Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers
101 Series: ASSOCIATIONS
OVERVIEW
What are associations?
Associations are groups made up of individuals or organizations who choose to come together around a shared interest, need, or goal. They provide their members with a collective voice, a vehicle for joint action, mutual support, and/or shared services.
Associations may be legally incorporated or informal. Some are professionally staffed; others are run entirely by their members. The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) identifies three categories of associations:
· Trade associations, made up of “individuals and/or firms concerned with a single type of business or field” (such as auto manufacturers or dairy farmers);
· Professional societies, which serve individuals who do a particular type of work or have a specific expertise (like social workers or human resource managers); and
· Philanthropic or cause-related associations, composed of individuals and/or groups “focusing on a shared social concern, cause, or charity,” such as the American Heart Association, AARP, or NAACP.
Which category do regional associations of grantmakers fall under?
All three definitions apply to regional associations to some extent, but be careful which term you use with whom. “Trade” associations are often associated with lobbying, and the name may connote self-interest to some people. (Trade associations also have a special legal designation.) On the other hand, “professional association” may be off-putting to foundation trustees and donors, who may assume the regional association’s primary audience is paid foundation staff.
What does association management involve?
Membership association staff perform many of the same basic administrative and management activities as any other company or organization. These tasks include strategic and day-to-day planning, financial administration, personnel management, office services, communications and public relations, and technology support. As nonprofits, associations also require people skilled at working with volunteers, including boards and committees, and fundraising. Senior staff may need some familiarity with nonprofit laws and regulations.
But associations also have needs all their own. Membership recruitment and retention are perhaps the most obvious. Member services—like conference planning and directory publishing—are another. Many associations also engage in external relations like legislative advocacy and public education activities. Some even set industry standards, provide accreditation, or offer joint purchasing programs, though these are rare among regional associations.[1]
That seems like a lot for a relatively small organization like an association. How can they cover all those bases?
Nearly everyone gets to do more than one thing. In fact, in some associations you get to do it all! Think of it as a great professional development opportunity. It’s also what makes working for a small organization fun and interesting. But it also requires teamwork and flexibility. The bottom line in a membership association is member service, and good member service depends on everything running smoothly—even if someone is absent or unusually busy. It’s a good idea for all staff to have at least a basic understanding of everyone else’s job functions.
Where do I start?
Probably the most important thing is being able to describe your field, your members, and your organization clearly and accurately. It’s hard to serve members whose world you don’t fully understand, and it’s even harder to represent their interests properly to everyone else. (The Philanthropy section of the 101 Series is a good introduction to these topics and contains links to lots of additional resources.)
It’s also vital that you remain aware of what’s going on throughout your organization at all times. For example, member service is compromised if the only staff person who knows about an upcoming program isn’t available when a member calls to ask a question about it.
What is the “servant-leadership” dilemma?
Nearly every association wrestles with the question of whether its role is merely to serve its members or whether its responsibility also includes providing leadership that moves the field or profession forward. While most people agree that both are important, there is an inherent tension between the two. Many of the day-to-day challenges your association faces are rooted in this tension.
Service and leadership are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the two are usually thought of in terms of a continuum. The point on that continuum where any given organization lies at any given point in time is ultimately up to the board and CEO, but it is useful for all regional association staff to understand this issue and the choices it necessitates.
Are there other special challenges to working for a membership association?
Being all things to all people is certainly one. Even a fairly homogenous membership is likely to contain a wide variety of needs, interests, and expectations. Managing the competing demands can be difficult, especially since every member believes he or she is paying for certain entitlements.
Another is information overload. An association is expected to be a source of expertise in its field and to channel news and information to its members. Everyone who wants to reach your members knows this, so associations are constantly inundated with reports, newsletters, research, conference announcements, and other information. Reading, filtering, condensing, and disseminating all this information can be tough.
How do experienced association staff deal with the “all things to all people” problem?
Managing member expectations is more art than science. It begins with good information drawn from regular surveys, assessments, and careful listening, though—not with assumptions or a committee’s bias. As staff, it’s your responsibility to make sure all points of view get heard.
Saying “no” to a demanding member—or even worse, to a member who seldom asks for anything—can be difficult. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, however, like when a member keeps requesting a program topic no one else is interested in. Of course, sometimes strict majority rule isn’t a good idea, either. You’ll lose members if the minority’s interests aren’t met occasionally.
Having clearly established goals and priorities is critical. They don’t necessarily make it easier to turn people down, but they help you know when you must do so and give you a rationale to explain the decision to members. It is your job to make sure those goals and expectations are realistic. Sometimes this means pushing your board (or boss or committee) to make choices. If they still demand you “do it all,” at least ensure that they provide you with the adequate resources to do so.
What about the information overload issue?
The most important thing to know is that no one reads it all. The sooner you accept this, the better you will feel. Most experienced regional association staff have developed their own methods for prioritizing and dealing with the crush of information. Factor in your job function, your capacity for absorbing information, and most importantly, your sense of what’s important to your own members. Even if you can’t read every publication on your priority list, at least be sure to skim the table of contents or headlines. This will keep you from sounding uninformed when a topic comes up in conversation.
