Nonprofit organizations face unique challenges in managing their accounting functions. While in-house accounting is possible, many organizations find that outsourced accounting provides a more efficient, cost-effective solution for their financial needs. The Challenge of In-House Accounting Nonprofit finance requires specialized expertise in areas including accounts payable, receivables, payroll, financial reporting, and audit preparation. Managing these functions in-house often strains both budgets and personnel, particularly when organizations attempt to distribute accounting duties among existing staff. The Value of Professional Support Outsourced accounting provides nonprofits with access to experienced professionals on a fractional basis. This approach allows organizations to secure the right level of support across different functions: Tailored Staffing Solutions Organizations can access various levels of expertise as needed: Transactional support for daily operations Management-level oversight for monthly closing Executive guidance for strategic planning Board presentation and budget preparation Audit preparation and support Benefits of Partnership Professional accounting partnerships offer several key advantages: Enhanced Efficiency Drawing on extensive industry experience, outsourced teams implement proven best practices that streamline processes and improve operational efficiency. Stronger Controls Professional accounting teams establish natural checks and balances, ensuring proper segregation of duties and maintaining financial integrity. Cost-Effective Expertise Organizations gain access to comprehensive accounting expertise without the overhead of full-time staff. Finding the Right Partner Successful outsourced accounting depends on choosing a partner with: Extensive nonprofit experience Customizable service offerings Proven industry expertise Commitment to client success Strong security protocols Building Financial Excellence The right accounting partnership helps nonprofits: Improve financial oversight Reduce operational costs Enhance reporting accuracy Strengthen compliance Focus on core mission Ready to see how outsourced accounting can transform your nonprofit? Contact us today  to explore customized solutions tailored to your organization’s needs!

Data visualizations simplify several business processes and give users instant access to important data. This increases efficiency and productivity while reducing the chance of human error. What Are the Benefits of Using Data Visualizations? Data visualizations provide association executives and staff with customizable access to real-time data. With this tool, nonprofit professionals can develop a detailed understanding of the complex relationships formed between data sets and how these relationships might affect current or future business endeavors. By implementing data visualizations, associations gain instant access to actionable data anytime from any device that connects to the Internet. This makes it possible for leaders to make data-driven decisions at a moment’s notice, regardless of their physical location. Nonprofit organizations that see the inherent value benefit from numerous features including: Custom selections with access to any statistic requested Search capabilities – the ability to find relationships in data Access to analytics anywhere, anytime, and on any device Rules-based security (Users only have access to their data and industry; data will not be disclosed if there isn’t enough participation) Export functionality (Figures can be downloaded into Excel for additional analysis) Rich charting Visual interactivity Unrestricted sharing and mobility In addition to being customizable and fully flexible, data visualizations help alleviate pressure on IT and research staff who are often overburdened with internal queries. This helps ensure association executives at all levels are resourceful and productive while improving organization-wide efficiency. Ready to discover how interactive reports can deliver greater value to your members? Contact Vault today  to learn more!

A diverse research committee serves as the backbone of valuable association research, ensuring relevance and impact for your entire membership. Through carefully selected committees or task forces, associations can develop and execute research initiatives that truly serve their communities' needs. The Foundation of Effective Research Leadership While Board of Directors provide essential guidance and resource allocation for research initiatives, their direct participation in the committee isn't necessary. Similarly, Research and Development staff members play crucial roles in committee development and board liaison duties but may not need to serve on the member committee itself. Essential Qualities for Your Research Committee Industry Expertise Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) bring crucial knowledge and perspective to the advisory role, helping shape research that addresses real industry challenges and opportunities. Member Engagement Spectrum Highly engaged members bring enthusiasm and dedication to the research process, often becoming natural advocates for research initiatives at annual meetings and other events. However, including less engaged members, particularly from underrepresented segments, ensures comprehensive perspective and helps demonstrate the association's commitment to all member voices. Comprehensive Representation The strength of an association research committee lies in its diversity. A truly representative committee should reflect various aspects of your membership, including: Different organizational sizes and structures Multiple product areas and market segments Varying membership tenure and experience levels Diverse educational backgrounds and certifications Geographic representation Maximizing Committee Impact An effective research committee contributes to association goals through multiple channels. Members collaborate to identify emerging trends, design effective surveys, refine methodologies, and ensure practical implementation. Their ongoing involvement helps maintain research relevance and member engagement. Managing Volunteer Commitment Remember that research committee members are volunteers balancing multiple commitments. Success depends on clear communication about: Expected time commitments Meeting schedules and attendance expectations Project timelines and milestones Individual roles and responsibilities Recognition and Appreciation Acknowledging committee members' contributions remains crucial for sustained engagement. Consider recognizing their work in final research products or during program launches, emphasizing their role in advancing the association's mission. Building Long-Term Success Creating an effective association research committee requires thoughtful selection, clear communication, and ongoing support. By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, associations can develop research initiatives that deliver genuine value to their entire membership. Ready to enhance your association's research capabilities? Contact us to learn more about building and supporting an effective research committee.

