I will be in Taipei upon invitation of the Taiwan Convention and Exhibition Association (TCEA) to speak at its seminar-workshop on “Transformational Developments and Challenges of Associations in Taiwan.”
The event, supported by the American Society of Association Executives (Asae), is expected to draw around 100 participants from TCEA members and association leaders in Taiwan. I will be one of three speakers from overseas and lone resource person from the Philippines as two of my co-speakers are from the United States.
The topic assigned to me was on the sustainability of associations, which I wish to share with you in advance, hoping to write more about it upon my return.
An association’s sustainability to me has two facets that are mutually reinforcing. On one hand, sustainability means the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level (organizational sustainability); on the other, it’s the ability to contribute to maintain ecological balance (environmental sustainability). I will delve and focus my thoughts on the former.
Organizational sustainability, based on my readings from BoardSource, a US nonprofit that advocates excellence in governance and management leadership, covers programmatic and financial sustainability.
Programmatic sustainability is the association’s ability to develop, mature, and discontinue, as necessary, its membership programs and services, while financial sustainability is its ability to generate resources to meet present requirements without compromising future needs. Essentially, programs and services and financial resources are the two most important and critical areas that an association has to deal with to be sustainable.
In terms of programmatic sustainability, the first imperative is to be conscious of the unique value proposition of your association. Based on Asae studies, association members find value in four broad areas: learning (e.g., online and face-to-face education, as well as certification programs); knowledge (e.g., publications, such as bulletins, newsletters, journals, books, magazines, as well as web site and research); community (e.g., volunteer opportunities, special interest groups, social networking sites, chapters); and advocacy (e.g., lobbying, formulating policy and position papers, providing specialized information).
In the context of financial sustainability, it is crucial to answer the question, “where will the money come from?” In simple accounting terms, is it from assets or liabilities (debt)?
Obviously, an association would rather have more assets (especially cash) and less liabilities. In short, assets put money in your pocket, and liabilities take your money out.
Money for associations comes primarily from membership dues and non-dues revenues. Examples of non-dues revenues are sponsorships, endowments, conference and seminar registration fees, sale of publications, and merchandise. The challenge for associations is to diversify its revenue sources and not depend on membership dues alone. Many studies have shown that solely relying on membership dues will derail an association’s sustainability, if not result to outright demise.
An association’s sustainability will depend largely on its ability to understand and actualize the key details of its programmatic and financial sustainability, as both aspects work solidly hand in hand.
The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (Adfiap) and the CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. The Pcaae is holding the Associations Summit 7 on November 27 and 28, 2019, at the Philippine International Convention Center, which is expected to draw over 200 association professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported by Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS7.