2009 ACHS Annual Council Meeting

Non-Dues Revenue Roundtable Summary

  • Most groups represented at the table are doing less direct mail.
  • A magazine may be published once or twice a year and distributed to chapters for delivery, but this is happening less.
  • Newsletters and most information relative to chapter officers/leadership are published on websites.
  • Email is important for corresponding and sharing benefits and opportunities with members.
  • There are companies that can help find accurate mailing addresses. The least expensive option is to do a comparison of addresses to the NCOA (National Change of Address) database.
  • Email addresses can also be found through working with an outsourced vendor. Blackbaud provides this service as well as one off-shore service. One example that NSCS has used: Mohit Patki Marketing Executive Hi-Tech Outsourcing Services |Your Offshore Outsourcing Partner | (An ISO 9001:2000 Certified Company) Hi-Tech House, Gurukul,Ahmedabad 380 052,Gujarat, India. Wk (Direct): +91-79-4000 3251 | Fax (USA): +1-775-205-3143. Fax (India): +91-79-4000-3202 Email:
  • There are ways to easily incorporate companies that will provide member benefits into your website. The two best affiliate sites for this are: and These companies aggregate many brands that will provide a discount for your members and a small commission on each sale for your organization. One example is adding a link on your site for NetFlix. If a member signs up for NetFlix…your organization gets $9.00. Occasionally, you may get an idea from the linkshare or commission junction list and then go directly to the company for a better deal! The percentages on these sites are a good starting point.
  • Use social media to stay connected to members. LinkedIn groups and Facebook fan pages are two good ways to do this. You can request updated addresses and share links to opportunities and benefits by sending messages to people who have joined your group.
  • Survey members and ask what benefits they would like to see offered. Use their responses as leverage when talking with companies. Several honor societies talked about how test prep centers (Kaplan) and insurance companies (Geico) have provided benefits for members and resources back to the honor society.
  • Affinity credit cards provide revenue but can be controversial. Students tend to be the biggest advocates for a credit card program. Bank of America is the biggest player at the moment.
  • Create recruiting partnerships with graduate schools. Graduate school admissions officers have recruiting budgets, and maybe you can get a share of that by creating a recruiting program that helps deliver good students for graduate school.
  • Make sure that you are not being too generous with people who offer your members a discount or special opportunity for helping them recruit. If they offer your member $500 off on a $7,000 program…you should ask if they will pay you a bounty for the student(s) you deliver. They have a marketing/recruiting budget and you are doing the work for them.