Punching Through to 3,000 Members

20th July 2021

It's a landmark week here at STAMMA as we reach a new membership high. This is just the beginning, writes STAMMA CEO Jane Powell. 

To state the obvious, STAMMA, the British Stammering Association, is a membership organisation. That sits at our heart and soul. It defines what we do and gives us a voice.  

• Donate to STAMMA online

Historically, the figure has stood at just over 1,000 or so members. That's low if you think about how many people in the UK believe they stammer: 1%-3% of the population.  

That's why one of our key 5-year objectives is to increase our members and supporters. 

In 2018 we set out the aim to grow and reach 10,000 members and supporters within 5 years. Ambitious but achievable. Back then we were looking at 1,568 members and 2,015 supporters after cleaning up our database for GDPR.  

This week we sailed past the 3,000 member mark, with a total of 4,315 including supporters. We're averaging around 130-140 new sign-ups a month, so by the end of the year we should be closer to 6,000 total supporters.

At this rate of growth we should hit 10,000 total supporters by the end of 2022.

Why is that important? A gazillion reasons. If people are willing to put their hands up and make common cause with others, our collective voice will be louder and it will give confidence to those coming up behind that stammering is just how some people speak. The more voices we have, the greater our legitimacy and power to talk. And, slightly less highfalutin, the more members donating and fundraising for STAMMA, the more we can do.

• Read more about STAMMA and our mission

It doesn't mean we'll stop at 10,000. That's just our first membership goal.

So, if you aren't yet a member and want to get informed first about events like the STAMMAFest conference next year, or if you want to help steer our direction by voting for our next Trustees — or even become a Trustee yourself (a 3-year commitment plus loads of time and energy) — then join us.

Want to get involved more? See our Join Us section to find out how you can fundraise, donate, volunteer or share your story, and Connect for details of events, local groups and professional networks.