IT has been a tradition in my organization, the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (Adfiap), to start the year with a mass offering and office blessing. Despite the pandemic, we continued the tradition, this time organizing a hybrid event: 10 people in the office with health and safety protocols in place and others joining virtually on Zoom.
We invited Rev. Fr. Rogelio A. Orpiada, resident guest priest of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart Parish Makati, to say mass. During the sermon, he shared insights from his social development introspection and experience, which resonated with me in the context of associations.
As you know, associations provide, among others, a platform for social development, defined as improving the well-being of individuals in society to enable them to reach their full potential. In essence, social development means investing in people. For associations, this relates to career advancement through continuing education, peer-to-peer learning and business networking.
Interestingly, Fr. Orpiada talked about four things to consider when undertaking social development work, which coincidentally starts with the letter “P.” And because I like acronyms, which I use time and again in this column, I labeled these as the “4Ps” of social development for associations:
Practice purity of life. This refers to being transparent with your actions and your dealings with other people. This is very true for associations since they represent a community with the same purpose and mission and relate to their stakeholders (members, volunteers and sponsors). Being transparent means, for instance, having your Board reporting the true state of your organization to your members through audited financial statements and other public communications.
Persevere with patience. This connotes a continuing and enduring act to pursue the association’s cause and reason for being. Purpose guides the association and articulates why the association does what it does, why it exists and why it serves a higher goal. A study of the American Society of Association Executives (Asae) reveals that associations that align their products and services with their purpose succeed to be relevant and sustainable.
Proclaim boldly. This relates to the confidence and the will that associations need to develop and nurture in communicating what they stand for in society and in nation building. With the availability of many communication channels, e.g., television, print and social media, associations need to announce and showcase the good deeds that they do—organizing health or disaster relief missions, producing industry quality and safety standards, running career development courses, etc.
Pray constantly. This signifies the faith and culture that associations have to build and institutionalize within their organizations as a true representative of their members in advancing their work and advocacies. For members, this means devoting their time, energy, and resources (as volunteers) for the common good of their associations and the society-at-large.
While most associations are agnostic in nature, scope and structure, there are things that associations can learn from the teachings of the clergy, in this case from a Catholic parish priest. I have written similar musings in this column before.
The column contributor, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and President of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. The purpose of PCAAE—the “association of associations”—is to advance the association management profession and to make associations well-governed and sustainable. PCAAE enjoys the support of Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org