Creating Digital Value For Non-Profit Associations
Digital Transformation is a necessity and a reality for all businesses. Non-profit associations face many challenges this century. Most have not even begun to comprehend the incredible opportunity that a Digital Transformation can deliver for their members yet. With the right mindset, it’s an incredible opportunity for non-profits to engage members and create extraordinary new value. This will only happen if they can understand design thinking and its focus on the consumers needs. Then associations must develop innovation competencies and methodologies within their staff functions to unlock digital value.
Opportunity 1: Design Thinking and a focus on the members needs.
In the digital age, non-profit associations are no longer the only source of information, education, inspiration and compelling content on their specific areas of interest. By focusing on the needs of the members associations can create incredible value. This will only happen though if they understand how digital technologies can help transform their association. They can be achieved by creating content about the members, their firms and the incredible work they do. Digital Transformations generate new value worth roughly 10x what associations offer members today.
Opportunity 2: The generational shift, attracting Millennials.
The Baby Boomer generation are retiring – at a rapid rate. The Millennials (in their forties already) are the fastest growing membership segment, taking over the leadership of non-profit associations. What they expect from their association is far more than the physical events that the baby-boomer generation desired.
Opportunity 3: Digital transformation
The Millennials grew up with the internet. There is no virtual and physical world to them. There are just benefits and features, experiences and customer journeys delivered through multiple touch points that they expect from companies. Most associations simply do not understand how to create or even think about how to create these functions and benefits. Their technology providers are not thinking this way yet either. Digital transformation involves:
- The digitization of all existing and new information.
- The creation of time based engagements for members.
- The extraction of the amazing value created through an associations physical events for the benefit of all members.
- The streamlining of the associations operations and information flow through digital programs.
Digital Transformation: A “How to Book” for association leaders and professionals.
The goal in writing “Creating Digital Value For Non-Profit Associations” was to create the non-profit user manual for the 21st century. It distills my 12 years of member benefits creation experience leading 3 non-profits and steering them through digital transformations. The book outlines the new set of digital tools, thinking and examples that non-profits need to create new value for their members. Non-profits have lagged behind in innovation for years. This is especially true with regard to how to make the internet/digital world deliver value for their members. In this book, I prove how it is possible to more than double membership by appealing to the younger generations. I also show how to increase member benefits by a factor of 10x. This is compared to the accepted definition of what an association is and the benefits they offer members.
The underlying assumption of the book is that the non-profit executive must get involved personally. They must shift to a user centric, design driven approach to member value creation. This is the problem-solving approach used by major successful consumer brands. It integrates digital technology into the core of the non-profit’s way of thinking, doing and being.
This book encourages leaders to roll up their sleeves, write, code (a little bit), configure websites and tag content. By doing this, association leaders will gain an understanding of the potential of digital technologies for non-profits. It’s a practical book with examples you can implement today. It will guide you through the why, what and how of value creation for non-profits today.
