Case Study: National Rural Education Association achieves membership growth during a global pandemic with Glue Up

How the National Rural Education Association Increased their Memberships During a Global Pandemic

The National Rural Education Association (NREA), an association of roughly 5,500 members, was challenged by a clunky legacy membership system (NetForum Pro/previously MemberClicks) that made renewals, newsletter updates, member data and invoicing difficult—problems that became urgent with the onset of COVID‑19. Seeking a more user‑friendly association management solution, NREA evaluated and selected Glue Up’s CRM/association management platform to improve member engagement and streamline operations.

Glue Up migrated NREA’s data, delivered a rapid ~2‑week onboarding and provided an all‑in‑one platform for CRM, email, invoicing and event management. Since signing in February 2020 NREA has sent over 43,000 emails through Glue Up, is tracking more than 5,000 contacts in the CRM, automated invoicing, and has increased—and even surpassed—its membership goals during the pandemic, demonstrating clear growth and operational time savings.

National Rural Education Association

Allen Pratt

Executive Director