Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, August 2014)

The lifeblood of any nonprofit association is its membership.  We are tickled to announce that membership has grown for the 8th straight month to its highest level since January 2010.  In fact, the total membership increased by 27% so far this year ... and up 58% from this time last year!  The membership growth is a direct result of efforts by local, regional and national leaders to provide a value proposition to members (and potential members) with its programs, scholarships and services.  Kudos to the National BDPA president Craig Brown and his team for the continued positive trending in this core metric.

This month we pay homage to BDPA Atlanta chapter (president Derrick Brown) for its continued success in terms of membership retention and recruitment. BDPA Atlanta was named 'Chapter of the Year' at the 36th Annual BDPA Technology Conference held last month in Indianapolis. They also took home the 'Membership Award', which is bestowed upon an individual chapter and its members for their outstanding achievements in increasing the National organization, being 'a member-focused organization' and ensuring that each member of BDPA feels valued as a member of the association.

BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter (president, Will Smith) is to be commended for a remarkable milestone as well.  This chapter doubled in size this calendar year!   They began the year as the 14th largest chapter in nation ... and now we find them sitting as the 6th-largest chapter ... just short of entering the 'BDPA Century Club' (see below).  Much of the growth is a result of the chapter's powerful Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program.

We believe in the management maxim -- you get what you measure.  Let us assess the numbers in order to honor those local BDPA chapters who are demonstrating success in their efforts to recruit and retain members. Let's take a look at the ten largest chapters in BDPA-Nation:

1. Chicago - president, Reggie Rush
2. Cincinnati - president, Dalric Webb
   
3. Washington DC - president, Perry Carter 
4. Philadelphia - president, Eileen Gadsden
5. Atlanta - president, Derrick Brown 
6. Southern Minnesota - president, Will Smith (up 10 spots)
7. New Jersey - president, Goldie Bonney (down 1 spot)
8. Dallas - president, Chad White (down 1 spot)
9. Los Angeles - president, John Malonson (down 1 spot)
10. New York - president, Tyronne McKinney (down 1 spot)

The top five chapters on the list remain in the 'BDPA Century Club'! The benefit of having powerful leadership is obvious when we see that Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Washington DC each have over 100 members. One of the common denominators for each of these chapters is that they place a high premium on the delivery of quality programs and services to their members. These chapters work hard to ensure that there is a strong return on the $100 investment that each member makes thru annual dues.

What are your thoughts about the value of BDPA membership? What can your local chapter do to improve the value-proposition for you on a personal or professional level?