5 Ways to Start Generating Non-Dues Revenue Today

Administrative Management, Association Revenue Management
generate non-dues revenue using AMS

Your association’s yearly revenue is an important metric. It measures success and helps your establish future goals. It’s likely most of your revenue stems from membership dues. Dues payments are the foundation of your finances. You can usually predict the amount you’ll receive each year based on your member numbers. This knowledge helps you prepare for the upcoming year.

What if you wanted to take your association to the next level? You’ll probably need more money, right? Today we’re discussing 5 strategies to increase non-dues revenue.

Events

Events are a great source of non-dues revenue. They can range in complexity and price. Not only do events stimulate cash flow but they’re also so important in nurturing your association’s community. Check out some of our ideas:

  • Host a monthly luncheon with featured speakers or lecturers
  • Offer a weekly webinar on tips and tricks of the industry
  • Networking event after work at the local brewery
  • Organize a trade show to highlight vendors within your group
  • Offer learning courses for members to update C.E.s

Before you plan your next event, think about the member engagement workflow, i.e., how you promote your event and encourage members to sign up. To capitalize on member engagement, be sure to collect feedback after each event. Pay attention to the feedback and utilize the data when planning your next event. This will not only help ensure a great event for your members but also increase the # of attendees thus increasing revenue.

Job Board

Give members the opportunity to post jobs and apply for positions on your website. Charge a nominal fee to post positions. Set up member vs. non-member rates for those fees and be sure to advertise that member benefit to prospects. Partner with other agencies in the industry who are looking for employees. This type of non-dues revenue probably won’t be exponential but will provide a frequent influx of revenue.

Sponsorships

Many associations allow their members to purchase sponsorships. That investment could be an ad on the website, their logo displayed on event promotional material or recognition at the next event. Offer company packages or ala carte options. Think about ways the sponsorship could be a symbiotic relationship – how does your sponsorship offerings directly affect their ROI?

The AMO team attended Associations North Annual Meeting and Expo this past spring and learned some interesting takeaways regarding sponsorship. Check it out here >> AMO at Associations North

Printed Membership Directory

Most AMS platforms offer online membership directories that are dynamically updated when edited in the backend. However, some members still like to see the physical membership directory. Offer a printed version for a small fee. Or charge non-members a small fee for access to the online version of the directory.

Gated Resouces

If you offer special industry resources to members, think about ways to you could sell those resources to non-members. Show them a preview of what members have access to – this could incentivize them to become a member themselves or pay the fee to access special documents.