As a board member, keeping a close eye on your association’s financial health is one of (if not the) most important responsibilities of your position. This responsibility includes looking ahead at the association’s projected financial situation to assess stability and room for growth. Budgeting and forecasting are tools that can help you achieve this. But, what do they actually do? And, how do you develop and keep track of them?
For some board members, finances and accounting can be pretty intimidating. It makes sense when accuracy is so critical and numbers are such a key component. However, even if your role within an association is not directly related to financial management, it’s important to have some understanding of the dos and don’ts of nonprofit and association financials.
You might have found yourself watching your association’s piggy bank dwindle over the last few months or at the very least, stop growing. Although revenue might be sparse right now, do not give up! If the most recent recession taught us anything, it was to think differently and act quickly. You are not too late to grow your association’s non-dues revenue.
With the direction of the economy and membership numbers starting to take hits, it is important to find new ways to make money for your organization. Keeping your organization financially stable will allow it to continue to thrive and prepare for when members are ready to start rejoining. If you are looking for ways to raise some funds, try some of the following!
1. Focus on sponsorships. Find new ways that sponsors can get involved in your organization. This may be simply including them in a newsletter or social media post. It could also be something more in-depth like allowing them to have a few minutes to talk to members on a webinar or virtual conference. Sometimes placing these “commercial breaks” in the middle of educational content allows attendees a minute to relax from the information while giving sponsors an opportunity to connect.
2. Open up shop! Sites like Café Press allow you to integrate personalized merchandise onto your website. This allows members to buy things like coffee mugs, clothing, stationary and more with your organization’s logo on it. Not only does it bring in money from purchases, it also advertises your organization to non-members.
3. Create advertisement options. Send information to previous sponsors sharing that they now have the opportunity to advertise on the website. Create contracts between different advertisers and make sure not to go over board with the amount of ads you allow on your site at one time. A scrolling banner ad might be the best way to go about this option.
These solutions might help you to get started on non-dues revenue but this idea itself should remain a continued conversation. You, your board, and your members know what would be the most beneficial for your organization and should always be brainstorming on new ideas.
