Midcourse Corrections

Have you read Carol-Anne Moutinho’s Playing the Not-for-Profit Prophet?

Association predictions and trends.

Canadian association professionals have been weighing in on what they think nonprofit associations will look like in five to six years from now.

Bud Crouch, a speaker for an upcoming CSAE 2009 Governance Summit, shared his thoughts. Carol-Anne, the great association oracle that she is, follows with her six predictions for nonprofits: Customized Membership; New Revenue Models; Flatter, Less Hierarchal Structures; Evolution of Volunteerism and Engagement; Transparency No Longer An Option; and the Great Age Divide.

Being one that enjoys forward thinking forecasts, I thought I’d join the soothsayers and make a few predictions myself. Here’s what I added to Carole-Anne’s list.

Customized co-created, stellar content for member-only consumption
I think nonprofits will have to begin to provide exceptional, unique, provocative content for its members. Not something members have to pay extra dollars to consume but something that is exclusive to membership only. Members already pay a membership fee and they want tangible returns from it. (Not just discounts to meetings, events, webinars or a free magazine!) 

That content must be beyond the typical 101 and 201 levels of instruction. The free content distributed to all can be at the 101 or 201 levels but in order to keep members and show value, the association will have to provide deep, high-quality content. And they’ll have to provide many opportunities for members to engage in analysis, debate, and co-creation of knowledge with that content.

Unique Face-To-Face and Digital Experiences
Every touch point with a member will have to be viewed under the lens of “Is this adding value to our membership community experience or detracting from it?”

For example, members won’t put up with a barrage of ongoing emails asking for donations or marketing for fee-based Webinars. They’ll want emails and social interaction that provides unique experiences all year long. And nonprofits that can frame those experiences with the thought of building and maintaining rich relationships will succeed. It’s time to return to basics and view all of the nonprofit’s annual experiences as an opportunity to engage a community with a mission.

A New Breed Of Members With Limited Dollar Mindsets
While many claim the Great Recession is over, I believe that nonprofits will feel its impact for another 12-18 months as they are traditionally laggards behind the economy. I also believe the Great Recession has created some consumer habits that will stick for a long time such as steadfast frugalists, penny-pinchers and pragmatic spenders.

Micro-Volunteerism
Those that choose to become members will be looking for ways they can contribute to the organization and the mission. Due to the demands on their time and money, they’ll look for short-bursts of volunteer opportunities–micro-volunteering if you will. They’ll take a half day off work to assist with stuffing envelopes or building a house—but they want those opportunities to feel like unique experiences–not grunt work the staff refuses to do. And, they don’t want to commit to a full year’s of meetings or long-term projects.

Bonus Prediction That’s Pretty Obvious
I also think we’ll see the rise of mergers and acquisitions of many nonprofits as well as those that close their doors because they’re unable to be nimble, change on a dime and find alternative revenue streams.

What predictions do you have nonprofit association professionals? Add to the list.