Your regional association may also have a formal “knowledge management” strategy to insure that information is effectively and efficiently routed, shared, organized, and retained.
DUES AND FINANCES
How do associations determine dues?
Designing dues policies are among the most difficult issues membership associations face. Setting dues is a balancing game between the amount of money an association needs to raise and the amount its members are willing to pay. Factors in the equation include whether the association has access to other sources of revenue, the size of the pool of potential members, the level of services necessary to attract and retain those members, and the marginal costs of providing the services, such as the average amount it costs to serve each member given the total size of the membership.
What do you mean by “dues policies”?
Two components combine to form a dues policy. One is the structure or basis on which dues are assessed. The second is the actual level or rates charged.
For many associations, particularly those with memberships made up primarily of individuals, the structure is fairly straightforward—either everyone pays one flat rate, or members select a membership category based on the level of benefits they want and the amount they are willing to pay. Associations of organizations or companies usually assess dues according to member size, however, with larger members paying more than smaller ones.
How is size determined for dues assessment purposes?
When dues are based on size, the association must have some fair and consistent way to measure that size. This might be based on the number of employees, the annual budget, or, in the case of companies, annual revenues or profits.
Each of these is a legitimate method used by associations. Grantmaker associations like regional associations, however, typically base their dues assessments on either the member’s grantmaking (amount of money granted by the member during a given period of time) or the size of the member’s assets.
What is a dues “formula”?
Once the measurement method has been decided, the association then faces the question of deciding exactly how much more to charge an organization of one size than an organization of another size. Some associations solve this problem by grouping members into size ranges and applying a set dues level to each range.
Regional associations usually use a mathematical formula based on the dollar amount of the grants or assets being measured. The formula is typically based on some sort of a percentage. A “floor” or “ceiling” is often built into the formula in order to ensure that small members pay at least a certain minimum and that large members don’t have to pay beyond a reasonable maximum.
Do associations ever change their dues policies, and if so, why?
Most associations find themselves revisiting their dues structures every few years. The three most common reasons for changing dues structures are: 1) to increase revenues, 2) to make the structure more equitable for members of different sizes and service needs, and 3) to make membership more attractive.
Obviously, no one likes to raise dues levels, but periodic hikes are inevitable. Increases may be needed to meet increased demands for services, to support the association’s organizational development needs as it evolves and matures, or simply to keep pace with inflation.[2]
Why is it often difficult for members or prospective members to accept the dues rates being charged?
Members usually think of dues in terms of the value of the services they perceive themselves as receiving, not in terms of the actual cost to the association of providing those services. They may forget to factor in overhead; or they may not recognize the intangible benefits they are receiving, like legislative monitoring or media relations, or in the case of regional associations, grantseeker education. They may think only in terms of the services they themselves take advantage of, overlooking the fact that other services allow the organization to recruit and retain members who have different needs, thereby ensuring the critical mass necessary to maintain the association. Finally, such members may need to be reminded of the value of supporting the organization so that a strong, organized network is in place to respond should a threat to the field ever arise.
How is the process handled?
The process of deciding on and implementing dues changes can be a time-consuming and delicate one. Boards often start by asking staff for an analysis of the options, including the need for the change, comparative information from other regional associations, and the projected impact on membership recruitment and retention. The membership is often surveyed, as well to determine its willingness to accept an increase and the type of change preferred.
Members must be kept informed throughout the process so that they understand the need for the increase and feel they were consulted. Disagreement is inevitable, but steps must be taken to ensure that it doesn’t become political or divisive.
Are there other ways to increase revenues without having to raise dues levels?
Dues seldom cover 100 percent of the operating budget of any membership association. Most associations use additional revenue sources, such as conference registration fees, publication sales, higher rates for non-member services, grants, contracts, and even investment income. Regional associations often also fill the gap with special project grants and sometimes even operating grants from supportive members.
What about increasing the size of the membership?
Boards often see membership expansion as the solution to increasing the budget without raising dues. Continuous membership growth is the aim of most associations for a whole host of reasons. Using it as a revenue generation strategy is a common but tricky one. New members do bring in additional dues, but they also raise the level of service demand. Also, well-established associations may have already penetrated most of the large-member market. Smaller members, who may represent the only real growth potential, typically consume more services relative to their dues levels than do larger members.
As noted above, sometimes associations expand by opening up additional categories of membership eligibility. New types of members can pose challenges as well, however, such as changes to the organization’s culture, the need for whole new kinds of services, and the complexities of managing a more heterogeneous constituency.
Do any of the other strategies also have trade-offs?
Raising existing program registration fees or other user charges can sometimes be problematic, too, as members often already perceive themselves to be paying dues for those services. Even raising non-member rates may not be as simple as it sounds. Many associations find that the best way to recruit new members is to expose them to the organization’s services, a tactic that sometimes requires free or discounted opportunities to sample the offerings.
ã2014 Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers
[1] The following sites have useful information on many of the specific topics mentioned above: MAP Nonprofit Resources; ASAE Resources; Association Trends Online.
[2] The Forum has several sample documents pertaining to membership dues including some focusing on dues increases.