2025 Association Benchmarking Report: Engagement Gains, Revenue Pains, and the Road Ahead
Each year, Naylor’s Association Benchmarking Report captures a moment in time for the association community—a detailed look at what’s working, what’s not, and what’s coming next. The 2025 edition is no exception. With responses from over 300 senior association professionals across North America, this year’s report reveals a sector adapting quickly to new technologies and member expectations yet still grappling with longstanding challenges in staffing and non-dues revenue.
A Surge in Member Engagement
One of the most striking findings this year is the increase in member engagement activity. Associations are now connecting with members an average of 30 times per month across digital, print, social media, and video channels—up four touchpoints from 2024. This signals renewed focus and creativity in how organizations are using communication tools to stay top-of-mind.
Events remain the cornerstone of member engagement, with traditional conferences, networking events, and committee meetings dominating the top 10 most-valued tools. Committee meetings saw the biggest jump in perceived value, with 76% of respondents citing them as highly effective—up nearly 10 percentage points from last year. Meanwhile, training and development events also rose in favorability, a nod to members’ ongoing interest in professional growth and peer connection.
LinkedIn Ascends, AI Gains Ground
On the digital front, LinkedIn solidified its position as the go-to social media platform for associations, leaping to the No. 4 most-valued engagement tool overall. An impressive 87% of respondents ranked it as very or extremely valuable—up 13 points year-over-year. With job market uncertainty and increased interest in career development, LinkedIn’s relevance is only growing.
Artificial intelligence also made notable strides in 2025. In just one year, associations flipped from a majority not using AI to a majority using it at least occasionally. In 2024, 64% reported no AI use—this year, that dropped to 42%, with more than half of associations now experimenting with AI to enhance engagement, personalize communications, and streamline content strategies.
The Persistent Weight of Revenue Pressure
Despite these engagement gains, non-dues revenue continues to weigh heavily on association leaders. For the third year in a row, it ranked as the No. 1 challenge, cited by 61% of respondents this year. Understaffing and limited resources remained the top two barriers to increasing non-dues revenue, cited by 52% and 50% of respondents, respectively. A growing concern—members hesitant to make financial commitments—rose to the third spot this year, likely fueled by inflation and economic uncertainty.
Sponsorship sales remain the largest source of non-dues income for many associations, yet only 11% outsource this function—far less than advertising sales (29%) or job posting sales (13%). This gap suggests there may be missed opportunities to scale through external partnerships, especially in revenue-generating areas.
Cutting Through the Clutter
Joining non-dues revenue and benefit communication as a top-tier challenge this year is a familiar foe: information overload. More than half of respondents (52%) cited it as a major hurdle, as members are increasingly bombarded by emails, notifications, and digital content. This has direct implications for engagement strategies—especially as many associations increase communication frequency. One noteworthy response to this digital fatigue: print is making a modest comeback. Member magazines and newsletters gained in perceived value this year, suggesting that tactile, less cluttered formats may be helping associations cut through the noise and reconnect with members in a more intentional way.
The challenge, then, isn’t just to reach members more often—it’s to do so more meaningfully. Associations that succeed are those aligning message, medium, and member needs with precision and purpose.
Staffing: A Persistent Constraint
Staffing shortfalls continue to hold associations back. This year, 51% of respondents reported feeling understaffed—a number that has remained stubbornly consistent over the past decade. The most under-resourced departments include data/strategy, communications, and member engagement—precisely the areas where innovation and responsiveness are most needed.
If given a 50% budget increase, the majority of respondents said they’d hire more staff. Others would prioritize improving content quality, investing in video, enhancing their website, and expanding social media efforts.
Strategy and Measurement Evolve
There’s encouraging movement on the strategy front. Nearly 44% of associations report using a single, integrated communication strategy across channels, rather than having siloed, platform-specific plans. This alignment creates more consistency for members and more opportunities for sponsors.
Measurement tactics are also becoming more robust. Event attendance remains the leading indicator of engagement, followed by email metrics, survey participation, and committee involvement. Encouragingly, 69% of associations rely on email performance data, and 56% conduct surveys annually to gauge member sentiment—indicating a stronger commitment to data-informed decision-making and ongoing feedback loops that can improve member engagement.
A Community That Learns and Adapts
What emerges from the 2025 Association Benchmarking Report is a portrait of an industry that is highly adaptive, even amid uncertainty. Associations are leaning into what they do best—delivering value to members, advancing their industries, and connecting people through shared purpose. They are also experimenting with digital tools, from video and webinars to hybrid events and digital publications, to meet evolving member needs.
But as they innovate, they’re also constrained by bandwidth, staffing, and a revenue model in need of modernization. The data makes it clear: associations are doing more with less. And while that resilience is commendable, it’s also a call to action.
This report is your opportunity to step back, reassess, and refocus. Use these benchmarks to identify where your association can invest more strategically—whether that’s staffing up, optimizing member communications, or modernizing revenue streams—to better meet the needs of your members and your mission. Whether you’re leading strategy, managing communications, or driving revenue, I hope you find these insights both grounding and motivating as you plan for the year ahead.
Click here to access the full 2025 Association Benchmarking Report.