Organizations face a growing challenge: different audiences need different ways to access and understand research data. From executives seeking high-level KPIs to professionals comparing industry benchmarks, traditional reporting methods often fall short of meeting diverse needs. Understanding the Modern Research Challenge Research and Development teams face a dual challenge: keeping their organizations competitive while meeting diverse membership needs. This balancing act becomes even more complex when considering how to present data in ways that promote understanding and drive decision-making. Today, making data available is simply not enough - people need to understand it, evaluate metrics against multiple KPIs, and most importantly, make sound decisions based on it. Three Signs You Need Better Data Visualization Stagnant Reporting Methods When research outputs remain unchanged for years, organizations risk losing member engagement. Static reports that require manual correlation of data points can frustrate users and waste valuable time. Modern visualization solutions offer customizable interactive reports that enable easy comparison of multiple data points. For example, a professional seeking compensation data can easily compare their role against industry benchmarks and additional responsibilities, making it simple to prepare for salary discussions. Accessibility Challenges While executive summaries serve their purpose, not everyone effectively processes information through text and tables alone. Different learning styles require varied presentation methods. Visual learners may better understand bar graphs for comparisons or line graphs for growth trends, while others might prefer interactive elements that allow them to explore data on their own terms. An executive preparing a company-wide presentation can easily extract visually appealing charts that offer versatile perspectives of information. Limited Proactive Analysis Organizations without dedicated statistical teams particularly benefit from interactive reporting tools for future planning. Instead of waiting for annual reports, organizations can access real-time data to stay ahead of industry changes. This proactive approach enables marketing directors and sales teams to evaluate historical patterns and adjust strategies accordingly, particularly during crucial planning periods. Creating Impact Through Visualization Modern data visualization transforms how organizations understand and use their research. Interactive dashboards and dynamic reporting tools enable users to explore data in ways that match their specific needs and learning styles. This flexible approach increases data literacy across the organization, helping everyone from executives to department managers make more informed decisions. Enhancing Strategic Decision-Making The impact of effective data visualization extends beyond simple presentation. When organizations can easily access and understand their data, they make better strategic decisions. Real-time access to critical information, combined with the ability to analyze historical trends and project future outcomes, positions organizations to respond more effectively to changing market conditions. Building Future-Ready Research Programs In today's data-driven environment, simply providing information isn't enough. Organizations need tools that transform complex data into accessible, actionable insights. Through modern visualization solutions, organizations can ensure their research delivers maximum value to all stakeholders, driving both engagement and results. Ready to explore how data visualization can transform your research program? Contact us to discuss solutions tailored to your organization's needs.

