Key Lessons from the 2014 Association TRENDS Finance & Operations Excellence Survey

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Key Lessons from the 2014 TRENDS Financial & Operational Excellence

Survey

4/22/2014

© 2013, Association TRENDS. All rights reserved 1

© 2013, Association TRENDS. All rights reserved

Today’s Speakers

Steve Lane President, Vertical Leap Consulting, LLC

David Kushner Founder & CEO, The Kushner Companies LLC

John Kagia Director, Strategy & Insight, ORI

Elizabeth Keyes Chief Operating Officer

American Pharmacists Association

Drew Gruenburg Chief Operating Officer

Society of American Florists

Laura Lott Chief Operating Officer

American Alliance of Museums

Methodology & Demographics

SAMPLE SIZE 2014 n=331 2013 n=295

Online Survey

Fielding: 3/11/14 – 3/31/14

Margin of Error: ±5.3

Trade Associations

Professional Societies

Association Management Company

Social, Military, Educational, Religious, or Fraternal

Other

50%

32%

6%

9%

2%

Association Types

Executive Director/President/CEO

COO/CFO/CAO

Another executive team member

The head of a division ordepartment

Other

30%

42%

14%

5%

9%

Titles


PRIORITIES: Operational and strategic planning, and member engagement are associations’ main priorities in

2014.

2014 2013

Operational planning processes 37% 45%

Member engagement strategy 33% -

Strategic planning processes 32% 38%

Marketing 26% 28%

New program/product development 23% 26%

Technology infrastructure for internal effectiveness 22% 26%

Match of internal capacity to the strategic objectives 19% 26%

Organizational climate/morale/staff engagement 18% 22%


Q:Which are the three most important areas of focus internally for you in your organization? (other than member recruitment, retention, and satisfaction) *Newly added in 2014

4

Beyond operational processes, associations will be focused on executing member engagement initiatives and

developing new products and services.

2014 2013

Operational planning processes 47% 48%

Member engagement strategy 44%* -

New program/product development 44% 41%

Marketing 41% 42%

Strategic planning processes 37% 36%

Technology infrastructure for internal effectiveness 34% 46%

Member communications 30% 28%

Match of internal capacity to the strategic objectives 24% 28%


Q: In which of the following areas do you have major, new initiatives planned this year?

*Newly added in 2014

5

Larger associations are significantly more likely to grow their staff in 2014 than smaller and regionally focused

organizations.

15%

27%

36%

13%

26%

42% 39%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%


Q: Do you expect the number of staff to increase in the next six months?

6

While technology remains a leading priority, associations are less likely to increase spending on new IT or member retention

initiatives in 2014.

2014 2013

Web development 56% 63%

Employee benefits/health insurance 55% 57%

Technology (excluding website) 50% 60%

Membership communications 47% 44%

Membership promotion/retention 45% 51%

Real estate 37% 40%

Product and service marketing 34% 37%


Q: Do you expect the following non-labor expenses to increase in this fiscal year compared to the last fiscal year?

7

While the majority of associations (62%) get less than half their budget from dues, smaller associations remain much more likely

to earn more than half of their budget from dues.

30%

18%

32%

25% 24% 26%

17%

30%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Total Annual budget = <$1mn

<25%

25-49%

50-74%

75-100%


Q: Approximately what percentage of your organization's annual budget comes from dues?

8

Organizations operating at the state and local level were significantly more likely to rely on dues for more than half of

their budgets than organizations with wider reach.

30%

40%

16%

9%

34% 32%

20% 14% 18%

21%

41%

21%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

<25% 25-49% 50-74% 75-100%

International

National

State/Local


Q: Approximately what percentage of your organization's annual budget comes from dues?

9

Annual meetings and advertising/sponsorships remain the main sources of non-dues revenue, while earnings from investments

have declined significantly.

Annual Meeting Registrations

Advertising/sponsorships

Investment income

Educational Programs

Products and Services

Exhibits

Royalties

Donations/Grants

Special member contributions

Research

76%

75%

61%

65%

56%

50%

40%

37%

13%

11%

75%

72%

67%

65%

56%

54%

45%

36%

15%

12%

Non-Dues Revenue Sources

2014

2013


Q: What are your non-dues revenue sources?

10

Fewer organizations started new nondues revenue projects than in 2012, however the number of small organizations who

launched new initiatives jumped significantly in the past year.

33%

45% 48%

54%

46% 43%

51%

42%

<$1mnannualbudget

$1-4.9mn $5-9.9mn >$10mn

2013 2014


59%

46% 45%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2012 2013 2014

Q: Have you initiated any new nondues revenue projects in the last 12 months?

11

More than half of the associations (56%) expected salaries to rise in the next year, with professional societies (64%) being most

optimistic about a staff salary increase.

56%

64%

45%

36%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Total

Professional societies

Trade associations

<$1mn annual budget


Q: In the next 6 months, do you expect staff salaries to increase?

12

Interest in dashboards and other visualization solutions continues to grow, but adoption has been slowed by the

complexity of the data design and management requirements.

24% 53%

17% 3%

Yes

No

It's planned for 2014

Don't know


Q: In 2013 did your organization make a technology change that will allow you to more easily create, monitor and utilize a “dashboard” of key operating metrics?

13

More than half the associations either adopted technology to help track member engagement in 2013, or plan to so in 2014,

underscoring the importance they are placing on better understanding their members’ experience.

36%

39% 16%

2%

Yes

No

It's planned for 2014

Don't know


Q: Did your organization make a technology change in 2013 to better track engagement levels and lifecycle trends of your membership?

14

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Key Lessons from the 2014 Association TRENDS Finance & Operations Excellence Survey

Data & Analytics

Transcript of Key Lessons from the 2014 Association TRENDS Finance & Operations Excellence Survey