4-H Member Retention Resources

Youth development research documents that multi-year involvement in an on-going youth organization has the greatest positive impact on the lives of young people. Retaining 4-H members has been identified as a critical issue for Wisconsin 4-H.

To address this issue, the Strengthening 4-H Clubs Work team, Member Retention Action Group, provides the following resources for you. These include the member retention survey and teaching tools to address providing an environment in a 4-H club where members can continue to grow and thrive.

Member Retention Survey

The Member Retention Action Team has worked in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Grow Green Team to develop an ongoing member retention online survey. It gathers information from non returning members as to the quality of their experience as a 4-H member and insights on what can be done to improve the 4-H club experience.

About the Survey: The on-line survey is on going, but has a scheduled collection point of spring each year. Data will be available by state and by county as the response rate allows. The Member Retention Action Team will be reviewing the data for reports to staff and volunteers. During the first year of data collection we collected data from 110 respondents. We then received 135 responses during the next two years of data collection. Participants in the 2011 retention survey provided valuable information that gives a starting place for 4-H Youth staff and the 4-H Youth Development program area.

Click below to view the study summaries. They provide a summary of the data as well as some implications for current programming:

• Wis 2011 Retention Report ( 11 pages, 228 KB)
• 2010 Wisconsin 4-H Retention Study Summary (14 pages 439 KB)

The survey has been approved through the HSP and IRB process.

You can view the opening page for all participants at the Retention Survey web page.

Staff Tasks to Administer the Survey:

As soon as you complete 4-H enrollments in the fall:

• Identify youth that have not re enrolled. This can be due to graduation or any other reason. This should be done as soon as you have closed primary enrollments for the year based on your local deadline.
• Open the Invitation to Participant Letter and add the county specific information. This letter is intended to be copied into the body of the email message -- not as an attachment -- and sent directly to the young person. The letter can be sent postal mail to those youth that do not have an email address. Invitation to Participant Letter (88.5 KB 1 page) You may include a paper version of this survey for them to return to your office. The data will need to be entered into the survey on line tool in your office. Paper version of non-returning 4-H member survey (86.7 KB, 5 pages)
• Develop an email list to send this message. This can easily be done using 4HPlus! Member Retention Survey Query Instructions (26 KB, 1 page) (updated 10-10)
• Send out the survey letter to non returning 4-H members.
• The survey is an online link. All input is confidential and cannot be linked back to any one participant.
• Please follow-up with the youth to insure completion of the survey.

Each spring, county data will be collected and shared with the county staff person. In the event that insufficient data is available to insure confidentiality, the county staff person will be notified.

We appreciate the cooperation of all staff members and youth survey participants. The more we understand about why youth leave 4-H the better we will be able to provide changes, guidance and support for improving the local 4-H club experience. Questions can be directed to Sue Pleskac, Volunteer Leadership Specialist at sue.pleskac@ces.uwex.edu.

Measuring Annual Member Retention

To calculate annual 4-H member retention rates with and without graduates, the following tool has been developed and tested. The tool has been reviewed and validated. Formulas to Compute Current Member Retention (22 KB)

Teaching Tools

There are a variety of resources available to help start, strengthen and revitalize 4-H Community Clubs. A variety of resources including tools and lesson plans are also available at the 4-H Community Club Central web page. Here are some resources that are most helpful with member retention.

Club Lessons

• Creating a Welcoming Environment (7 pages, 151 KB) An activity plan to help 4-H clubs evaluate how welcoming their club is to parents, guests, leaders and members. The group brainstorms ways they can create a more welcoming environment within their club.
• Welcoming New Members and Families (5 pages, 88 KB) An activity plan to help 4-H clubs explore what it is like to be a new family and brainstorm what can be done to support new families in their clubs. Includes a sample mentoring program.

Volunteer Lessons

• Keeping Youth in 4-H: Why Do Some Leave? (6 pages, 94 KB) An activity plan to help 4-H adult and youth club leaders learn about the research regarding member retention in 4-H. Satisfaction in the 4-H club experience is an important component of retaining members.
• Keeping Older Members (5 pages, 133 KB) An activity plan to help 4-H adult and youth club leaders discover why older 4-H members stay with the club and why some leave. This can assist clubs in reviewing how they are functioning to make sure they are meeting all members’ needs.
• Supporting New Members & Their Families (6 pages, 144 KB) An activity plan to help 4-H adult and youth club leaders identify the feelings and needs of new members and their families and consider some actions to welcome and orient new members.
• Getting to Know 4-H Community Club Central Located on the 4-H Community Club Central Home Page, this Power Point can be used to assist volunteers on how to navigate 4-H Community Club Central web site and to access the multitudes of valuable resources it holds to strengthen the local 4-H club.

Additional Resources

• 4-H 101 The Basics of Starting 4-H Clubs - Training tools and presentations slides to assist in starting 4-H Clubs.
• 4hvolunteersusa.org - A national web site for 4-H volunteers. A variety of tools, resources and opportunities are provided. A link to curriculum and resources in Spanish is provided.

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