Poll Results: Association Events Still Driving Non-Dues Revenue

Travel budgets may be tighter than ever. But, even in this digital age, it seems association members and suppliers will take time out of their busy schedules to meet face-to-face for “must attend” events.

According to the latest Association Adviser reader poll, nearly 30 percent of respondents told us that conferences and live events remain their single greatest source of non-dues revenue. Corporate partnerships and affinity programs were a distant second at just under 18 percent. Continuing education programs and charitable donations were each cited by about 16 percent of respondents, followed by advertising (13 percent) and “other” sources (10 percent).

More than 100 readers have responded to the poll as of press time.

Sure, live events take an enormous amount of time, energy and resources to produce. But think twice before you cut back on opportunities for your members to make eye contact and exchange handshakes in real-time. As Naylor President and CEO Alex DeBarr explains in today’s feature story, “Being relevant to members and their industries is going to keep getting more complicated for associations. They need all the revenue they can get and the biggest membership base with the largest buying power they can get.”