6 Ways Associations Can Improve Chapter Performance

Chapters are powerful drivers of member engagement and local impact—but they also face increasing pressure to evolve.

Research on association chapters from the latest report by Mariner Management and Billhighway noted:

• Organizations with chapters have an average of 74 chapters.
• But, only 27% of associations with chapters have full-time paid staff devoted to chapter management.
• And, only 30% of CEOs say chapters are “definitely worth the effort.”
• Plus, just 22% of associations have access to chapter performance data.

So there’s definitely room for improvement, especially when it comes to member data and driving efficiency that will help take the pressure off staff and volunteers. It’s no surprise, then, that associations that see the most success with chapters are those that embrace innovation, digital tools, and flexible leadership.

How do you improve chapter performance?

The good news is, successful chapter management can be achieved without placing undue pressure on your staff or your chapter leaders. It primarily comes down to understanding your chapters’ needs, empowering chapter leaders (whether they’re volunteers or paid staff), and using technology to lighten the effort.

Here are six ways your association can manage and improve chapters.

1. Give Chapters a Seat at the Table

The work your chapters do should align with your association’s mission but taking a collaborative approach rather than a top-down approach allows chapters to have some input and autonomy. They’re able to find routines and processes that work well for them, while remaining consistent with your overall goals.

Many associations involve chapters in operational discussions, but strategic alignment often falls by the wayside. It’s important to include chapter leaders in high-level planning so that everyone is on the same page:

• Invite chapters into strategic conversations. Move beyond budgets and logistics—collaborate on vision, goals, and metrics.
• Co-develop annual roadmaps. Foster shared ownership by co-creating chapter success plans that tie directly to your national objectives.
• Establish feedback loops. Regular surveys and check-ins with chapter leaders and members can help you understand what they need so you can improve the support you provide. This two-way dialogue demonstrates your commitment to supporting every chapter and makes them feel heard and empowered.

The right technology can make all the difference in supporting these efforts: an online community platform, like Higher Logic Thrive, makes it easy to host conversations, surveys, and plans in a central, structured environment, giving every chapter leader a voice in your digital ecosystem.

2. Give Chapters the Support They Need to Succeed

Many chapter leaders have limited time to devote to chapter management. Giving them a foundation to build from helps them drive better member engagement. When you provide materials, templates, and resources, you also help ensure that the member experience is consistent across all your chapters (aligning with your brand voice and design).

Consider the following support for your chapters:

• Online space. 79% of chapter leaders said they’re looking for a website portal with training guides, templates, and resources to help them manage the chapter. 68% of chapter leaders want a discussion forum or online community for their chapter. Support their needs with unique microsites and/or private online communities for each chapter

• Leadership training. Offer virtual workshops, toolkits, and mentorship programs to build chapter volunteer skills.
• Strategic toolkits. Provide templates for business planning, event calendars, email and marketing, budgeting, and governance that chapters can adapt.
• Peer networks. Host a yearly “Chapter Leadership Summit” or peer mastermind groups to share best practices and foster connection.
• Metrics and tracking. Give leaders a way to track engagement and performance so they can tell how they’re doing and where they can improve.

With Higher Logic Thrive Community, you can add-on our Component Management features to help you better support your chapters and groups. Empower chapter leaders with dedicated microsites, email templates, group-specific tracking, and everything they need to run their community efficiently.

3. Make It Easy to Access and Share Data

Understanding how to improve your chapters requires that you understand how they’re currently performing. But a significant barrier to assessing chapter performance is the lack of reliable data – only 22% of associations have direct access to chapter performance data, making it challenging to evaluate effectiveness and make informed decisions.

To enable your association and chapters to turn data into action:

• Centralize chapter data. Integrate chapter metrics into your AMS or CRM so national and local teams see the same dashboards.
• Build interactive dashboards. Use visualizations to track key indicators like membership growth, event attendance, and revenue by chapter.
• Enable self-service reporting. Give chapter volunteers simple tools to run their own reports and spot trends in real time.

