The feeling people get when being involved with a community of like-minded and driven individuals working with passion and purpose is unlike any other. Working in the association industry provides rewards that not all organizations have. Associations do not sell products for profit, instead they provide unmatched value from member engagement. So this brings the question;
How are associations funded?
By providing value with the services that your members find valuable for their organizational or personal ambitions – membership dues are the primary source of revenue for your association, but non-dues revenue is vital to your association’s long-term financial health.
Finding ways to boost member engagement and generate non-dues revenue can seem like a mountain you will never feel ready to climb. In fact, in the Community Brands 2021 association report, 71% of association professionals listed non-dues revenue as a top strategic priority in the coming year.
Diversify the sources of your association’s financing and boost member engagement:
- Increase your dues and membership fees over time in order to be able to invest in future projects to boost member engagement. It is important to ensure that contributors are informed in advance, and that they understand what their money is being used for. Note that contributions are in no way a reserve fund for your cash flow. They must correspond to specific expenses that are included in your annual budget.
Learn which fail-safe steps your organization should consider and more with this on-demand webinar. - Gifts, bequests, and donations, whether material or financial, can be made by individuals or companies. Generally, they are welcome to start an association. Gifts and bequests sometimes happen at unpredictable times, while donations can be collected thanks to a communication campaign and a specific event. To encourage donations, make it clear to potential donors that their action will result in a deduction on their income tax.
- Public grants like subsidiaries are allocated to associations that carry out projects of general interest. They include all types of aid granted by the State, public institutions, local authorities, social security bodies, or government organizations.
- People interested in your association’s mission to ask them to be its patron or sponsor.
- Sponsorship is intended to promote the image of the sponsor. You will therefore have to provide the sponsor with visibility in a specific place, on your website, or on official documents.
Read on for tips on how to drive revenue from your association’s website. - An association may request an exceptional overdraft permit if it needs it to regulate its cash flow. It can also take out a bank loan or an equipment or property finance lease.
- A crowdfunding campaign makes it possible to test the attractiveness of a project by requesting funds before it starts. If the funds raised are sufficient, the project will be launched and you will leave with more cash flow than if you started from scratch.
- Organize profitable events and activities that will allow you to finance your association’s projects. “Profitable” or “lucrative” does not mean that the money goes into your pocket. This means that you sell products and collect money, but it must be reinvested. It is a legal requirement.
Hybrid events are a must-do to meet the expectations of today’s members. Read on for tips on how to pull off great hybrid events – even with a small budget. - Professional development and continuing education. Empower members’ development by providing them with a robust and well-organized learning portfolio. There are many industries that require continuing education credits, training, or certifications. Be sure your members can easily accomplish all their learning needs through an association’s Learning Management System (LMS). Manage continuing education requirements and deliver certification based on your association’s unique needs in one centralized platform.
Continue reading for ways to leverage your association LMS to help create that new revenue as a perfect way to prioritize your goals throughout the year.
Freestone offers the most comprehensive learning management system on the market. Where other platforms stop short, with Freestone LMS, you can count on features like:
- turnkey webinars and webcasts
- A customizable, mobile responsive learning portal
- eCommerce tools
- continuing education and credentialing management
- AMS integrations
- and much more!
Develop a framework to organize and present LMS hosted experiences Today.