Back in the TechSoup Connect days I published a piece at CMX about a question we all wrestle with: how do you actually measure whether your members feel a real sense of community—beyond the usual “engagement” numbers?

In the post, I shared how I’m using the Sense of Community Index (SCI) to get clearer signals and make smarter decisions.

  • What you’ll get: a plain-English intro to the SCI (membership, influence, needs, shared emotional connection) plus the question set I used
  • Why it helps: better insights lead to better retention, stronger rituals, and feedback loops your members trust
  • What surprised me: our high satisfaction scores didn’t match real retention—and what we changed once we saw the gap
  • Quick wins to try: ask about needs directly, add simple rituals that travel across chapters, and always close the loop on feedback

Read the CMX post:
https://www.cmxhub.com/blog/measuring-your-members-sense-of-community

Want to see the Index itself?
https://senseofcommunity.com/soc-index/