My good friend and fellow association executive, John Peacock, was in Manila recently to speak to members of my organization, the Philippines Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), on association governance, membership services and finance.
John is owner and CEO of Sydney-based Associations Forum Pty Ltd., a member-based network of 500 associations, charities, clubs, societies and other not-for-profit organizations. Since its inception in 2004, John’s outfit has provided assistance to hundreds of associations and charities in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, South Africa and other countries. He signified his desire to help out Philippine associations, as well.
Introducing himself to the audience, John proudly says that he’s a “joiner” ever since he was young. He narrates:
“I am fortunate to be a ‘joiner.’ Since I was in high school and in the university, I was happy to volunteer for a club or for a role.
“Being involved meant I learnt about the club or cause, met new people, and achieved the goals of my unpaid, very part-time portfolio. I remember clearly the great feeling that ‘I can do this task or project well.’
“It gave me a sense of achievement and confidence in my abilities. Being a joiner and volunteer add to the quality of my professional and personal life. I am more confident and understand my community better.”
John’s experience is worth mentioning because it explains why people join associations. In Marketing General Inc.’s 2017 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, the top reasons members join associations are as follows:
- Networking with others in the field
- Continuing education
- Access to specialized and/or current information
- Learning best practices in their profession
- Advocacy
- Conferences/trade shows
- To support the mission of the association
- Discounts on product or meeting purchases
- Prestige of belonging to the association
- Association publications
- Accreditation or certification
On the other hand, John Wiley & Sons Inc., a journal-publishing partner to more than 900 global scholarly societies, cited four reasons why people do not join associations, based on 2014 survey results:
- High cost
- Never been invited to join
- Don’t know what’s available
- Never occurred to me to join
I believe the reasons for not joining can be dealt with by closely knowing your constituency and communicating clearly your relevance and value proposition. Joining associations far outweigh the reasons of not joining.
So John’s advice to nonmembers out there was: “I urge people to consider joining a cause they believe in and also offering to serve on a board or a committee—it is tremendously worthwhile.”
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Octavio Peralta is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE is holding its Sixth Associations Summit on November 23 and 24, at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC). The event is hosted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and supported by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, TPB and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail obp@adfiap.org