John Ruffin is President and CEO of AMR Management Services of Lexington. Founded in 1997, AMR is the only nationally accredited association management company in Kentucky and one of only forty worldwide. The company focuses on association management, conference and event management, marketing and graphic design and technology services. Ruffin spoke with Business Lexington's Tom Martin about the firm's efforts to bridge two worlds that might seem at arm's length from one another: the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. You can hear the interview by clicking on the podcast below.
TM: How does AMR serve the needs of nonprofits?
JR: Ö it provides nonprofit boards a way to focus on their core issues and work with their members on the issues that they are passionate about without the overhead and concerns of headquarters, staff and employees.
TM: For profit and nonprofit might seem analogous to oil and water. Why should the nonprofit sector be important to the business community?
JR: When most people think of not-for-profit organizations, they typically think of charitable organizations, philanthropic organizations, but there's another whole world of not-for-profits as well. Trade associations and professional societies, and actually trade associations' members, are business owners, and the people who are members of professional societies are professionals in their trade or profession. And the purpose of the association is to allow them a place to network, to meet their peers, to learn best practices and to work together on issues they collectively are interested in.
TM: Has digital technology impacted the array of options that you could suggest and offer?
JR: Yes. Certainly the newer technology - social networking collaborative tools, things of that nature - offer another alternative for associations to allow their members to network when they can't afford to travel or because of other reasons that're inconvenient to get together face to face. But we've found that the truth of the matter is most people prefer still to get together face to face.
The most effective networking takes place face to face at conferences, conventions, trade shows, and they do use technology for things like webinars, webcasts, podcasts, things of that nature, to allow those members who can't travel to also participate.
TM: It's good to hear that people still do prefer the one-on-one experience, because in this world, with technology being as it is today, it's very easy to succumb to the ease of isolation, and just communicating across long distances without ever meeting a person or even seeing them for that matter.
JR: Yeah, that's so true. You know, it's really interesting when you're actively involved in a trade show or a conference or convention just to see the members gathering together and networking. They just love to see each other; it's like a family reunion. People tend to develop relationships that last a long, long time, and sometimes even as individuals, (moving) from one employer to another, they stay connected with their peers geographically disbursed around the country through their national associations. Local associations, statewide associations, also provide those opportunities on a more local basis. In fact in the Lexington area, one organization that I think business people definitely relate to is Commerce Lexington. That's a really good example of how a trade association can work to help business people get their issues across in terms of advocacy and government relations and things of that nature as well.
TM: Is it too early yet in the current economic downturn to understand how these conditions might impact planning for near-future association conferences or conventions?
JR: I think certainly the current economic situation, with gas prices and airline prices that are being impacted by that, are all things that I think all business people are concerned about. I think associations are trying to be more proactive to find ways to deliver training, and again, technology is a big part of that, so webinars, webcast, podcast, publications, newsletters, web sites (are) becoming more interactive. There are a number of ways that association members can continue to stay in touch, but again the face-to-face conferences and conventions are still the number one benefit that members routinely rate as the biggest reason that they join.
TM: Do you provide fundraising advisory services to nonprofits?
JR: Yes, many of the trade associations and professional organizations that we provide headquarters for do have sponsorships programs. We have one foundation that provides a scholarship to students that are majoring in a particular field that this association focuses on. So yes, we certainly provide advisory support and support services to assist their committees and members and their board of directors to move their issues forward.
TM: In a community the size of Lexington, there are only so many corporate dollars to go around, and in this economy corporate giving may be becoming a bit more conservative. How do you recommend that a nonprofit organization approach the business community for support?
JR: It's important to really identify the cause, the purpose that the association, the fundraising organization, is really passionate about, and then make a connection to that business and how it's important for that businessÖ To be a good corporate citizen is part of it, but associations also recognize that businesses are in business to make a profit, and there's a need for the association to find ways to help promote the businesses through their sponsorship dollars and contributions. Many of the philanthropic and more charitable-type organizations, the benefit is more being a good corporate citizen, and certainly there's a lot of competition for those dollars.
TM: This would be one way to demonstrate a commitment to corporate social responsibility?
JR: Most companies identify a small number of organizations that they can afford to support, and I think that most companies try to stay with the theme or the category of organizations that they want to support year in and year out, so that they can get some renewal and return from those investments year in and year out. So if an association can identify those corporate partners that are particularly affiliated. Maybe it's children's issues or maybe it's some other professional type of organization and their issues that they are promoting. For example, I noticed recently - this is not in the not-for-profit sector, but for example - the National City Bank has become kind of the lead sponsor for the Sweet 16 Basketball Tournament, and that's for multiple years, so I think when you take that kind of concept that businesses are very familiar with and apply it to the not-for-profit world, it's the same concept.
TM: Any similarities between for-profits and nonprofits?
JR: It's important for business people to understand that not-for-profit corporations are a lot like businesses. They really are corporations. It's just a different form of corporation in that there is no one owner; there is no set stock holder, they don't pay income taxes. But the things that are in common are: they hire people, they have employees, they provide income for those individuals, they lease office space, they provide services and receive revenues for those, and then they reinvest those revenues right back into services for their members and interested constituents. So they're good citizens. I think associations are also - for some businesses - the primary source of training professional development, best practices. Associations offer accreditation for businesses, they offer certifications programs for individuals that want to demonstrate a higher level of professionalism. So there are a tremendous number of benefits that not- for-profits offer to the business community. When people think of not-for-profits, I would encourage them to think of them in that light, as opposed to just thinking of them as a fundraising source that they continually get called for funds. It's not that. Associations really give back more than they take.