Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Evaluating Non-Profit E-Communications: One Organization’s Experience Julie VanMersbergen University of St. Thomas May 2003

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Communications: An Organizational Challenge  Non-profit membership organizations  Communications major factor  Minimize cost  Maximize impact  Impact of the Web  Much cheaper  How to encourage Web use?

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  TCBC & The Web  Largest cycling club in Minnesota  Issues with monthly printed newsletter  Financial  Timeliness  Club also uses , telephone hotline  Cyclists highly likely to have traits of computer/Internet users  Increase in traffic on TCBC Web site since 2000

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Research Question  Can TCBC use e-communications to effectively communicate with members?  Current use and desirability  Impact on member recruitment  Willingness to shift to more online focus

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Survey Methods  Member survey sent by postal mail to 1,018 households in February, 2003  Topics covered:  Recruitment source  Involvement level  Importance of communications vehicles  Openness to further e-communications activity

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Survey Response  By March 15, 2003, received 592 responses  58% of total population/survey recipients  Most respondents recent members  52% members of 3 years or less  20% members of 10 years

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Web as Recruitment Tool Source Community Event30.6% Friend29.0% Bike Shop15.5% Other11.9% Web Site9.3% Newsletter3.7%

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Frequency of Web Use Among Members  43% of members use Web site regularly  No relationship to length of membership  Generally most active members  Somewhat more likely to be members under age 40

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Importance of TCBC Communication Options All Members (Scale of 1-5) Newsletter4.57 Web Site Hotline2.13  When only the 43% who use Web site viewed, ranking of Web site rises to 4.54  Web users not likely to rank newsletter, hotline lower

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Importance of Content on Web Site  Among members who use site more than twice a month, most important content:  Online schedule  Online access to Newsletter  Ride maps  Ride cancellations

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Use of TCBC By Members  Only 25% of respondents report using any of TCBC’s opt-in communications  53% of members report interest in receiving newsletter by  Only 23% of these members participate in existing newsletter list

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Openness to Online Ride Scheduling  Members asked if they would be open to scheduling rides ‘last minute’ online  80% say yes!  No skew created by infrequent participants  Popular among non-users of Web

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Recommendations for E-Communication Growth  Newsletter remains most valued way to communicate among all members  Use newsletter to promote Web, communications mechanisms  Web works well -- with those who use it  Opportunity for significant cost savings  Use incremental improvements to make Web site, more attractive to members  Explore use of Web, to schedule events

Twin Cities Bicycle Club  Questions?