Press release
NANA releases State of Associations 2025
The annual benchmarking survey of 720 member organizations finds growth flat at 2.1 percent for the second year running.
WASHINGTON — NANA released its State of Associations 2025 report today, drawing on survey responses from 720 member organizations fielded in partnership with Fieldstone Data Partners.
Growth held flat again
Median membership growth landed at 2.1 percent, unchanged from the 2024 edition. Median renewal held at 93 percent, also matching last year. Director of Research Inês Carvalho-Reyes said the repeat number is worth taking at face value rather than reading as either a plateau or a trend.
Two years at the same number doesn't tell you whether growth has stalled or whether 2.1 percent is just where this sector sits right now. We'll know more after a third data point.
— Inês Carvalho-Reyes, Director of Research
The survey population grew from 690 organizations in 2024 to 720 in 2025, an increase Carvalho-Reyes attributed to expanded outreach to smaller chapters rather than any change in NANA's own membership.
What's inside
The report covers four areas:
Membership growth and renewal, by organization size and sector
Revenue mix, including dues share versus non-dues revenue
Staffing levels and vacancy rates
Board governance practices, including term limits and committee structures
Associations with fewer than 500 members again showed more volatility in growth rate than larger organizations, consistent with the 2024 findings. The report does not break out results by individual respondent; all data is reported in aggregate.
This year's survey window ran October through December 2024, with data cleaning and analysis completed by Carvalho-Reyes's team in January and February 2025. Fieldstone Data Partners fielded the survey instrument and provided benchmarking support, as it has for prior editions.
The full report is available in the resource library. NANA will host a member webinar on the findings; details will follow through chapter channels.
Why the number matters
A 2.1 percent median growth rate sounds modest next to the double-digit membership gains some sectors reported a decade ago, and Carvalho-Reyes's team is not dressing it up. For a 400-member trade association, 2.1 percent growth is roughly eight net new members a year — enough to offset attrition, but not enough to fund a major new program without also raising dues or non-dues revenue.
The report breaks growth out by organization size for exactly this reason: associations with fewer than 500 members post more volatile year-to-year swings, while larger organizations track closer to the median. Executives running smaller associations should read their own growth number against the size-banded benchmark, not the topline 2.1 percent, before drawing conclusions about their own performance.
Renewal held at 93 percent for the second straight year, meaning the flat growth figure is driven more by new-member acquisition than by member loss. NANA's research team plans to examine acquisition channels specifically in the 2026 edition.
About NANA
The National Association of National Associations (NANA) is the professional society for association executives, boards, and staff, providing research, peer community, and advocacy for the people who run the organizations that hold civic life together. Founded in 1998, NANA represents hundreds of member organizations and serves more than 2 million professionals across six regional chapters. NANA is headquartered at 1000 Association Blvd, Washington, DC.