Alison Nash

Many associations rely on a strong financial outcome of their events…this is not rocket science.  It’s cyclical: to keep membership dues low, you need non-dues revenue streams.  To increase non-dues revenue, you need to keep event registrations high enough to attract (and keep) sponsors. So, this leaves us the proverbial chicken vs. egg question.

The fact is that sponsorship needs to be a mutually beneficial enterprise.  As such, the association needs to do the pre-work in order to maximize their offerings to industry partners.  And potential sponsors need to be honest about what their ROI looks like so that the association can ensure they are meeting those needs. In order to walk this tricky line successfully, I would suggest implementing a three-step approach:

Step 1: Do the research!

Talk to your partners. Don’t make your sponsorship program in a vacuum thinking that sponsorship is one size fits all. Why not ask them what they are hoping to achieve with their participation in your event? The likelihood is that they have participated in multiple events and can bring some new ideas to the table for you instead of you needing to do ALL the leg work.  Make it a dialogue…and keep talking.  Change it up as the industry changes. Change it up as your event or association’s needs change. And yes…sometimes change it up just because. This will keep them engaged and willing to come along for the ride over multiple years.

Step 2: Make it Fair!

Not everyone needs to be the Title Sponsor! So, offer as many levels as you can to attract a variety of sponsors with a variety of price points.  But be consistent with the offerings for each of those levels.  There is nothing worse or breaks credibility than side deals or not making exceptions.  Being upfront and honest with your sponsors allows them to have clear expectations of your association and for you to create benchmarks to measure the program’s success.

Step 3: Say Thank You!

I have said in a previous blog how it important a simple thank you is. And I believe that it is even more important when dealing with sponsors. But in this instance, I think it should be big, bold and loud!  What does Buddy the Elf say about Christmas Cheer??  The same for associations… “say it loud for all to hear!”.  The more public you make your recognition, the more visibility your sponsors get and even more engaged in your program. Don’t separate them from your delegates, include them!  Make them feel appreciated and a part of the overall experience.

Developing a strong sponsorship program is meant to pay off in dividends for your association. But don’t forget it is meant to pay off for the sponsor too. A true partnership is a two-way street and should be respected as such.  Taking into account all three of these steps will ensure growth and stability in your program. And most importantly, your sponsors then stick with you at times of great change, which we all know a thing or two about right now.

An association is often built on the shoulders of its volunteers. That can be a heavy burden to bear, and depending on the volunteer, it may be tough to maintain.  And making it even tougher, most associations likely have a policy against volunteers receiving any payment for their roles. So you might need to get creative when it comes to volunteer recognition.

Here are just a few things to consider when you are looking at ways to implement your association recognition program:

Why A Person Volunteers

If you are thinking of starting a volunteer recognition program, start small. Big sweeping gestures are not always necessary. Understanding why people are there in the first place will help lead you down the right path. Not everyone volunteers for the same reason. Some might be volunteering for altruistic intentions of giving back, which is lovely. Others might volunteer to obtain more business for their company or as a job requirement.  And there is nothing wrong with that either, but how they look to be acknowledged might be completely different as a result. When you are onboarding a new volunteer, take a quick moment to find out their reasons for offering their time. Therefore, when it comes time to recognize them, you are not at a loss as to how to say thank you.

What Is the Culture of the Association?

If you are creating a volunteer recognition program from scratch, take a moment to reflect on the culture your association represents. Offering a recognition program should reflect your association positively, and not work against that.  Your association’s brand is elevated by the time and treasure given by your volunteers. Make sure you take that into account when looking at ways to recognize them.  This is not a time for inside jokes if you plan to make it a public event.  If you plan on adding volunteer announcements to your social media channels, this is a perfect opportunity to embrace your brand and reinforce it with your public recognition media.

What About the Volunteers Themselves?

Nothing negates the message you are trying to send by not considering the personality of the recipient.  Do not present a plaque when you have volunteers who do not have an office in which to showcase it.  Similarly, do not offer an honorarium to someone who works for the government or any other company with a gift policy. You are expressing gratitude on behalf of your membership, so make it meaningful to them. That thought will go much further than the gift itself.

And Finally…

Never, and I mean NEVER, underestimate the value of a simple Thank You! We just don’t say it enough.  It could be a shout out to your volunteers on social media. It could be a card mailed out (how old school of me), or it could be…gasp…saying it out loud at a meeting! People just want to be recognized for their efforts. So, even if your association does not have budget to throw huge recognition a volunteer’s way, just say thank you out loud or publicly. 