For example, the Higher Logic Thrive ecosystem – which includes solutions for Community, Marketing, and Component (Chapter) Management – provides a powerful way to track chapter activities, performance, and engagement across your community, marketing, events, and more.

4. Automate Manual Processes as Part of a Broader Digital Transformation

Automation isn’t just about saving time—it’s the foundation of a modern, resilient chapter experience. Chapters that thrive in today’s world lean into digital: virtual events, online membership drives, online communities, and cloud‐based collaboration. Consider:

• Streamlining event management. Automate registration, reminders, and post-event surveys to deepen engagement without extra administrative burden.
• Simplifying financial workflows. Implement automated invoicing, payment tracking, and reconciliation to free up volunteer and staff time.
• Standardizing communications. Leverage email and SMS automation to keep members informed, engaged, and connected.

With Higher Logic Thrive, you can empower your chapters with templates and tools to automate email campaigns, event communications, and new member onboarding—so volunteers focus on creating value, not checking off redundant tasks. 

5. Recognize and Reward Success

Recognition fuels motivation—especially when it’s tied to impact. Rewarding success can also inspire a little healthy competition between your chapters – and inspire lower-performing chapters with ideas from their higher-performing peers.

Some ideas for celebrating your chapters:

• Spotlight top performers. Share case studies that go beyond numbers, showcasing innovative programs (e.g., new DEI initiatives or virtual offerings). Feature top chapters on your association homepage, in a blog, or via a newsletter.

• Share chapter leaderboards or scorecards. The best association technology, like Higher Logic Thrive, will not only give chapters the metrics they need to assess their performance, it will show how chapters stack up against one another. Leaderboards are often used to foster a lightly competitive environment, since people naturally want to be at the top of the list and succeed.
• Provide special perks, such as a discount on membership dues, to leaders and members of your best-performing chapters.
• Create annual awards. Recognize chapters for categories like “Innovation in Engagement” or “Membership Growth Champion.”

Expert Tip: When highlighting your best chapters, have a conversation with their leaders about the tactics they’re using and what works best. You can publish their tips in your online community or send them out in a newsletter to give other chapters practical advice on how they can improve.

6. Generate Revenue through Digital Advertising

One of the most effective ways to boost chapter sustainability is to empower them with revenue-generating tools. Some chapters are master fundraisers, but you can also help them secure sponsorship opportunities, offering high ROI for both chapters and advertisers:

• Leverage digital advertising tools. Chapters can display multiple rotating ads in a single location, maximizing space and revenue potential.
• Enable hyper-local targeting. Chapter leaders can use their knowledge of local member interests to select relevant, high-performing ads.
• Attract niche sponsors. The localized nature of chapters appeals to sponsors seeking a targeted audience, increasing ad value and ROI.

An online community platform like Higher Logic Thrive can easily be used to naturally incorporate sponsors without alienating members and generate significant non-dues revenue.

Bonus: Consider New Governance Models with a Chapter Advisory Board

Chapters are at a crossroads, rethinking structures in today’s increasingly digital and AI-drieven environment. Incorporating a Chapter Advisory Board might be worth considering if chapters are a large part of your association. They can serve as a guiding committee and an innovation lab for considering new chapter models and adapting to change.

For example, you might use your chapter advisory board to:

• Consider virtual or micro-chapters, rethinking the size and parameters of your chapters and reaching members who can’t attend in-person meetings. This might include thinking about new groupings, like Time zones, rather than geography, to redefine operational boundaries.
• Test alternative governance models that distribute authority and streamline decision-making. This could help you get chapter leaders more involved and help the organization be more agile. Online communities can be a huge help here, providing a more focused space for communication than clogged email inboxes.
• Gather rapid feedback on member needs, preferences, and barriers to participation. Filling your chapter advisory board with people who have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your member groups can help you stay on top of what works best for those members.

In Conclusion

It’s tricky to effectively manage chapters and improve performance while still building positive relationships. The key is to respect your chapters’ needs and empower them to make an impact.

The tips above – plus technology – can dramatically improve engagement and reduce the pressure on both your association’s headquarters staff and your chapter leaders.