Members

Members contribute to Red Cross in various ways: by championing our work in their communities, volunteering with us, giving annual membership fees, fundraising for us, supporting our events, participating in campaigns and governing the organisation. This year our membership strategy focused on three key outcomes: engagement and empowerment; coordination and efficiency; and growth and diversity.

There are a number of membership categories within Red Cross which are grouped into three major segments. Branch membership represents 68% of the total base, and these members join together in groups, meet regularly and take local action in their community. Independent members combine a number of individual membership types, and together represent 23% of our membership base. Young humanitarian membership represents 9% of our total membership base and offers a specialised engagement pathway for members under 30 years of age.

Increasing youth engagement is a priority across all areas of Red Cross, so we were pleased to see a 110% growth in youth members in 2013/2014. We also achieved a 33% increase in independent memberships and retained 85% of our members from the 2012/2013 financial year, suggesting a high level of satisfaction and engagement in our current membership base.

We are working to ensure that members will remain an integral part of Red Cross in the future, and we will continue to reach out to a new generation of Australians to grow our membership base.