Most Common Challenges Associations Face And How To Overcome Them

By Adam Scott Posted January 8, 2023
Adam Scott
Most Common Challenges Associations Face And How To Overcome Them
Running a non-profit organization can allow you to make a positive impact on the world. But that doesn’t mean that running the association will be simple. There is a range of issues that you might face. Thankfully, there are several ways that you can overcome these problems and build a more resilient association.
Lack Of Technological Support
Most of the time, associations will have a limited budget. Some non-profits just rely on a handful of volunteers to help them manage their organization. However, many members expect organizations to be technologically advanced.
Trying to implement these solutions can take a lot of time and energy. Because of this, some non-profits will rely on a disjointed array of solutions. For example, they might have one system to manage online payments and a second one for online forms. As you can imagine, this can quickly become confusing and will require a larger time investment to manage effectively.
The good news is that the solution to this problem is fairly simple. You can use Findjoo. We have worked hard to create a piece of software that contains everything an association needs to thrive, all in one easy-to-use resource.
Not Knowing What Members Want
If you want people to sign up for a membership, you need to have a clear idea of the benefits you can provide. When doing this, it can help to provide a list of the things that your association hopes to accomplish. You should also be consulting with existing members. Surveys or interviews can be a good way of finding out what they think of the current experience and what they would like to see done in the future.
Once you know what benefits you offer, you will need to work on your website. Make sure that these values are clearly communicated to anyone who might be thinking about signing up for a membership.
Problems Attracting Younger People
According to experts, this is one of the biggest challenges facing associations and non-profits. There are several reasons for this. First, younger people will have different expectations from older members. If you aren’t careful, this has the potential to lead to some conflict.
Another potential problem lies in the way that fees are structured. In many cases, associations will charge yearly or monthly fees to their members. This approach can be questioned by younger generations. However, that doesn’t mean that they are opposed to paying for things. They might prefer a model that allows them to pay more one-off fees, rather than recurring costs.
You might need to make a few changes to make your association more appealing to younger audiences. The best place to start is by interviewing some younger people and asking for their thoughts on your current structure. This can highlight some of your weak points.
Conclusion
Running an association can be a challenge, especially in today’s technologically advanced world. The good news is that thanks to the internet, association memberships are more accessible than ever before. Often, with just a few tweaks to your marketing or technology, you can increase the size of your membership and grow your organization.
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