention and deepen advocacy.
We’ve also seen how easily membership can become reduced to a revenue line or a set of benefits, sitting at the edges of organisational strategy rather than at its heart.
In 2025, we brought together four very different membership organisations - British Rowing, giffgaff, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and National Trust - to explore a shared question:
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HOW CAN MEMBERSHIP BE CULTIVATED AS A PURPOSE AND PARTICIPATORY RELATIONSHIP, RATHER THAN TREATED AS A PRODUCT TO MANAGE?
Over eight months, the group worked collaboratively to examine how membership currently operates in their organisations, what it could become, and what practical steps might move them forward.
The result is 10 Steps to Making the Most of Membership: a report that brings together thinking, learning and real-world experimentation from across the programme. It challenges conventional, transactional models of membership and offers a clear alternative, one that sees members as active participants in a shared mission, not just consumers of benefits.
If you work in a membership organisation, or are interested in how membership can drive purpose, participation, retention and long-term value, this report is for you. Inside, you’ll find practical insights, case studies and ten clear steps to help you strengthen your relationship with members and unlock the full potential of membership.
