AES provides support services to not-for-profit organisations.
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It saddens me to hear of any association experiencing financial crisis. Unfortunately though, financial crisis occurs all too often in the not-for-profit sector—associations are often forced to lay off staff, restructure or move into smaller, cheaper office space.
At one of our recent AES member meetings, the issue of membership—particularly member retention and growth—was discussed. Most associations realised their membership was either failing to grow or, even worse, declining. As such, there needs to be a simultaneous focus on both member retention and member growth, which can often be difficult with limited resources.
Associations can be very dynamic organisations. They can bring together like minded members to share information, ideas, and best practice processes within their industry or area of interest.
One of the services that AES has offered to associations for a number of years is the provision of an interim CEO. Often, this service is utilised by association boards that are in a transition phase, defined by the recruitment of a new CEO.
In the 2014 AES Association Best Practice Survey, we asked over 300 association leaders in Australia about the effectiveness of their strategic plan. The survey demonstrated that 74% of association leaders who had a strategic plan did not use, or refer to, this strategic plan in their decision making and review meetings. My experience as a CEO (or senior executive) managing a not for profit organisation has taught me the importance of an effective strategic plan, not only as a means of measuring an association’s performance, but as a crucial tool in assisting in communication between the Board and its employees.
How we help membership based, not-for-profit associations now and into the future.
