How the Consortium for Advanced Practice Providers Grew Membership More Than 1,300% on i4a

Where we started

The Consortium for Advanced Practice Providers supports postgraduate residency and fellowship programs for nurse practitioners and physician associates/assistants. Connecting the people who lead, support and participate in these programs is an important part of our work, and we wanted our membership platform to help us build that community.

Before i4a, we were using another membership management platform. As the Consortium grew, we found that we needed features and functionality beyond what our existing platform offered at the time. We wanted a solution that could support our evolving membership needs and integrate with our public website.

Moving to i4a was one of my first decisions as the new Executive Director, so it’s a decision I feel personally connected to. When you’re stepping into a leadership role, you want those early decisions to make a lasting, positive difference. Looking back, I’m very glad we made this one.

Why i4a

We wanted a platform that could support our growing membership community with features like job postings, discussion boards, and a shared resource library. Integration with our existing public website was important, but a major advantage was the ability to connect our membership platform with our annual conference. Having those pieces work seamlessly together makes conference planning and registration much easier for our team and gives members a convenient way to register and pay.

For me, this was about more than choosing software. It was about supporting the community we were building and knowing we had a team we could count on. i4a’s attentive account management and responsive, professional customer service have made us feel supported and confident that our organization’s success matters to them.

The move

Changing platforms is a significant undertaking, and we wanted the transition to work well for both our staff and our members. Our priorities were to preserve our existing content and member information, match the look and feel of our public website, and minimize any disruption to our members. We also wanted our team to feel well trained and confident before launching. The i4a team guided us through the process and helped us accomplish all of those goals, making the transition a positive experience.

One experience, from our website to membership

Our public website is an important introduction to the Consortium for Advanced Practice Providers: Who we are, what we do, and how we support postgraduate APP training. Our membership platform supports the relationships we build through that work.

For me, the value of that connection is creating a seamless experience from visiting our website to becoming a member, getting involved, and building a relationship with our organization. Having our public website and membership site share the same look and feel makes that experience consistent and familiar.

What i4a has made possible

The biggest thing I would highlight is that i4a has helped us build and grow our membership network. That matters because our work is built around people sharing expertise, learning from one another, and advancing the quality of postgraduate APP training.

Since we began using i4a in 2019, our membership has grown more than 1,300%.

We value the platform and the team behind it. When Donald asked whether I would participate in a case study, I saw it as an opportunity to give back to an organization whose work we appreciate.

What I’d tell another organization

I would encourage them to talk with the i4a team about their goals and what their staff and members need both today and as the organization grows. When we were evaluating i4a, I explored other organizations’ sites using the platform and had the opportunity to try it in a testing environment as both a member and an administrator. That firsthand experience helped me understand how it would work for our organization and feel confident before committing.

I would also recommend speaking with current customers about their experiences. Choosing a membership platform is a significant decision, and sometimes the most helpful perspective comes from a colleague who has already made it. For the Consortium, choosing i4a has been a good decision, and I’ve told Donald he is welcome to share my contact information with prospective customers.

We’ve been very happy with the platform and the support we’ve received, and I’m pleased to share our experience if it helps another organization find the right fit.