Here’s an uncomfortable truth: many associations and their chapters have a “us vs. them” relationship. The chapter thinks the “parent” association is too controlling or is not supportive enough. The national association thinks the “child” chapter is not following rules or is too proud to accept a helping hand.
To compound these prickly feelings, associations and chapters compete for the same share of their members’ time and money. What if instead of competing, chapters and associations partner together to offer their members revenue-generating online education programs?
How things have changed. During the pandemic, online conferences, and education programs were a necessary experiment, but once things got “back to normal,” many associations assumed their members’ educational preferences would revert back too. But members’ online habits stuck.
For its Association Engagement Index 2024, MCI interviewed the members and customers of 58 associations about continuing education programs.
The stories we’ve heard from chapter relations professionals confirm MCI’s findings: in-person attendance at chapter events is declining while virtual attendance is growing.
During the pandemic, a chapter hosting an online lunch-and-learn invited other chapters in their network to promote the event. Chapters received a commission for each of their members who registered. This same revenue-sharing model works for national-chapter partnerships too.
An educational partnership with chapters builds trust and strengthens your relationship. They’re more likely to listen to your advice, comply with your requests, and take advantage of your resources—habits that will improve their performance.
Members who are more engaged at the chapter level are more attuned to chapter emails than yours. An educational partnership increases member awareness of your programs because the chapter is also invested in promoting them.
Because these programs are hosted on your learning management system (LMS), chapter members see recommendations for related programs. As they become familiar with the LMS experience and catalog, they become warmer leads for your online education programs.
New programs bring new revenue streams. The revenue split depends on the partnership model you adopt.
Chapter volunteers don’t always have the time or expertise to develop and deliver effective online education programs. By partnering with your association, they can better use their time to focus on other aspects of the chapter member experience and improve their member recruitment and retention efforts.
By taking on the risk of innovative program design and delivery with national, chapters can experiment with new topics or formats. They can also deliver new online programs to their members without taking on the cost of new technology.
Chapter members with in-demand expertise get national speaking opportunities, thanks to their chapter’s partnership with national.
Chapters generate new revenue simply by promoting partnership programs or they earn additional revenue by participating in new program design.
With access to new education programs, chapter members can acquire new skills and knowledge, earn continuing education credits, advance their career, and grow their business.
Because your association oversees the design, members can be confident about program value and speaker quality. During programs, members get to network with members from other chapters.
Members who have been too busy to explore their national membership benefits now have a chance to learn about and take advantage of your resources.
The choice of partnership structure depends on the time each organization devotes to program content and promotion. You don’t have to apply the same model to all chapters or to all programs. See how these associations use a tiered model:
In the most common model, the national association develops the content, provides the LMS, and handles program administration, evaluations, and content updates. Chapters promote the programs locally and get a percentage of revenue from the registrations of their chapter members.
In NIGP’s Learning Giveback Program, when someone identifies themselves as a member of a chapter when registering for a NIGP-hosted course, NIGP gives back 5% to the chapter for each registration, dispersing the funds at the end of each quarter. 50% of their chapters participate and make thousands of dollars from the revenue share.
This model is like the Coursera concept: local organizations (universities, in Coursera’s case) share courses on Coursera’s global platform. In this model, chapters develop a program with their own speakers. The national association hosts the program on its LMS and promotes it across the chapter network.
In this model, your association and chapters jointly develop and promote the program. The revenue split is based on contribution.
The national association provides core content, but chapters customize it for their specific needs. They invite a local speaker to address a specific issue, like state regulations. The revenue split is based on the level of customization required by the chapter.
In this model, the national association provides online content, but chapters add an in-person component. For example, chapters host a supplemental in-person session to dive deeper into the content. Or they host in-person viewings of national conference keynotes and sessions. The revenue split is based upon contribution.
In all these models, the revenue split is also based on attendee participation.
National-driven model revenue varies from 80/20 to 60/40, which might seem generous, but programs fail without promotion and attendance. When a chapter leads or participates in the content development process, their revenue share is higher.
An advisory council of chapter leaders keeps you in touch with the training needs of members. This council serves as champions for your online learning programs and encourages fellow chapter leaders to support your programs.
Define and document the responsibilities of each party, including content creation, marketing, and program delivery. Specify when and how payments are made, and the process for resolving disagreements.
Develop marketing and branding guidelines to ensure consistency across chapters.
To maintain transparency and trust, provide financial reports on performance and revenue. Schedule regular meetings to gather feedback and discuss concerns and ideas.
Start with a pilot program for friendlier chapters who are likely to be partnership champions. Offer them access to your LMS for their online programs. Our Ultimate Guide to LMS Selection & Implementation will help you find the right system to manage your chapter partnerships.