5 Non-Dues Revenue Opportunities to Investigate Right Now

While subscriptions and membership fees are the beating heart of many associations, taking some time to focus on non-dues revenue could make a huge difference for your bottom line. Today we will break down why non-dues revenue matters, how you can increase yours, and how we can help.

Understanding Non-dues Revenue

As expected, non-dues revenue is revenue that is generated through channels other than member dues. 

For the most part, non-dues revenue is made up of opportunities that members can opt into for a fee. 

While generating non dues revenue streams may sound overwhelming at first, getting started is easier than you think—and it’s definitely worth it. There are distinct benefits to investing time and energy in developing ways to bring in money other than member dues. 

Among other things, having non-dues revenue options for your members can: 

• Help stabilize your bottom line
• Keep month-to-month fluctuations from greatly affecting your budget 
• Ensure that you can keep membership dues relatively consistent over time

You can develop additional revenue streams both externally and internally. 

External Sources of Non-Dues Revenue

External non-dues revenue is money that flows in from outside the association. External revenue may come from: 

• Winning grants
• Running banner ads on your site
• Developing a corporate partnership or sponsorship 
• Partnering with vendors

Internal Sources of Non-Dues Revenue

Internal non-dues revenue is money that is generated within the association itself. In general, this happens when associations provide goods and services to their current members for fees.

The good news is that proper data management and analytical tools—like the ones offered through our premium AMS—can make finding internal sources of non-dues revenue for your association easier than ever. 

5 Non-Dues Revenue Ideas to Investigate Right Now

Depending on the industry your association serves, you could have specific options available that may not work for others. Most trade and professional associations, however, could pursue a version of the five opportunities listed below for non-dues revenue right now.

Opportunity #1: Selling Books

In 2021, the global books market was valued at USD 138.35 billion and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.9% from 2022 to 2030. Rising incomes and interest in reading combined with ongoing innovations in formats (print, audio, e-books) all contribute to this growth. 

Making industry-related books available through your organization can help you take advantage of this trend and funnel some of that 138.35 billion into your accounts.

Opportunity #2: Hosting Webinars

Webinars have all the benefits of learning without the inconvenience and expense of traveling to in-person conferences. Relatively easy and inexpensive to produce, one-off webinar sessions or full industry-related webinar series can provide a steady source of non-dues revenue for your association.

Opportunity #3: Offering Certifications

In most industries, professional credentials can go a long way toward establishing credibility, proving competency, or leveraging experience for leveling up in roles and earning higher rates of pay.

Rather than sending members elsewhere to accomplish these goals, offering certifications to your members within your association helps you both benefit. You not only give your members what they want, but you also earn a steady stream of non-dues revenue in the process.

Opportunity #4: Selling Branded Merchandise

While some might balk at spending $24.99+ for a hat or tee shirt, others will whip out their credit cards in a flash if that same merchandise is branded. 

That’s because most people love branded merch.

It can help them:

• Identify with a lifestyle
• Signal a sense of community 
• Show that they are “in the know”

Offering branded merchandise within your association is a great source of non-dues revenue. It can help you build community within your members and boost your bottom line at the same time. 

Opportunity #5: Hosting In-person Conferences

During the height of the pandemic, many people burned out on screens. Daily, they would turn up on platforms like Zoom or Google Meet for everything from staff meetings to social mixers to full-scale digital conferences. 

Now that pandemic restrictions are lifting, many are hungry for in-person experiences. 

Hosting in-person meetings for your members, whether for a single-day conference or a weekend-long event, can be a huge source of non-dues revenue within your association.

De-Mystify Non-Dues Revenue With Us

The five revenue streams listed above are just a few examples of directions your association can take. In reality, your options are nearly unlimited. The only question is which ones are best for you.

But how do you know which non-dues revenue stream to focus on?

The last thing you want to do is wing it. Instead, you can leverage your association’s member data to identify trends and shape your non-dues revenue plans accordingly.

Identify Trends in Data

We make it easy to gather all your data in one place. With that data, you have all you need to know what your members are doing and give them more of what they want.

This, more than anything else, will demystify your next steps.

If the majority of your members are going to conferences, maybe host more of them in the next year. If no one seems to be buying books currently, stop sinking money into publishing and turn to other content, such as a podcast, instead.

Leverage Analytical Tools

Our analytical tools make it very easy not just to gather your member engagement data all in one place but to understand what it’s saying through flawless visualizations.

You can create dashboards and bar graphs that are easy for people to comprehend and get everyone from the C-Suite to the marketing team on the same page.

Make Data-driven Decisions

With our solutions, the whole team has immediate access to the same data. Everyone can easily see and understand what is going on at all times.

Rather than sinking time and energy into endless meetings in which people assert their opinions, you can quickly and easily decide on next steps.

Once you leverage the power of Re:Members’ powerful AMS software to make data-driven decisions about creating multiple revenue streams, you will earn more money. But this will do more than just help keep you in the black. You will now have access to more funds to re-invest as well, allowing you to grow your organization’s reach even further.

As an added bonus, you will keep your current members engaged in programs and content they actually want. This is a win-win, because engaged people not only spend money on non-dues revenue but also stick around for the long haul, further stabilizing your membership dues-related revenue as well.