Seriously, it can be that simple.

We have all heard the news: if you are not doing a digital event, you are behind the times. But with live events coming back across many parts of the world (we’re looking at our friends south of the border), the question remains if the future will be digital, hybrid or live. This leaves you wondering what the future holds for your association’s events.

There is no doubt that the future of events is still in a state of limbo. That would lead you to take your association down a similar middle of the road path towards a hybrid event. One quick Google Search of the term “Hybrid Events” will provide you lists upon lists of companies who want to sell you their platform promising your online conference will be the best of both the live and digital world.  Can it really be that simple?  In one word: no.

The truth is that both live and digital events have a place in an association’s plan, and here are some considerations before making the leap:

The Budget

Events can be expensive. There is no getting around that.  When looking at whether to plan an in-person event vs a digital one, you really have to look at the hard costs. Some costs of being in-person will disappear when you decide to pull the trigger and go digital. These include: travel, lodging, staging, printing, shipping, and of course the biggest of all, food and beverage.  But some costs remain and likely will increase in making this move: A/V, technology investments, promotion and labour are all items that require extra attention and funds to make a digital event successful.

But (and this is a big but), your income will be reduced at a much larger ratio than the decrease in expenses.  Associations lean heavily on sponsorship and exhibitor participation to ensure that the member cost for an event or conference remains at an attractive level.  And after 18 months of online events, I think it is fair to say that most of your association’s partners will not have seen a matched ROI in the digital world. Therefore, while you can count on support from them in some way, it will likely be in a highly reduced capacity.

This suggests that a middle ground of a hybrid event might be attractive.  In doing this you need to budget for BOTH the costs of a live and digital event.  That simply is out of reach for most not-for-profits.  So that leaves us back at square one: choosing one or the other. Therefore, I highly recommend doing some events in each format. Before making that decision though, you need to consider…

The Purpose/Goals of the Event

Is this primarily an education event or is it for networking? Is it meant to be attractive to just a segment of your membership or open to all members and guests alike? Will it be a member benefit or a revenue-generator for your association? Doing an assessment on the goals of the event can tell you which platform is best for that particular event.

The benefits of digital are the almost barrier-free nature of the virtual world. Almost anyone can attend as long as they have an internet connection (although that should be considered as well for those with high rural or remote memberships). After living through over a year of Zoom, Teams, Google Meets, and other video meeting options, most attendees are now familiar with the technology. So, those that can’t or don’t want to travel can attend en masse. This could drive your attendance up. Great…more participation!  Goal reached.

However, if the purpose is to drive member interaction, there is no substitute for in-person. There are some amazing options out there, like Remo and Hubilo, amongst others, that offer good virtual options for small-group meetings and work. But they just don’t replace the networking achieved when sitting down in a hallway or at a table (AKA…at the bar) to really get to know your colleagues and turn them into customers and friends.   I will maintain that this remains the cornerstone of association life: the human connection. 

I firmly believe that both types of events play an important role in an association’s member offerings. But they may not need to be combined to be most effective and achieve your goals. So, determine which event should executed in which manner. This will also allow you to ensure that you have…

The Work Force

Associations often don’t have an endless pool of event staff. Producing a hybrid event will require people to manage the in-person AND the online portions. That’s at least twice the amount of work at once.  There is just no way that is feasible or affordable in the non-profit orbit. Tack on to that the extra time needed to troubleshoot your attendees on the digital platform and to liaise with your A/V suppliers to ensure high quality production. You will soon see that your budget will be eaten up by labour, even if you had those staff at your disposal. 

So make sure that you aren’t over-promising an event by overworking your staff. They all will appreciate you setting expectations and respecting their abilities to deliver at a level that your members, attendees and sponsors deserve.

In summary, I believe that both kinds of events have a place for an association. After our initial mad rush to hug our friends again and eat some exhibit floor sandwiches, we will settle in and find the right balance of live and digital events. The solution will be one that falls within our budgets, respects our member’s time, values our partner’s contributions, and most importantly meets the individual goals and purpose of the event. Then, we can start not just replacing one event style with another but expand the association’s offerings by creating a strong membership proposition that considers inclusion and value.

But I will leave that to the next blog…