First, I think the thread title choice isn't the greatest, as the thread focus is on ACA and the title gives no clue - plus is politically polarizing, likely alienating a notable chunk of possible commentors.

I attended the second webinar. The staff and Board chair were a united front in defending the decisions made to this point. Losing nearly 50% of membership and more than $1.5 million in revenue isn't fully explained by "aging non-renewing members". I do like that ACA has published their annual financials each year in the annual report in the magazine, but this sort of drop is remarkable.

I was involved with LAB when the Board and staff (mostly staff) decided that the unstated #1 priority for the organization was "allyship" with many of the other nonprofits on K Street who they hung out with outside the office, and not the needs of active cyclists who made up the plurality of members. I watched it firsthand as the culture changed. A lot of members voted with their wallets (as in not opening them) or by not renewing. Some Board members with significant fiscal leverage who were definitely not fans of the trend were able to partially reverse the trend, but even some of them gave up on the organization. I was also an observer when the proposed LAB / ACA / ABW merger was floated and almost pushed through - that probably would have destroyed all three organizations instead of one (ABW folded).

As far as "woke": I did note that the editorial slant of ACA content was moving in the portside direction through the years, but I think it was more the big turnover in staff, where the younger staff were by their nature of a mindset that advocates = left = normal and not any intentional program or plan. It's just what they thought was "normal". This is different from the conscious changes by LAB in editorial policy in the early 21st century. And all of this pales in comparison to the astonishing change in content in Bicycling Magazine immediately after Rodale was acquired by Hearst - one month it was middle-of-the-lane, the next month it seems they were trying to make Streetsblog look like Imprimis. I had a life subscription to Bicycling as part of my life membership to LAB, and I told them after the first Hearst issue I didn't want any more trees to be sacrificed to print such content-free polemicizing for my benefit.

Speaking of life memberships: I became a life member of LAB soon after my ECI certification, and a life member of ACA once I started working on the USBRS system (mostly on the AASHTO side). In both organizations, I got the impression that life members are given superficial deference, but the real influence is whomever is writing the serious grant and endowment checks.

My $0.03, without trying to be objectionably partisan.