While investing in quality research is crucial for associations, success depends on having a clear strategy for implementation and delivery. Rejuvenating your association's research requires careful consideration of how findings will be packaged, distributed, and leveraged across your organization to create maximum value for your member community. Creating a Robust Research Framework The research ecosystem encompasses every aspect of your research program, from initial planning through final implementation. By rejuvenating your association's research through a systematic approach, you can ensure your findings deliver actionable insights and tangible member value. Five Pillars of Research Excellence 1. Strategic Planning and Structure Most associations lack dedicated research staff, making partnerships with experienced research firms crucial for rejuvenating your association's research. Working closely with stakeholders and members helps identify critical knowledge gaps and research priorities that align with organizational goals. 2. Professional Implementation Independent third-party research partners bring credibility and expertise to sensitive data collection. This professional approach builds member confidence and ensures reliable results that can drive decision-making. 3. Effective Presentation and Packaging Transform raw data into accessible insights through strategic presentation choices. Whether through interactive visualizations, narrative context, or detailed analysis, packaging should align with member preferences and consumption habits. 4. Strategic Distribution Rejuvenating your association's research requires thoughtful promotion and distribution. Consider multiple channels including: Targeted breakout sessions Engaging webinar presentations Interactive digital reports Member-exclusive content offerings 5. Continuous Evaluation Regular assessment of research effectiveness ensures continuous improvement. Cross-departmental feedback helps shape future initiatives and maximize resource utilization for strategic goals. Leveraging Research Across Your Organization Successful research programs extend beyond data collection to influence multiple organizational functions. Consider how departments from education to development can both inform and benefit from research findings. This integrated approach ensures maximum return on your research investment. Monetization and Member Value When rejuvenating your association's research, consider opportunities for both member benefit and revenue generation. Well-packaged research can serve as: An exclusive member benefit A powerful recruitment tool A premium content offering A demonstration of industry leadership Moving Forward with Research Excellence Rejuvenating your association's research requires careful planning, professional implementation, and strategic delivery. By building a comprehensive research ecosystem, associations can create sustainable programs that deliver ongoing value to their communities. Ready to transform your association's research program? Expert guidance can help you develop a research ecosystem that drives meaningful results for your members. Contact us today.

In today's data-driven environment, successful associations rely heavily on strategic insights derived from comprehensive trend analysis. While primary market research provides valuable data points, association trend analysis transforms this information into actionable intelligence that drives informed decision-making. The Power of Sector-Specific Analysis Association trend analysis becomes most valuable when tailored to your organization's unique context. While broad market data provides useful context, sector-specific trend analysis delivers deeper insights into: Membership engagement patterns Program performance metrics Financial benchmarks Regional market dynamics Strategic Benefits of Targeted Analysis When properly implemented, association trend analysis helps organizations: Evaluate membership fee structures against sector benchmarks Compare program performance with similar associations Assess financial health relative to peer organizations Identify seasonal patterns in member engagement Optimize resource allocation based on historical data Membership and Donor Pattern Analysis For associations relying on dues and contributions, detailed trend analysis of membership and donor behavior proves invaluable. This focused analysis helps organizations: Enhance Strategic Planning Through association trend analysis, organizations can: Define clear, data-driven objectives Identify growth opportunities Optimize member segmentation strategies Improve engagement programs Strengthen Financial Performance Careful analysis of historical patterns reveals: Revenue trends across different member segments Program sustainability metrics Opportunity areas for growth Resource allocation effectiveness Leveraging Qualitative Insights Effective association trend analysis combines quantitative data with qualitative feedback. Organizations should: Conduct regular member surveys Analyze feedback patterns Track satisfaction metrics Monitor program engagement These insights help associations understand not just what is happening, but why members make certain choices. Building Sustainable Growth Through Data Long-term success requires associations to: Establish consistent data collection methods Implement robust analysis frameworks Regular review and adjustment of strategies Maintain focus on member value By incorporating comprehensive trend analysis into strategic planning, associations can better position themselves for sustainable growth and increased member value. Transform Your Association's Decision-Making Association trend analysis represents more than just data collection – it's a strategic tool for organizational transformation. Whether you're seeking to improve member engagement, optimize programs, or strengthen financial performance, proper trend analysis provides the insights needed for confident decision-making. Ready to unlock the power of your association’s data? Contact Vault today  for professional guidance in building a robust analysis framework that drives meaningful results for your organization.

