There are some excellent resources for membership recruitment and retention on the ASAE website. An example is the following link to an excellent article on the very points you raise in your post: http://www.asaecenter.org/wiki/?page=Member%20Retention%20Strategies

A list of membership retention strategies that might be addressed in an association’s strategic goals and plans is provided here: http://www.cinosam.net/ideas.pdf

The key to membership recruitment and retention is to adopt and implement appropriate strategies that focus on developing, enhancing and communicating the “value added” of membership to existing and prospective association members as part of the strategic planning process.

What I was trying to convey is that members look for different things when they support an organization, and nonprofits need to recognize that in their marketing approaches. Some members are looking for a very tangible value proposition, which might come through exclusive access to resources that only members get, or discounts on attendance fees and organizational products and services. Others just want to support the broader goals an organization is trying to accomplish, and have less interest in gaining tangible value from their support. So, to be able to reach both audiences, nonprofits should try to clearly convey the specific benefits of membership within the framework of the broader goals and mission of the organization.

As to articles, none come immediately to mind, but if we find any, we’ll post them here.