Building Financial Momentum Through Meetings and Membership Collaboration

Building Financial Momentum
Through Meetings &
Membership Collaboration
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013
3:15 – 4:30 p.m.
Room: B215
Hub Tag: #ASAE13 LO59
Content Leaders:
Donna Oser
CAE
Chief Executive Officer
Vital Associations
Aaron D. Wolowiec
MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA
Founder & President
Event Garde
All contents copyright 2013, ASAE: The Center for Association
Leadership, except noted selections which have been reprinted
with permission of the copyright owner.

Copyright © 2013 by Donna Oser, Vital Associations, (517) 420-7637 and
Aaron D. Wolowiec, Event Garde, (616) 710-1891. Reprinted with permission of the copyright owners.
Building Financial Momentum Through
Meetings & Membership Collaboration
Biographies
Donna Oser, CAE
CEO ▪ Vital Associations
Today’s rapid advancements in technology, diverse, multigenerational work force, and changing economy
present significant challenges for associations and nonprofits. A Certified Association Executive® with 15 years
of experience in nonprofit management, Donna combines business acumen, an entrepreneurial mindset and a
creative approach to collaboration to help organizations leverage change to build capacity, grow influence
and, ultimately, achieve their unique purposes.
Donna channels her passion via four primary mediums:
 Facilitating shared decision-making, planning and problem solving with groups of all sizes
 Presenting to enrich the knowledge, skills and attitudes of individuals and organizations
 Coaching individuals and teams towards desired outcomes and improved decision-making
 Consulting by providing technical expertise on association management and leadership issues
During her career, Donna has held the positions of executive director, assistant director, and director of
operations with responsibilities spanning all of the core areas of association management. Association honors
bestowed upon Donna in the recent past include MASA’s Champion for Children Award, MASSP’s Bold Leadership in Education Reform,
Michigan School Public Relations Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award, and National PTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to possessing BBA in Business Management with specializations in accounting and marketing, Donna received extensive
training in public engagement and facilitation from the Institute of Cultural Affairs and National PTA. She has held numerous board
positions over the years and currently serves as adjunct faculty for the Michigan Society of Association Executives. Donna reads
voraciously and enjoys cycling, kayaking and spending time with family and friends.
For more information about Vital Associations or to invite Donna to work with your group,
visit vitalassociations.com, connect with Donna on LinkedIn or contact her directly at
(517)420-7637 or donna@vitalassociations.com.
Aaron D. Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA
Founder & President ▪ Event Garde
Michigan native Aaron Wolowiec is a talented and passionate association learning strategist and meetings
coach whose diverse achievements guide and propel association goals and initiatives, especially as they
relate to education and learning. Aaron has more than a decade of experience in the meetings industry, and
has taught for three years at a Michigan college.
Aaron is a certified association executive, a certified meeting professional and a certified tourism
ambassador, and has earned a master's degree in administration from Central Michigan University. An active
member of ASAE, Aaron is both a past chairman of the Young Association Executives Committee and a 2009-
2011 Diversity Executive Leadership Program scholar.
As the premier source of expert advice and innovative solutions in instructional design and meeting
management, Aaron’s consulting firm – Event Garde – is quickly gaining recognition for its creativity and
leadership in the field of professional development. In 2012, Aaron was also featured by Michigan Meetings +
Events magazine as a “very important professional you need to know.”
When not working with clients Aaron enjoys cooking, hot yoga, blogging, old homes and unclehood, as
well as tending to his new puppy, Lillie. Likewise, Aaron maintains a popular association blog at
www.aaronwolowiec.com, contributes to a variety of industry publications and mentors a number of
emerging professionals.
For more information about Event Garde, please visit www.eventgarde.com and like “Event Garde LLC”
on Facebook. Additionally, Aaron may be reached by phone at (616) 710-1891 or by email at
aaron@eventgarde.com.

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www.eventgarde.com!!
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!
!
www.vitalassocia2ons.com!
!
Event!Garde!and!Vital!Associa2ons…an!innova2ve!approach!to!collabora2on!!
! 1!
Building Financial
Momentum Through
Meetings & Membership
Collaboration
Date: August 5, 2013 | 3:15-4:30PM!
Hub Tag: #ASAE13 LO59!
Donna Oser, CAE 
CEO & Founder | Vital Associations !!
Aaron D. Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA 
Founder & President | Event Garde!
!
Hello there!
The following slides are intended as
background information for the
session.
During the session, we will focus on
practical strategies and tactics for
building and sustaining momentum
through intentional, collaborative
efforts.
We hope you’ll join us!
Donna & Aaron

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Big Idea:
Membership and meetings
are major sources of
revenue for associations.
Please note:  
Meetings is a general term referring to activities related to meetings, education, certiﬁcation and accreditation. "
Associations [continue to]
rely heavily on membership
dues as a revenue source.

