The Member Advantage:
Why Association Members Outpace Their Peers at Every Career Stage
Momentive Software's 2026 Membership Study Preview Report
Download the 2026 Membership Study preview to see how members outpace nonmembers in career growth, financial stability, & AI readiness.
Previewing the 2026 Membership Study
THE MEMBER ADVANTAGE:
Associations have always believed membership pays off. Now there's data behind it, at a scale never measured before. New this year, we’re providing the first side-by-side look at members and nonmembers. No study has compared these two groups at this scale, making the results a first for the industry.That makes these results a first for the industry. They also lay the groundwork for marketing materials your association can use to prove membership's value.
Edge Research, commissioned by Momentive Software, surveyed a split of ~1800 current members and nonmembers of professional membership organizations nationwide in June and July 2026. The goal: to understand what membership means for career growth, financial stability, and resilience.
Here's what a closer look at the data shows.
Member concern about AI is real, and it's just as high as everyone else's. What differs is what happens next.
The disruption goes beyond AI. It shows up in career trajectory, financial stability, and whether someone feels like they belong to a professional community at all.
Concerned AI Will Change or Replace Their Role
Nonmembers
Confidence to Adapt
That's where the similarity ends. On every measure of AI readiness, members pull ahead.
Roughly one in four professionals worry AI will change or replace part of their job, member or not.
Prepared for AI-driven changes to their role:
Confident in their ability to lead:
Confident they could find a new job if needed:
Consider themselves very early technology adopters:
Members
SNEAK PEEK INTO KEY FINDINGS
Members of professional associations are more likely to receive promotions and see career growth.
Average Career Promotions at Current Company
Steadily Promoted Throughout Career
That career advantage extends to financial footing, as members report stronger stability, confidence, and savings.
Financial Security
Confident about finances
Able to save money most months
“I feel financially stable”
% describes perfectly
of members say they've been steadily promoted throughout their career
of nonmembers say the same
The widest gap between members and nonmembers shows up in how they feel about their careers and their professional community.
Career Satisfaction
That satisfaction comes with real confidence in the face of change, not just comfort in the status quo.
Confident in their ability to serve in a leadership role
Confident they could find a new job if they lost their current one
Very satisfied with their careers overall
Very satisfied with their professional community
+20
Where the member advantage is largest, and where it narrows.
The full breakdown of savings, stability, and financial security by membership status.
What separates members who feel prepared from those who don't.
What's behind this year's decline in renewal and connection scores.
Where association professionals misjudge what their members actually value.
How the member advantage shows up differently for Gen Z, Millennials, and beyond.
Employed adults 18+ who are current members or have never been a member of a professional membership organization
Edge Research, on behalf of Momentive Software, conducted parallel online surveys of members and nonmembers of professional membership organizations nationwide.
Conducted June 24–July 15, 2026
Recruited through a non-probability online panel; findings are not projectable to the broader population of members and nonmembers. Quotas were set and data weighted for representativeness by key demographics.
1,010 current members, 764 nonmembers
