5 Strategies to Unlock Your Organisation’s Success In 2026

To unlock your organisation's success in 2026, focus on five strategic areas: critically reflecting on data, implementing necessary price increases for sustainability, and prioritising a mobile-first engagement model. Efficient club administration is also vital, requiring you to proactively schedule events and clearly define committee roles to prevent miscommunication and burnout. By leveraging data reporting and modernising communications, your club or association can ensure a resilient and successful year.

2026 is somehow just around the corner. Seriously, if you asked me how long it‘s been since we were all laughing at Australia’s *ahem* interesting “breakdancing” performance at the Olympics, I would say a few months, but somehow it was over a full year ago. 

It’s like they say, the days go slow, but the years go fast. 2026 is knocking on the door, and like it or not, we all have to get ready for it. So today, let’s have a look at the year to come and what you should be doing to ensure it’s a successful one.   

1. Reflect On The Past Year

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it; that is certainly true, and the proof of that can be found pretty much every time you turn on the news. I am, of course, talking about the Wallabies confirming that they will be once again switching coaches less than one year out from a World Cup. They have done this for three out of the last four World Cups, and it always goes so badly.  

 

 

Why, what did you think I was talking about? 

My point is that by looking back on 2025 with a critical eye, you can see what worked and what didn’t, which will help you make smart, informed decisions about what to do in the year to come. You can use Member Jungle’s data reporting and engagement-tracking features to gain a clear, data-driven understanding of how 2025 went. 

Some key aspects you should look at are: 

• Event Attendance 
• Renewal Rates
• Revenue Breakdown
• Members Using The App
• Website Logins

What you want to get from this is a clear understanding of how things have gone over the last year and what you can keep the same, and what you need to change. You may find that one form of communication or one type of event is more effective than others, and that is crucial information to know when planning your 2026.  

2. Increase Your Club’s Prices In 2026

Once again, the price of pretty much everything has continued to rise over this last year. There is a dollar store near me, and without being too specific, its name is along the lines of “Everything Under $15”. Well, in the last year, they have added a little yellow sticker in front of their name on all of their signs, so it is now the “Nearly Everything Under $15” store, and if that isn’t a perfect summary of the times, I don’t know what is.  

This means that your organisation should at the very least have a serious look at whether you need to raise the price of your membership dues in 2026.

The reality is that inflation has most likely impacted your operating expenses over the last year. If the price of everything you use to manage your operations, from insurance and venue hire to administrative supplies and software, is increasing, you are going to need to raise your prices just to break even and maintain the current quality and level of activities your members expect.

Failing to adjust your dues to match rising costs is effectively giving your organisation a budget cut. This will inevitably diminish the member experience by forcing you to cut corners, leading to frustration and attrition. Therefore, raising prices is not a choice for profit; it is a necessity for sustainability in 2026.

You can read more about this in the Membership dues section of The 5 Lessons We Learnt From The 2025 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. 

3. Schedule Your Events For 2026

One of the best ways to get the new year off to a great start is to schedule and prepare your core events now. While you may not know every event you will host next year, chances are you know enough of your core calendar, like monthly meetings, annual general meetings, and recurring workshops, to start scheduling them today.

With Member Jungle, scheduling one-off events and setting up recurring events is really quick and easy. Getting next year's events sorted sooner rather than later is a really good idea, because if you’re anything like me, the few weeks off over Christmas and New Year's are enough to reduce my brain to soup by the time the new year starts. 

 

 

It can be a lot easier to get that stuff sorted on this side of the holidays, when you’re already in the flow of things, than at the beginning of next year when you’re flat out trying to remember how your computer works. By scheduling ahead, you eliminate a major source of stress at the start of next year and ensure your members have access to the full 2026 calendar the moment the year begins.

4. Adopt a Mobile-First Engagement Model

Communication failure is one of the quickest ways to lose member engagement and cause unnecessary issues in your organisation. While email remains an essential part of good communications, you need to meet your members where they are, and increasingly, where they are is on their phones; statistically, for four and a half hours every day. 

The solution is to adopt a mobile-first engagement model. This means prioritising the channel members are constantly using, i.e. their phones. The Member Jungle app makes this easy to achieve; it gives members chatrooms on their phones, push notifications, the ability to sign up for events and buy merch all from their phones.

By using the mobile app, you can send targeted, instant alerts that completely bypass cluttered email inboxes. I’ve talked about it in detail before, but it makes a great way to communicate with your members with minimal noise in your communication channel, which makes your communications more effective. For more information on what that means, check out Enhance Member Engagement: Apply Communication Theory in Your Club or Association.

The long and the short of it is, your members use their phones a lot, and that is only going to increase as more younger people join your organisation. So, you need to prioritise talking to them via their phones, and the mobile app is the best way to do so. 

For more information about the Member Jungle app, have a look at A Club App To Help Your Club Or Association Thrive. 

5. Define and Delegate Committee Roles

Miscommunications can have a negative effect on more than just your members; they can also cause issues for your committee members. Many disputes and missed tasks occur simply because people don't have a clear understanding of what everyone's individual roles are and where the borders between them lie.

Heading into 2026, take time to clearly define and delegate every key committee responsibility. It's also not a bad idea to ensure that the average member understands the distinction and scope of your committee roles, as demystifying these positions can increase the number of members volunteering to take on committee roles. 

You can use your Member Jungle system to help enforce these roles:

• Assign Security Permissions: Ensure committee members only have access to the permissions and data they absolutely need for their role. This prevents accidental errors and boosts data security.
• Update Role Descriptions: Create simple, clear documents outlining who is responsible for what. This helps prevent conflict, eases recruitment for new volunteers, and ensures you aren't reliant on one person for everything.

By clarifying who does what, you create a more efficient, less stressful, and more resilient committee structure for the coming year. You can read more about how defining your committee roles can help here, Don't Let Your Committee Get Lost in the Jungle: A Guide To Member Jungle Committee Access.

Unlock Success in 2026: The Next Step

There’s a lot to do in the last few weeks of this year, and a lot to look forward to in the year to come. Personally, I can’t wait to see if the Wallabies can do a little better than their 67-year low during their recent tour of Europe. You too can ensure your 2026 goes a lot better than your 2025 if you follow the steps we’ve talked about today. 

If you want to see what you can learn from the past to help you plan your 2026, have a look at The 5 Lessons We Learnt From The 2025 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. 

For a detailed look at how you can use data reporting to improve your organisation, check out Why You Need Data Reporting.