AMC Institute News Releases

Survey notes Internet crucial to managing nonprofit associations

ATLANTA (June 20, 2005)

A just-released survey from the AMCinstitute found that 95 percent of association management companies (AMCs) use online registration for meetings and conferences for their association clients, and that 30 percent are realizing improved cash flow for their association clients as a result of products and services being promoted on client websites. In the study, conducted in May 2005 among association management companies, efficiency, effectiveness, speed, accuracy and cost savings were among the common thread of answers from the survey.   

AMCs (for-profit firms managing nonprofit organizations) are bringing these benefits to reality for their clients by integrating the Internet with association clients’ operations. AMCs manage operations, strategic planning, finance, accounting, education, membership, meetings and publications for nonprofit trade associations, charitable organizations and professional societies. “It only makes sense that most AMCs are also managing client websites, for matters of operations integration alone,” said Sammi Soutar, CAE, President of Columbus, OH-based AMC Able Management Solutions. 

Registering for meetings and conferences through the Internet has certainly taken off with AMCs. "We've reached beyond the "I'm curious" stage to the "I need it" stage, " said Randy Lindner, CAE and President of Bostrom Corporation, a Chicago, IL-based AMC. The convenience and instant gratification realized by association members when using web-based member services such as meeting and conference registration is perhaps the first benefit to come to mind for meeting planners at AMCs. But chief financial officers (CFOs) at these organizations are seeing more dollar signs and less staff hours. “Improved cash flow resulting from faster registrations and payments” was the top benefit (mentioned by 30 percent of AMCs). The second and third most popular benefits of online services were “decrease in staff time to handle meetings” (26 percent) and “less input efforts since members input data” (18 percent). 

Indeed, many association executives at AMCs see the Internet as a crucial part of the mix. Since 61 percent of an association’s total revenues are from non-dues revenues (Convene Magazine’s 14th Annual Meetings Market Survey, March 2005), the web becomes a valuable, “always open” storefront and AMCs are taking full advantage of payments online to speed up cash flow.

Over half (56 percent) of AMCs surveyed depend on websites for non-dues revenue generation for their association clients.  In looking at revenue other than membership dues, meeting registration (at 85 percent of AMCs) was the most noted source promoted via the association clients’ websites. "Meetings are a large component. We promote our meetings and encourage online registration,” said John Ruffin, President & CEO of Lexington, KY-based AMC AMR Management Services and Chair of the AMCinstitute, the research arm of the International Association of Association Management Companies (IAAMC). Certification (mentioned by 59 percent of the AMCs), accreditation services and classes (52 percent), and sponsorships (52 percent) rounded out the most noted non-dues revenue sources generated through client websites.  

The AMCinstitute survey additionally polled a subgroup of the larger sample – those AMCs that manage websites for association clients – and discovered that the Internet is already a crucial part of the membership development, accounting and meetings departments within AMCs. Most AMCs (93 percent) have developed ID and password protected areas for their clients’ members. “It’s a way to regularly deliver benefits to members, and is a constant reminder of membership value,” said Sheila Guston, CAE and President of Total Management Solutions, an AMC based in the New York City area. Once in the members-only sections, many AMCs (62 percent) allow association members to make changes themselves to their profiles. 

In addition to getting members to meetings, the web can be the first meeting an association might have with a member, since qualified visitors can become members through the website. The self-sign up feature is in place with 82 percent of AMC client websites. For member convenience, most AMCs (79 percent) place electronic versions of traditionally print publications on their clients’ websites. Nowhere is this more apparent than in membership directories – 62 percent of respondents noted that most or all of their client's directories are now published over the Internet.  In fact, the pendulum might be swinging the other way: 26 percent of AMCs publishing Internet directories for clients have abandoned printed directories altogether. “Our association clients appreciate the production and shipping savings, along with the ever-present benefit of constantly updated online directories,” said Sue Pine, Executive Vice President of Philadelphia-based AMC Fernley & Fernley. 

About Associations and Association Management Companies
The estimated impact on the economy represented by non-profit organizations including trade associations and professional societies is 10-12 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Nine out of 10 adult Americans now belong to at least one association.   

Association Management Companies (AMCs) are professional service firms that provide association management and other association services through experienced staff, proven practices and shared resources.  The AMC industry has grown 33 percent in the last eight years, with more than 530 association management companies and thousands of offices across the United States.  AMCs service over 3,000 associations, manage nearly 4,000 meetings and conferences a year, generate revenues of $291 million, and employ 4,126 people across the country. AMCs serve associations of all sizes, with AMC-managed association budgets ranging from $25,000 to more than $16 million annually, averaging $677,000 annually. AMCs in the United States now manage budgets exceeding $2 billion collectively. (Source: AMCinstitute)

About AMCinstitute
The AMCinstitute is the research arm of the International Association of Association Management Companies (IAAMC), a trade organization representing quality AMCs in its mission to advance the business interests of association management companies and the AMC industry.  For more information, visit www.AMCinstitute.org.

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