The Great Resignation has hit companies of all types and sizes. According to the Society for Human Resource Management , a record-breaking average of more than 3.95 million workers quit their jobs each month in 2021. There’s considerable speculation about why workers are leaving, but little consensus around which steps employers should take to stem this turnover. Many companies are thinking creatively about how they invest in employee engagement to mitigate potential turnover. For many organizations, this means rethinking their operational approach. By outsourcing certain specialty needs, companies are finding they may be better equipped to reinvest in their employees and create a workplace that reflects new expectations.  How Outsourcing Accounting Can Prevent Turnover Accounting is a highly specialized need that doesn’t always require a large staff. For many organizations, it’s a department that requires a diverse range of experience—from big picture forecasting to day-to-day accounts payable processing—that one person may not be able or willing to provide. Moreover, it’s an area where small improvements can have a major impact on the rest of the organization. In fact, we see five key areas where outsourcing accounting can potentially help mitigate employee turnover.  1. Outsourced accounting can realize cost savings to reinvest in employees Investing in an outsourced accounting firm can potentially save your organization money that can be reinvested in employee pay increases. Some of these savings come from having an outside expert bring a fresh efficiency to old processes. An outsourced accounting firm is also better able to dedicate the appropriate amount of time and knowhow needed to this work at an appropriate cost. Rightsizing this work provides an additional opportunity for cost savings. These savings can also be realized by not having to provide additional in-house employees with benefits, insurance, bonuses, and regular pay increases. Moreover, an outsourced firm’s costs generally stay consistent year to year, providing financial stability. That sort of predictability provides a reliable place from which to budget for raises or one-time investments such as new equipment or perks.   2. More reliable data gives employees confidence in decisions Organizations are tasking managers with responsibility for making faster decisions than ever. Yet, team members working with out-of-date accounting information may find that it’s difficult to confidently move forward. With an outsourced accounting firm, many organizations gain process improvements that lead to more reliable, up-to-date reporting. Getting critical financial information in real time helps employees know if they can afford to move forward with new solutions or otherwise take action on process improvements without feeling anxious about what tomorrow might hold. When your employees can rely on the accuracy of their financial data, they feel empowered to make good decisions. Not only does this benefit your organization, but it creates a baseline for stronger employee engagement . 3. Process training helps upskill employees Outsourced accounting firms often bring with them more efficient practices, as well as training that brings your team up to speed on expectations. For some employees, this may be the first time they’ve had training on budget management or other fiduciary responsibilities. This presents an opportunity for employees to gain skills that can help them make better financial decisions—and entice them to stay with your company. Upskilling is often cited as a key strategy for retaining employees tempted by the Great Resignation. In fact, research from LinkedIn found that 94% of employees surveyed would remain at a company if it was invested in helping them learn. So, ask your accounting firm to walk employees through budget requirements or financial statements. Encourage them to provide employees with insight into the why behind best practices, how to identify areas of potential concern, and how to leverage new technology solutions. This training benefits your company, and may also better engage your employees. 4. Maxed-out managers get cost-effective support More reliable information can be critical in helping overburdened executives make faster decisions. However, for accounting managers or CFOs who can’t find time in their schedule to take on more than day-to-day activities, outsourcing accounting can also allow executives to focus on more impactful higher-level tasks. An outsourced accounting firm can offload many routine tasks and provide CFOs with peace of mind and reliable data that allows them to more effectively manage staff or enable innovation .  5. Efficiency can strengthen customer and vendor relationships An outsourced accounting firm may not interact with your clients or vendors directly, but they can take steps to strengthen your relationship with these partners. For example, many organizations find that their accounting firm provides technology solutions, such as online bill pay or remote invoicing, that make it easier to interact with your company. Many small and mid-size organizations hold off on making this leap on their own due to cost and the time needed to implement a new process, but an accounting firm may bring this suite of services into your office seamlessly.  It’s Time to Make a Change Change can be difficult, but the Great Resignation is a reminder that it can also be costly to stay with the same processes when it’s clear something isn’t working. Organizations that are ready to reinvent their approach to employee engagement will need to creatively rethink their operational approach.  For more information and insight into how an outsourced accounting firm can better support your organization, contact Vault Consulting .

