In pursuit of our mission at PUMP, our goal has always been to offer a valued array of member benefits at an affordable and reasonable price to ensure that all who wish to join with us may do so. For several years now, we have offered full membership in PUMP for only $5 as we worked to develop our advocacy efforts, signature events, opportunities to connect with civic leaders, service opportunities, information sharing resources, and more. Indeed, we have come a long way over the past 3 years with growing programs, benefits, and membership.
As a matter of due diligence, the Board of Directors established a task force at the end of last year to examine our members only benefits, dues structure, and membership pricing in order to strengthen our value proposition and determine our strategies going forward. We also engaged a team of graduate students at CMU’s Heinz School to do an independent benchmarking study of peer organization benefits and dues, both locally and around the state. We learned a lot throughout this process about our value and benefits and what we need to do to remain a strong voice for young Pittsburgh.
To provide maximum flexibility and value to our members and to position PUMP for future success, we are announcing the following changes and enhancements to our membership structure, benefits, and pricing:
(1) Current Membership Benefits and Dues – Effective immediately, PUMP membership dues have been increased to $15. All current, new, and renewing members receive the full slate of benefits listed HERE. We encourage you to take advantage of all that PUMP has to offer.
(2) 2019 Two-Tiered Membership Structure and Benefits – Effective January 1, 2019, we will move to a two tiered membership structure that includes both “basic” and “premier” level membership options. Basic membership will include PSL access, Hometown Hot Spot discounts, and more. Premier membership will include all of the basic benefits plus additional ones (current and in the works) including event registration discounts, priority event registration, business discounts, online leadership connection tools, and more.
(3) 2019 Dues Pricing – At the time of your renewal (or first time membership) in 2019, you will have the option to select either the basic level at $15 or premier level membership at a greater price based on your preference and desired benefits. Although we have not yet finalized 2019 premier level membership pricing, we anticipate that it will be somewhere between $40-60 based on our benchmarking research.
We always viewed this process as a “right sizing” of sorts to bring us up to and in line with other young Pittsburgh serving organizations and our growing array of benefits. With these changes now in place, you will be hearing much more from us on a regular basis about added member benefits and opportunities to maximize your membership. In the meantime, we hope that you will engage with us, especially on the advocacy and public policy front, so that we can continue to advocate for change and bring our collective voice forward. Above all, let us know how we can serve you better.
We take very seriously the responsibility that we have to deliver high quality and valued benefits at a reasonable price. We thank you for your continued support of PUMP and the work that we do bringing young people together to make Pittsburgh the first choice for everyone to live, work, and play. Members are the engine of any membership organization and we are grateful for your continued participation.
Should you have any questions about our membership structure, benefits, or dues, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 412-338—2133 x10 or brian@pump.org.