Community Benchmark Briefing: The Strategies Behind High Engagement

In this 60-minute panel, experts highlight findings from the 2026 Association Community Benchmark Report, based on data from nearly 1,200 associations and nonprofits. They also dive into real-world strategies for improving participation, strengthening member connections, helping members find relevant content, and making community management more effective. 

Whether you’re evaluating your current community performance or planning what comes next, this session will give you clearer context for your own metrics and practical ideas you can apply to your community strategy.

Presenters:

Georgina Donahue: Director, Community Innovation & Strategy, Higher Logic

Bekah Weidner: Strategic Advisor, Higher Logic

Erin York: Sr. Strategic Advisor, Higher Logic

(Host) Kelly Whelan: Sr. Content Marketing Manager & Host of The Member Engagement Show, Higher Logic

Learning Objectives:

• Understand this year’s benchmarks for logins, contributors, discussions, and email engagement—and how factors such as community size and maturity shape the numbers.
• Explore patterns associated with higher community and member engagement.
• Learn how to expand reach, encourage contribution, improve content discovery, and connect community participation to the broader member experience. 
• Learn how to use the benchmarks to identify where your team can make the most meaningful improvement. 

Webinar Materials:

• Slides
• Transcript
• Attendee Chat