Ask the Expert
15th Dec 2009Posted in: Ask the Expert, Blog
Ask the Expert: Help, We Are Going Under!
Please help us, we are going under! I have been the Executive Director for a small not for profit association for about 9 months which has been in business for about 11 years. We have been struggling with our budget and this will be our worst year ever due to the economy. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to help out our profits? ANY assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much in advance! —Robin A.
MY RESPONSE:
What exactly is the problem-
is it that members haven’t renewed or are other sources of revenue the issue?
To encourage member renewals you need to demonstrate the value you have created for your specific members and the industry as a whole. In reviewing your site I saw that your list of benefits includes free training, but there is no further description about that. And I did not see any description of the accomplishments of the association over the past 11 years.
It is also advisable to make the renewal process easy as as possible. I noticed that there isn’t a way to join or renew online (I didn’t see a PDF of the application either). These would both be things to address immediately in addition to a general membership renewal campaign at the end of the year.
If you haven’t recently asked your members what they find beneficial about your association, this would be a good time to do that.
As for other sources of revenue, I would need to know what those are in order to advise you further. Hope this helps.