Association management
Encyclopedia
There are more than 25,000 national associations
and 65,000 local, state or regional associations in the United States
. These organizations employ more than 500,000 professionals. They are engaged in the profession of association management.
Association management is a distinct field of management because of the unique environment of associations. Associations are unique in that the "owners" are dues-paying members. Members also govern their association through an elected board or other governing body, along with association committees, commissions, task forces, councils and other units. Typically, the board selects, retains and evaluates a chief executive officer
or an executive director
who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the association and paid staff.
Managers within the association environment are responsible for many of the same tasks that are found in other organizational contexts. These include human resource management, financial management, meeting management, IT management, and project management. Other aspects of management are unique for association managers. These include: membership recruitment and retention; tax-exempt accounting and financial management; development of non-dues revenue and fundraising. Association managers must also be familiar with laws and regulations that pertain only to associations. To attain the knowledge needed to effectively operate in association management, its practitioners may choose to pursue the Certified Association Executive
designation. This qualification may be obtained via the American Society of Association Executives ASAE.
As in the US, in several other countries national societies of association managers exist. See the links below for the ones which exist in some nations belonging to the British Commonwealth. In Europe there also exists the European Society of Association Executives.
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
and 65,000 local, state or regional associations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. These organizations employ more than 500,000 professionals. They are engaged in the profession of association management.
Association management is a distinct field of management because of the unique environment of associations. Associations are unique in that the "owners" are dues-paying members. Members also govern their association through an elected board or other governing body, along with association committees, commissions, task forces, councils and other units. Typically, the board selects, retains and evaluates a chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
or an executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the association and paid staff.
Managers within the association environment are responsible for many of the same tasks that are found in other organizational contexts. These include human resource management, financial management, meeting management, IT management, and project management. Other aspects of management are unique for association managers. These include: membership recruitment and retention; tax-exempt accounting and financial management; development of non-dues revenue and fundraising. Association managers must also be familiar with laws and regulations that pertain only to associations. To attain the knowledge needed to effectively operate in association management, its practitioners may choose to pursue the Certified Association Executive
Certified Association Executive
Certified Association Executive is a professional certification sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives and the Canadian Society of Association Executives...
designation. This qualification may be obtained via the American Society of Association Executives ASAE.
As in the US, in several other countries national societies of association managers exist. See the links below for the ones which exist in some nations belonging to the British Commonwealth. In Europe there also exists the European Society of Association Executives.
See also
- Academic conferenceAcademic conferenceAn academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
- Association management companyAssociation management companyAn association management company provides management and specialized administrative services to trade associations and professional societies using a for-profit approach that runs not-for-profit associations like businesses....
- Association Management SystemAssociation Management SystemAn association management system is a computerized system which provides a non-profit organization basic database features to run its operations, such as member services, dues, event management, communications, product databases and fundraising....
- American Society of Association ExecutivesAmerican Society of Association ExecutivesThe American Society of Association Executives is the membership organization and voice of the association profession. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ASAE now has more than 22,000 association CEOs, staff professionals, industry partners, and consultant members. ASAE...