Association Management Companies

Board and committee executives and members of nonprofit organizations exhibit unique attributes and characteristics. Although their work style is different, they have one thing in common – their connection with an Association Management Company.

What is Association Management?

An association management company or AMC offers various solutions and services for associations. It is an independent service provider that provides services like administrative assistance, strategic guidance, management solutions, and customer service to various organizations. The association management company charges fees according to the service’s nature and for how long the client needs them. In simple terms, an association management company acts as your home office that manages everyday tasks of societies, boards, nonprofits, and other organizations.

Companies hire an association management company to manage different aspects of their operations, such as marketing and communications, membership recruitment and engagement, financial management, technology, conference and tradeshow management, government relations, and education certification. The boards of directors of an association hire an AMC to volunteer or hire an executive director who can provide office space, make investments in technology, recruit and hire staff, and manage the organization’s operations while also fulfilling his executive’s various strategic tasks.

An AMC delivers cost-effective professional management that offers boards and organizations access to specialized staff, human and financial resources, and a larger company’s flexibility. Delegating these jobs to an AMC allows board members to focus on expanding their companies and ensuring their business runs smoothly.

Types of Association Management Services

There are primarily two types of association management services: Full Service and Outsourced Service.

1. Full Service

Sometimes, an association management company can become an organization’s headquarters. It comes up with an experienced executive who can blend with other AMC-staff resources, become the public face of the respective organization, support members, manage day-to-day operations, and work smoothly with everyone. The executive also discusses his actions with different experts in various crucial departments of the association management company to ensure its success.

An AMC is responsible for providing turnkey management for various operating disciplines, such as marketing and policy development, legal and risk management, and membership. It also covers your company’s daily operations, such as office space, technologies, member services, contracts, equipment, and staffing.

2. Outsourced Service

Many organizations don’t want to appoint an association management company directly. Therefore, they outsource their job to the AMC. Most AMCs provide service scalability, including resources and staff where the clients need it. One of the reasons why an AMC is so valuable these days is they always recruit specialists in every department. This gives you the confidence to leave your company’s essential work on the specialists while you concentrate on taking your company forward. You can consider the executive of an AMC as crucial members of your company. These employees act as an AMC’s extension to meet a client’s needs.

The most common outsourced services include strategic planning, administrative, executive, financial management, meetings management, education and professional development, public affairs and lobbying, marketing and communication services, statistical research, and membership development.

Medical Associations

An association management company offers a wide range of services that covers your medical association’s administrative and marketing tasks. Their services include:

  • Developing and maintaining membership through reminders, outreach, and dues notices.
  • Providing headquarters information, such as dedicated phone line, physical address, and more.
  • Communicating with members via brochures, newsletters, letters, or digital media like social media, blogs, or emails.
  • Organizing various aspects of an annual meeting and coordinating scientific programs.
  • Overseeing marketing campaigns and public relations, including social media posts and press releases.
  • Coordinating industry partnerships by sponsorships, advertising, commercial support, and exhibits.

• Coordinating industry partnerships by sponsorships, advertising, commercial support, and exhibits.

Non-Profit Associations

From sponsorship development to membership marketing plans, an AMC provides the right blend of support to keep a nonprofit association working smoothly.

  • Member services include working with events, finance, and marketing specialists to handle the client’s association’s day-to-day needs.
  • Executive services involve providing access to executive expertise, depending on the nonprofit association’s budget and size.
  • Marketing and communication that improve your association’s brand through thoughtfully-executed marketing plans.
  • Event management, including multi-day conferences, meeting professionals, and organizing monthly luncheons to make different types of events successful.
  • From client fund management to checking your association’s financial security, an AMC takes care of everything.

What are the Top Benefits?

The are three great reasons to hire an association management company are three-fold:

1. Staffing and operational benefits

An association management company takes care of a wide range of staffing and operational duties that include:

  • Broad spectrum of expertise.
  • Customized services and experienced staff.
  • Improving resource allocation and staffing.
  • Ongoing staff management and managing day to day operations.
  • Offering top-notch resources and technologies and best management practices.

2. Business and financial benefits

An AMC ensures that your association’s finance doesn’t break down in the near future by:

  • Reducing business risks.
  • Improving your buying power.
  • Increasing the efficiency that your association derives by leveraging shared resources.

3. Long-term benefits

Most companies prefer working with the same AMC for decades because they know how to handle the businesses efficiently. The long-term benefits of hiring an AMC include:

  • Integration of a wide range of innovative ideas and strategies that experts can implement to improve their association’s business.
  • It frees an association’s board members from spending time on daily operations instead of concentrating on their business strategies and company mission.
  • Provides greater member satisfaction by offering experienced executives who can delegate work to responsible staff and work on the company’s behalf to take it to the next level.
  • Monitor the scalability of different strategies to check the organization’s contraction or growth over time. It gives board members an idea of how to improve their company’s condition.

If you want to offload your company’s daily operations’ responsibility to someone experienced, hire an association management company immediately. It has the knowledge and experience to improve your business condition within a few months.

FAQ

1.  What should I look for when hiring an association management company?

The very first thing to look for depends on what your specific needs are. If you don’t have an idea of what you need an association management to do for your, then you won’t be able to determine who’s a good fit and who isn’t. Once you have that figured out, then you want to ensure that they have the proper licenses and are an accredited institution. Prioritizing the services they offer first, and not the price of their services, is also critical to understand. Price is what you pay and value is what you get.

2. What’s the difference between an Association Management Software and Company?

A software is provides functionality for an association based on the services they provide their members. A company typically handles all aspects of an association, such as event planning, managing membership, and much more.

3. How much should you pay a management company?

This really depends on the services they provide. If it’s a one-off service, that will be different than a 12 month contract for that company to manage all aspects of your association.

4. How many management companies are there?

The AMC Institute states that there are close to 450 companies who operate. These are worldwide numbers, so take that into consideration. In the USA, there are about 100. California and Florida have the most, at about 30 each. Florida has the most non profit association management companies, and California has the most HOA management firms.

5. How do you request RFPs?

There are many ways to do this. First, you can reach out to the company directly and ask them. Second, you can submit a form on their website that goes directly to them. Third, you can attend events where many management companies attend and can request them in person.