Every nonprofit organization needs internal controls to safeguard the appropriate use of financial assets. However, organizations all too easily view this need as a box that gets checked rather than a cultural priority. Organizations focused on their mission do not always recognize that up-to-date accounting internal controls are a critical way of protecting the mission. If something happens to the funds you collect, you have put your donors and their trust in your organization at risk. In other words, your internal controls function as a safety device for your financials. In that regard, your internal control questionnaires serve as the pre-flight checklist that ensures all safety devices are working as expected for your nonprofit. An internal control questionnaire is a simple audit tool that you can use to assess your organization’s framework. This checklist of internal controls is a starting point from which a nonprofit can ensure that policies are being followed and protections are sufficiently up-to-date. While an organization can develop such a questionnaire based on their existing controls, having a third-party perspective can offer an added layer of protection. Why Use Internal Control Questionnaires for Nonprofits Most organizations think of internal controls simply as a protection against fraud, but these controls also protect against more common risks that your financial systems face. Internal controls can protect against: External breaches. Fraud doesn’t just happen internally. Phishing schemes and scams often target smaller organizations that are more likely to have poor internal controls. Unintentional errors. Without appropriate controls, you run the risk of having inaccurate financial statements, which can devalue your organization and lead to a loss of trust among stakeholders. Loss of data. Accounting and IT are becoming more closely tied than ever. Having one individual store all financial statements on their hard drive, for example, creates a high risk of loss of data. Storing information on the cloud not only makes it easier to share with the entire organization but provides a reliable backup. A simple assessment checklist can help gauge an organization’s protection against the risks noted above. Any time you have a change in personnel or policy, an internal control questionnaire is a good starting point for determining if changes need to be made. And such a questionnaire can help new organizations establish controls. Policies to Shape Your Internal Controls Practices Besides using an internal controls questionnaire to review best practices, nonprofits can benefit from the following tips: Make it a top-down priority. Establishing excellent policies is easy. Following those policies can be harder. The most effective organizations set the tone from the top. It’s up to your C-suite to explain to staff and members why controls are in place and why they should be taken seriously. Review regularly. If you can’t recall the last time your organization assessed its accounting processes, then it’s time to revisit your internal controls questionnaire. Regularly reviewing your internal controls is good policy. The review can be as simple as sending documents out annually for evaluation and signature or discussing policies and changes at annual meetings. Look beyond your auditors. Auditors may offer suggestions for improvement if they see controls clearly lacking, but they can’t dig deeply into every single transaction or procedure to ensure policies are followed appropriately. Rather, it must be the duty of your organization to develop, design, and test these internal controls. Your questionnaire may provide critical direction for ensuring that the system is working. Expand your team by outsourcing. Organizations with a small staff may feel limited in what accounting practices they truly control. It may feel difficult to have a balance of individuals reviewing the CEO’s or board’s expenses, reconciling bank transactions, and other activities. This is where outsourcing accounting functions can help. When you outsource these accounting functions, nonprofits get the power of a team that can share these duties–without paying for several accounting positions. Work with a Partner You Can Trust It’s easy for nonprofits to let their internal controls policies become lax with the reasoning that there’s simply not enough staff or time to commit to procedures that don’t contribute directly to the mission. The truth is, however, that these financial controls are central to the mission of protecting donors, members, and other stakeholders’ contributions and trust. Fraud, error, and financial loss can hit organizations of all sizes at any time, so it’s important to prepare today. By outsourcing accounting with Vault , nonprofits gain the perspective of a firm that has seen what happens when internal controls aren’t in place. They gain expertise in developing controls that best protect their processes and insight into solutions they may not have considered. They gain the knowledge of a full accounting team without the cost. Not ready to outsource your accounting? Then consider an internal controls assessment that digs into your policies and ensures you have adequate protection. To get started, contact Vault today.

Professional and trade associations can benefit a great deal from conducting primary market research (PMR). Director of Research at Vault Consulting, Laura Clark , helps professional and trade associations accomplish their research goals every day. Her day-to-day consists of helping Vault clients develop research plans that will tackle business goals and then synthesizing the results of those research initiatives to create actionable briefs. Clark claims that primary market research doesn’t just act as a revenue generator but rather, “ a valuable tool for any association to understand their membership, concerning what they want, need, and why or why not they choose to become members.” According to Clark, along with direct revenue, membership associations can benefit from primary market research studies through indirect revenue, membership engagement, and association growth. There are two categories of data that associations can aim to collect, which are qualitative and quantitative. For either method of data collection, Clark thinks it’s best to start by working backwards or employing a reverse engineering strategy, “ we encourage our clients to think about where they want to end up and to think about the actions and decisions they want to make out of the research .” While some clients conduct primary market research studies to create a source of non-dues revenue, Clark also recommends research for the sake of strategic decision-making. The Director of Research adds that there are several ways to gather data that appeal to different demographics among one membership including bulletin board focus groups, traditional focus groups, or even phone surveys. In a recent experience, Clark found that younger professionals prefer the flexibility of bulletin board focus groups because participants are given a time duration to log into a platform and participate in an online chat community. She also finds that an online option of a traditional focus group, which can be taken at a prescribed time on an online ‘Brady Bunch’ video conference tool, is a popular choice among participants for its accessibility. But however associations decide to collect data from their membership, Clark states that it’s important to present the data in an efficient and succinct manner, which will make it easier for board members or staff to extract vital information that will inform future strategy. Once the results have been synthesized, she advocates for simplified and summarized results to put out to the decision-makers, “ people want easily digestible snippets of information or infographics. ” Whether your association is looking to generate revenue, expand membership, or engage and retain current membership, Vault’s research team is ready to help you throughout the entirety of the process: from developing a research goal to planning and executing a study. Want to learn more? Contact Laura Clark at lclark@vaultconsulting.com to learn more about your market research options with Vault Consulting.