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! 3!
Revenue from Dues
41.4%!
34.2%!
Trade
IMO
Source:
ASAE Operating Ratio Reports 14th Edition; ©
2012 by the American Society of Association
Executives
Revenue from Dues
!
45%!
29%!
6%!
501(c)(6)
501(c)(4)
501(c)(3)
Source:
ASAE Operating Ratio Reports 14th Edition; ©
2012 by the American Society of Association
Executives

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!
!
!
!
!
! 4!
Change in Revenue from Dues
!
40.2%!
37.6%!
1993!
2011!
- 2.6pts
Sources:
ASAE Operating Ratio Reports 9th, 11th, 12th, 13,
14th Editions; © by the American Society of
Association Executives - - As analyzed by Michael
LoBue, CAE, of LoBue & Majdalany Management
Meetings represent a
significant and increasing
proportion of association
revenue.

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! 5!
Change in Revenue by Category
!
17.7%!
7.8%!
1.3%!
24.8%!
6.1%!
5.0%!
Meetings & Events Education Certification &
Accreditations
+ 3.7pts
- 1.7pts
+ 7.1pts 2011
Sources:
1993
Another Way to Look at It…
Sources:
0!!!!!!!5!!!!!!!10!!!!!!15!!!!!!20!!!!!!25!!!!!!30!!!!!!35!!!!!!40!!!!!!45!!!!!!50!!
An
increase of
9pts
% of Revenue from all meeting categories"
28%  
in 
1993"
37%  
in  
2011"

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! 6!
Big Idea:
Membership in an
association affects
participation in
meetings.
Significant percentages of
association memberships
attend annual meetings or
trade shows.

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! 7!
Participation
TRADE"
The majority of trade
associations report that
between of
their membership are in
attendance at their
annual meeting or trade
show.!
!
IMOs"
The majority of IMO and
associations who identify
as both indicate that
between of
their memberships
attend their annual
meetings or trade
shows. !
Source:
MGI 2012 Meetings Marketing Benchmarking
Report by Marketing General Incorporated
Associations with better
renewal rates have a greater
percentage of total
membership attending their
annual meeting or trade
show.

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!
!
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! 8!
Membership & Meetings
Members Participating in Annual Meeting or Trade Show by Renewal Rate"
Member&Renewal&Rate! %&A/ending&Annual&Conference&!
80%!or!less! 11E20%!
81E90%! 21E30%!
Source:
Membership Essentials, 2008, published by ASAE
A sense of affiliation is a
more important factor when
it comes to learning through
associations than through
other providers.
Source:
The Decision to Learn, 2010, published by ASAE

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! 9!
The majority of participants
at association annual
meetings and trade shows
are members.
Total
IMO
Trade
Both
Members
80%! 79%! 84%! 74%!
Nonmembers
20%! 21%! 16%! 26%!
Source:
Participants of Annual
Meeting or Trade Show

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! 10!
Big Idea:
Participation in
association meetings
affects membership.
Members believe the most
important function of an
association is to provide
training and professional
development.
Source:
The Decision to Learn, 2010, published by ASAE

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! 11!
Most Important Functions
Rank
The&Most&Important&FuncAons&of&an&AssociaAon&
1& Providing!training/professional!development!to!members
2& Providing!technical!informa2on!to!members
3& Providing!2mely!informa2on!about!field!to!members
4& Connec2ng!prac22oners!in!the!field!to!each!other
5& Crea2ng!and!dissemina2ng!standards!of!prac2ce
6& Represen2ng!the!field!to!the!public
7& Represen2ng!the!field!to!the!government
8& Represen2ng!the!field!within!the!industry/discipline
9& Providing!cer2fica2on!opportuni2es!
Source:
The Decision to Join, 2007, published by ASAE
Professional development is
the second most important
personal benefit influencing
an individual’s decision to
join an association.
Source:

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! 12!
Importance of Personal
Benefits
Rank! Benefit!
1& Access!to!the!most!up!to!date!informa2on!in!your!field
2& Professional!development!or!educa2onal!offerings
3& Opportuni2es!to!network!with!other!professionals!in!field
4& Access!to!career!informa2on!and!employment!opps
5& Access!to!products,!services!and!suppliers
6& Opportuni2es!to!gain!leadership!experience
7& A!reference!directory!of!of!members/prac22oners!
8& Member!discounts!or!group!purchasing!ac2vi2es!
Source:
6 out of the top 7 reasons
identified by association
leaders as the reason
people join are related
to meetings.

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!
! 13!
Reasons People Join (perceived)
Rank
Reason
1& Networking!with!others!in!the!field
2& Access!to!specialized/current!industry!informa2on
3& Advocacy
4& Learning!best!prac2ces!in!their!profession
5& Professional!development!or!educa2onal!offerings
6& Conferences/trade!shows
7& Accredita2on!or!cer2fica2on!
Sources:
MGI 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking
Membership Essentials, 2008, published by ASAE
Big Idea:
Meetings and Membership
departments should work
together to build financial
momentum.

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! 14!
Biggest Idea:
Join Donna, Aaron and your
colleagues for a fun,
engaging and productive
session to identify doable
ideas for making the most of
the Meetings & Membership
connection!
!!
Contact us!
Donna Oser, CAE 
CEO & Founder !
Vital Associations 
donna@vitalassociations.com 
(517) 420-7637!
!
Aaron D. Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA 
Founder & President 
Event Garde 
aaron@eventgarde.com 
(616) 710-1891!
!

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