Management Models
Four basic options are available to manage non-profit organizations:
- Member Volunteers
- Employed Staff
- AMC-Managed
- AMC-Supported
The following table summarizes strengths and challenges of each option.
|
Option
|
Strengths
|
Challenges
|
|
Member Volunteers
|
- Strong commitment to organization
- Understand organization's mission
- Lower direct costs
|
- Limited time availability
- Not experts at nonprofit organization management and operations
- Leadership turnover creates inconsistencies
- Potential for conflicts of interest
|
|
Employed Staff
|
- 100% "ownership" of all paid staff and association resources
- Good opportunity for staff continuity
|
- High overhead costs and long-term commitments (e.g. office space, equipment, operating systems, furniture)
- Possible challenges in staffing key positions given competitive compensation costs for highly qualified, full-time staff
- Risks associated with being an employer
- Requires more leadership time on administrative, operational functions
|
|
AMC-Managed
|
- Experts in association management, operations, including accredited operations for some AMCs
- Lower overhead
- Expertise in multiple disciplines
- Flexible staffing in times of growth or downsizing
- Eliminates many typical legal risks associated with employee management
- Easily accessible knowledge, experience from other associations
- Continuity
|
- Associations sometimes outgrow their AMC's capabilities
- Specific industry knowledge/expertise sometimes must be developed or acquired
|
|
AMC-Supported
|
- Understand the nonprofit environment, dynamics
- Cost effective extension, enhancement of staff expertise, capabilities
- Depth and breadth of staff experience allows AMCs to plug in quickly to a project
|
- Scope of work and mutual expectations must be clearly defined and stated
|
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