Revenue stream ideas for associations
Every association needs to discover revenue streams that will help them to make money. Associations rely on the revenue that they make to stay afloat, but you do not want to rely purely on membership fees. This is because membership numbers can fluctuate, and there might be periods when your membership shrinks, which could then make it harder to survive. When you have diverse revenue streams, you can make more money for your association as well as reduce risk. So, what are some of the best revenue streams for associations? Here are a few ideas that should help you to bring in more money each month.
Hosting events
One of the main ways that an association makes money is through events. There are all kinds of events that you can host that allows you to generate revenue from ticket sales, vendors, and sponsorships. You could host networking events, lectures, workshops, and any other kind of event that your members would find interesting, valuable, and/or entertaining – this can also be a great way to engage with your members and create a stronger bond.
In addition to events, you could host individual consulting services to help professionals with any challenges that they are facing and charge an hourly rate.
Create a job board
There are a few reasons why professionals join an industry association, but usually, it is for career development. Therefore, one of the best steps that you can take as an association is to set up a job board so that people can find relevant new opportunities from vetted companies. This is smart revenue-wise because it will help you to attract new members and make money from membership dues, but you can also create non-dues revenue by charging employers to post jobs. Job board software for associations can help you to develop a high-quality job board that will benefit your members and the organizations seeking employees.
Certification programs
Associations in many industries will develop certification programs that professionals can use to learn new skills, improve their resumes and advance their careers. You can charge fees for courses and exams that will help you to diversify your revenue stream, and it will appeal to your members as you can help them to reach the next stage in their careers.
Publication sales
Similarly, many associations will produce their own books, journals, magazines, training materials, and other publications that their members will benefit from. This can help you to attract new members to increase revenue from membership fees, but you can also charge for individual sales or subscriptions to your publications. Another way to make money from publications is to sell ad space within these publications.
These are a few of the best ways for an association to diversify its revenue streams. It is important to maximize revenue as an association, and you do not want to rely solely on membership fees, so it is important to know some other ways to make money so that you can increase revenue and also reduce risk.
