Increasing membership, influence and reach of the Ramblers

We are currently consulting on priorities for the Business Plan next year – one of which is to increase membership. While the long term decline in membership appears to have slowed*, the organisation still needs more members, for income and for influence. With more than 5million leisure walkers in Britain, there is no reason why the Ramblers should not have a higher membership. To achieve membership growth, however, all parts of the organisation (whether Areas, Groups or Central Office) will need to be involved.

With recent improvements to CRM it has become possible to start looking at the distribution of Groups and members, and it is clear that there are significant geographical variations. Some more detailed information on the distribution of current Groups and their membership numbers is given in the PDF listed below.

Over the next year, we want to try out new techniques and learn from Areas and Groups where things have worked. For example:

• Have you set up any new Groups recently (either geographically based or special groups based on age or interest) and has this had any effect on membership levels? Are you planning to set up any new Groups soon, or would your Area be interested in piloting new Groups? We are keen for Areas to try out different approaches – if you are interested, let us know using the feedback form.
• Have you found that taking leaflets along to Group walks has been helpful? One Group estimates that as many as 90 people may be walking regularly with their Group that aren’t members. For membership leaflets contact publicity@ramblers.org.uk.
• Have you ever promoted discounts to members? Groups that are organising a 2010 Get Walking Day walk (<5 miles) have been invited to offer up to 30 £1 memberships (per Group) on the day. For more information see here.
• Do you put on shorter walks, and are they helping to attract new members? Almost 20% of Group walks on the Group Walks Finder are 8km/5 miles or less. Groups using Walks Finder who organised at least one walk of 8km/5 miles or less during March 2010 on average have 80 more members than those that didn’t. Walks Finder has recently been improved with new mapping and we are looking at the possibility of highlighting shorter walks listed on it in partnership with the Department of Health’s Walk4Life campaign. Please list your Group’s walks on the Group Walks Finder – for more information contact volunteer@ramblers.org.uk.

*Note: Recent figures show membership has increased slightly, from 122,000 on March 1st to 124,000 on April 1st 2010.

Download PDF containing the information above plus a more detailed breakdown of statistics on Groups and their membership.