A new survey of association members and professions finds that members feel a close bond with their associations, but also spotlights concerns around meetings and professional development.
Momentive Software’s 2025 Association Trends Study was debuted in a webinar last week. The study is based on a survey of more than 1,000 association members and 200 association staff professionals, conducted between July 1 and August 5.
Overall, members expressed increasing loyalty to their associations, with 93 percent of respondents saying that they are very or somewhat satisfied with their association, compared to 90 percent last year. Moreover, 88 percent members say they are likely to renew, up from 84 percent last year.
Tirrah Switzer, VP of product marketing at Momentive, said during the webinar a key factor driving that loyalty are “collective benefits”: “A strong sense of belonging and connection, a sense that the association is advocating for them.” Those benefits have increased in value, she said, as the political climate grows more complex and people value the authority of membership and the advocacy campaigns associations conduct on behalf of their industries.
Meetings have remained steady, according to the survey, with 77 percent of professionals saying that attendance at meetings has increased or remained stable; nondues revenue, including meetings revenue, now claim a larger share of an association’s annual income.
“61 percent of association professionals said their boards support AI use, compared to 23 percent in 2024.”
However, respondents are concerned about how the political climate will affect events. More than two-thirds of association professionals (67 percent) say their international attendees have expressed at least some concern about traveling to the United States, while 52 percent of U.S.-based members say they’re concerned about traveling outside of the country. Pam Loeb, principal at Edge Research, one of the webinar presenters, and Switzer noted that associations may need to rethink the makeup of their events portfolio to accommodate these concerns, adding more regional events, hybrid options, and microcredentialing opportunities.
Professional development for members remains a weak spot according to the survey, with members placing more value on it than staff. “Association professionals are still missing what their members want most—career advancement support,” a preview of the report says. “While nearly half of members say job opportunities and career development are ‘very important,’ fewer than 1 in 4 association professionals recognize this priority.”
Somewhat unsurprisingly, AI engagement has increased among both members and professionals since last year, according to the survey. More than half of association members say they use AI weekly, with 22 percent say they use it daily. Within association, a larger percent of professionals (39 percent) say their organization uses AI, with 40 percent of them saying their association has an AI usage policy.
“One reason why the numbers have gone up is that boards’ perspective on AI has radically changed,” Loeb said during the webinar. Most strikingly, this year 61 percent of association professionals said their boards support AI use, compared to 23 percent in 2024.
Content generation remains the most common use case for generative AI, according to the survey: 57 percent of association professionals say they use it for communications such as newsletters, emails, and social media, with 49 percent using it for marketing materials. However, more sophisticated uses are emerging, with 36 percent saying they use it to “analyze data from events to personalize member experience.”
The full report is scheduled for release later this fall.
