Transforming a nonprofit organization

An international society of professionals dissolved due to financial insolvency. The Detroit Chapter faced three choices: to dissolve, to merge with another professional association but lose its identity, or to establish itself as an independent organization with its own identity.

Membership in the Detroit Chapter plunged 75 percent after announcement of the parent society’s dissolution. Revenues fell dramatically without the dues income from nonrenewing members. The chapter had a governing board, but no infrastructure for administering collection of dues and no member services other than a monthly speaker and a sporadically published newsletter.

The principal of Burgess Strategic Marketing Services led the organization in establishing an independent identity and guided the governing board as it:

• Redefined the organization’s mission as educational and charitable
• Developed a vision for the future
• Secured status as a federally tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation
• Rebuilt its membership base and gained new members
• Achieved financial stability in less than two years
• Lowered annual dues and established an infrastructure for collecting them
• Boosted average attendance at meetings by about 25 percent
• Developed a new corporate identity
• Established a scholarship program in the organization's name at a large, public university
• Established Corporate Relations and Community Outreach functions on the governing board, which secured corporate grants to support the organization’s operations and to fulfill its educational mission
• Converted the organization’s newsletter into an electronic format, which decreased costs while increasing the frequency of issue
• Gained visibility for the organization in the local business community via a public relations campaign