Understand Your Nonprofit’s Recruitment Strategy Recruitment is more than finding someone with the right skills and experience for a job. It’s also about developing a relationship with the candidate and learning about their skills, knowledge, and goals. It helps you to make a more informed decision about whether or not the candidate is a good fit for your organization. A well-crafted recruitment strategy can help your organization to save time and money, improve its employee retention rate, and boost its overall productivity. There are many strategies that employers can use to recruit talent in a tight labor market. Some of these include: Build relationships . Artificial intelligence will not replace human resources as it is a face-to-face function. It is also a function that requires respect and transparency, which are variables built under Vault’s recruitment strategy. Focus on skillsets and adaptability rather than perfection.  When looking at a prospective candidate, analyze their skillset and adaptability, not whether they’re perfect. People who aren’t fit for one role may flourish in another. Fill resource gaps.  Rather than finding the perfect candidate, focus on filling resource gaps. Understand the business units and their needs. Maintain relationships.  Rejecting good candidates doesn’t mean the relationship ends there. Reach out to previous applicants when new roles emerge. It might not be the right timing even when you’ve found a great candidate. It’s all about timing.  When roles open, fill them. Encourage management to allot a certain amount of time to fill the position; otherwise, take dated posts down to avoid companies seeming like unresponsive employers. Here are some additional tips for recruitment strategies to consider: Be prepared to move quickly.  Once you find a candidate you’re interested in, be prepared to make moves. The best candidates may have multiple offers, so you must act quickly to secure their services. Be flexible with your hiring process.  In a tight labor market, you may need to be flexible with your hiring process. It could mean waiving specific requirements, such as a college degree, or offering a shorter interview process. Following these recruitment strategies can increase your chances of finding and hiring the talent you need to grow your organization. For more information and insight, feel free to contact Vault Consulting .

To remain relevant in the face of today’s demand for rapid, customizable, and personalized information, associations are finding they must adapt. Past association trends have outlived their usefulness in today’s digital environment. While associations may no longer collect survey responses by fax or distribute survey results by mailing out floppy disks, many still use manual or Excel-based data collection strategies to drive their research. Helping your members make timely, more informed decisions begins with your association’s ability to provide better, faster data. For many associations, this may require a program to drive data modernization. Elements of a Data Modernization Program A data modernization program isn’t just about moving surveys and other solutions online. This association trend is all about utilizing today’s technology solutions to drive results that better serve your members and staff. As a result, it’s important to develop your data approach with a focus on the end results. A data modernization program should target the following goals: Speed: The end goal of every research project is to provide members with timely data to help guide decision-making. Reducing the burden on participants to provide information is likely to improve response times and increase participation. To this end, associations should be selective regarding how many data points they request. They should also look for ways to add automation that makes the process faster and easier. Options include the use of an application programming interface (API) solution that fully automates everything, tools to pre-populate survey forms with results from past periods, and an increased focus on short pulse-style surveys that take only minutes for participants to complete. Accuracy: Accuracy is essential for ensuring trust in your research, and this is another key area where automation can help. Automating data collection and reporting steps can reduce the risk of human error and ensure higher rates of accuracy in your results. Security: Proving your commitment to security is critical for securing sensitive data from members. Associations will need to have a clear policy around security practices and attempted breach protocols in place. A cybersecurity firm can support associations with insight into best practices or security audits that ensure your data is protected. Members will also want to see that your association is meeting their requirements for documentation security, such as compliance with the American Institute of CPAs’ Service Organization Control (SOC) reporting standard, for example. Ease of internal use: A modern data program should provide benefits for your staff as well. Any updates should ensure that data is more easily accessible to all board members and staff, with the ability to hide certain data elements behind passwords as needed. Support for online offerings: Any solution that supports fast, secure, accurate data collection can provide a strong foundation for all of your online offerings. It’s essential to ensure that your platform can integrate seamlessly with any other solutions that you may use to deliver interactive reporting, virtual events, member communities, and other online programs—while offering the same level of security and ease of use for staff and members. Solutions that Can Help Achieve Your Goals It is easy to be overwhelmed by the multitude of options available to help modernize data collection and reporting. The good news is that associations do not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to data modernization. This is one area where association trends are making it easier to stand apart, as existing apps and plugins can generally support this data shift. What might have been a costly six-month build can now be done at a lower cost with a much quicker turnaround by using modern infrastructure solutions already in place. By vetting potential vendors, associations can provide the tools their members want. Another key area to consider is moving from on-premise servers to cloud-based solutions. This step can reduce the risk of data loss due to disaster or other destruction of files, and ensure continued access to files in the event of a board member or staff turnover. Moving to a cloud-based server also means turning security over to a dedicated expert, rather than relying on association staff to maintain up-to-date security procedures and invest in security software solutions. Making the move to a new system can bring tremendous efficiency, but it’s important that associations continue to review their data collection policies and solutions regularly for additional opportunities to improve. Any new solutions implemented should provide associations with the flexibility to adapt and change in the face of future needs. To get the support you need in modernizing your data programs, contact Vault today.

