How to Boost Your Membership Using Green Resources and Events

Finding new ways to recruit and retain members is imperative for keeping the momentum alive within your local HBA. Many HBAs are finding success in engaging new members by amplifying the efforts of their high-performance home builders.

The HBA of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties relies on its annual Green Home Tour to retain members by showcasing its members’ work on its website with videos and other marketing materials. The Green Home Tour also draws in new members, as builders must be a part of the association to participate in the tour.

Green events not only highlight the exciting work of green builder members, but also help to educate consumers on high-performance home features. Some members don’t have the resources to create videos or other online marketing materials, so this provides them with added value for their membership by giving them something they can either add to their own website or link to in order to showcase their projects. Additionally, educating consumers is critical for creating demand for high performance builders and homes in your local market.

Partner with Other HBAs, Green Companies

“We always suggest that if you have a nearby association that shares borders, to collaborate and partner with them — we joined together with the Raleigh-Wake HBA to start the High Performance Building Council so that more than just our members in North Carolina could benefit from shared resources and knowledge of the larger group,” added Holly Fraccaro, CEO of the HBA of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties.

Another strategy to consider is to join forces with companies and organizations that aren't necessarily your go-to, which can help establish the HBA as a resource in the community, expand its reach and provide more exposure for local members. For example, one HBA partnered with a local electric vehicle (EV) dealership, and used its cars to physically take members and event attendees to visit green homes on a high-performance home tour. The local dealership got an uptick in sales, and customers were also excited about the prospect of EVs and EV charging stations, as well as with green homes in general.

Utilize NAHB Green Resources

Some HBAs use NAHB’s pre-curated green content to save time, money, and provide value to their members.

“I rely heavily on @NAHB_Green’s Twitter to post timely fun facts for our members, and I regularly pull from its weekly blogs on high-performance home best practices when I need pre-written quality content that is relevant to my members,” notes Megan Carroll, executive officer at the Asheville HBA. “Learning from and amplifying NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building resources to my membership such as the Solar Toolkit for Builders, the Water Rating Systems Matrix, or the new Resiliency hub really makes my workload much more manageable.”

Watch a replay of NAHB’s most recent Third Tuesday Townhall event: Painting the Town(hall) Green to learn more about how HBA staff are using green resources and events to recruit and retain members, and what resources are available from NAHB.

For more high-performance home resources and a presentation on green appraisals, join the next HBA Sustainability Network Call on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. ET.

To stay current on the high-performance residential building sector, with tips on water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and other building science strategies, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building efforts on Twitter.