We were having beers with a colleague who does design for a traditional ad agency that works primarily for nonprofits. They do a lot of beautiful communication materials--ads, websites, annual reports, membership materials, etc.

Deyden and I were explaining our philosophy on engagement strategies and how different it is from the traditional marketing that our colleague is so good at. At one point, we were talking specifically about membership programs and materials, how many established organizations know their membership is graying, and how desperately they want to attract younger members.

From our perspective of engagement, the new model of membership cannot be that of the card-carrying member that gives their annual donation and self-identifies as a Sierra Club (or other organization) member. We've written at length here and elsewhere about changes in how young people engage in the world that make most membership programs look ridiculously outdated.

At the same time, we understand that organizations rely on individual membership dues to support the important work they are doing. In fact, relying on thousands of individual donations of $20-100 is the sign of an economically healthy organization whose programs aren't dictated by major donors and foundations. So individual, small donations to nonprofits are imperative to maintain and even to increase.

But we need to find ways that membership can provide new types of value + benefit exchanges (what the members get in exchange for their donation or membership), while still providing the organization with vital resources. We think that in doing so nonprofits will deepen their relationship with their support community. And when this happens, the community is likely to increase its support.

One of our ideas for how to do this is to focus membership benefits and earned income strategies around providing supporters with experiences. Events of all sorts can be once-in-a-lifetime experiences for participants, can raise money, can nurture community, and can be an introduction to new supporters. Retreats seem to be extremely successful in engaging and growing communities of support, as has been employed by evangelical churches and others. Storefronts like that of 826 Valencia also provide opportunity for unique experiences for would-be and existing supporters. (Remind us to post our interview with Dave Eggers on the benefits of having a storefront from a few years back.)

Of course, there are ways to produce these experiences that will encourage and satisfy a new type of membership for nonprofits, and there are ways to totally botch them. We'll put try to put more thought into some of the criteria for success for this soon. But in the meantime, feel free to post your thoughts.