While online communities, events, and training have been mainstream for many years, many people still believed that business connections were best formed in person. Then the 2020 pandemic dramatically changed how we all communicated and built relationships. Associations had no choice but to shift to virtual content offerings due to global shutdowns. Since then, virtual solutions have proven to be more than an association trend—they have staying power. Yet the question remains of how to deliver value to association members through a blend of virtual and in-person events, education, and communities. This value varies and depends on the industry sector and the specific offering, which are both in turn shaped by what members consider of value. For this reason, a strong feedback loop between associations and members will steer the future direction of virtual content. Exploring Virtual Content Opportunities The shift to online offerings is happening in a number of areas for associations. Having had to move annual meetings online, many associations are continuing to explore the possibilities of what a virtual annual meeting can look like. Associations have also found that online communities can be a strong driver of member engagement. “ Branded communities are considered safer spaces than public social networks. People feel more comfortable showing vulnerability by asking questions ,” according to engagement platform provider Higher Logic’s 2020 Engagement Trends Report notes. These online communities allow members to discuss specific topics and elicit relevant insights from the field’s thought leaders. Better still, topics from these forums can shape association trends and find support from content built around those trends. In addition, online education offerings—from webinars to certification training—have grown significantly. In 2020, demand for online learning opportunities rose by as much as 400% , according to Global Market Insights . As associations navigate these virtual offerings, many are recognizing the push from outside industries. For those groups ready to reinvent their member benefits, this can be a tremendous source of inspiration, as one medical association discovered. Having always relied heavily on in-person training, the association suddenly found itself competing with platforms like YouTube, challenging leadership’s expectations around how its community wanted to learn. In its goal to become a go-to digital learning platform, the association soon began evaluating technical training solutions from outside the surgical space. This included finding out what other technical skills were being trained virtually and how that could crossover to their space. Gauging Value for Virtual Content Before choosing from a variety of virtual content options, associations need to take a step back and ensure that the value of a virtual offering outweighs its challenges. Is the ability to reach a broader audience worth the cost and time to navigate new technologies? Will a shift to virtual content alienate existing members who rely on in-person events? It’s important to also determine if there is value in delivering a virtual solution alongside an in-person option. This might look like a flagship in-person event with some combination of an in-person conference with virtual webinars or online training tailored around more specific association trends. Making decisions around the value propositions for virtual and in-person content will also require data from your members and other stakeholders. It’s important to determine what is motivating your members . Is your association’s vision of a virtual solution truly what your members need? To make virtual solutions effective, it’s important to uncover the motivators behind people’s participation in virtual versus in-person communities, training, and events. Your members aren’t the only stakeholders of your virtual content: exhibitors, sponsors, advertisers, and other partners have a stake in its success. For this reason, it is crucial to consider how any virtual content will benefit all stakeholders before it is developed. This is an area where technology can help. Some associations are using mobile platforms to drive engagement for sponsors and exhibitors while providing an easy-to-navigate experience for members. So how do you secure this information? One strategy is to expand current surveys to incorporate qualitative research. Post-event surveys don’t always provide enough detail and context to guide decision-making. Conversations with event attendees, online community members, and members who opt out of these offerings can offer insights and a more balanced perspective on what’s working and what could work even better. Another strategy is to turn to a trusted partner who can help shape this virtual content. If you’re ready to start crafting a virtual content strategy to support your members, contact Vault today.