What if the best nonprofit association growth strategy is to stop obsessing over growth? Lorri Unumb, CEO of the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP), explains how concentrating on member value, organizational standards, advocacy, and shared infrastructure helped an association that began with roughly a dozen executives grow to about 500 member organizations.

CASP began as an informal gathering of autism service-provider executives who simply wanted to exchange ideas and figure out how to deliver better services. It eventually became a formal association in 2016 with a mission centered on cultivating, advocating for, and sharing better practices across the field.

The business lesson is remarkably transferable!  “We think constantly about how can we do a better job for our members,” Lorri says. The surprising result? Better service to members became a membership growth strategy.

The organization has also scaled dramatically. When Lorri arrived seven years ago, she was CASP’s only employee. Today, the organization has 25 full-time staff, allowing specialists to concentrate on government affairs, clinical standards, education, resources, and other member needs.

CASP also maintains a firm membership standard: organizations must demonstrate a commitment to evidence-based care. That means membership isn’t simply about paying dues, it represents an organizational expectation!

COVID provided another lesson in association value. When providers suddenly needed to know whether autism-service workers qualified as essential healthcare workers, CASP was able to obtain legal guidance quickly and distribute it nationally. . . . something individual organizations would have struggled to accomplish independently.

Lorri concludes by sharing how CASP is looking ahead toward stronger state-level advocacy and better outcome measures.

Key Takeaways:

Create member value before chasing membership growth.

Shared expertise and infrastructure can accomplish what individual organizations cannot efficiently do alone.

Strong membership standards can protect both organizational credibility and mission quality.

CASP scaled from one employee to 25 specialized full-time staff as member needs expanded.

Engaged boards should lead work—not simply lend names to an organization.

Better outcome measurement will increasingly matter when nonprofits must demonstrate value to insurers, government payers, funders, and partners.