The Strategic and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the Association Sector

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Association Laboratory wanted to provide guidance to association leaders helping them determine to what extent they were “at risk” and to guide those with a higher risk of being substantially harmed by the economic and other impacts of COVID-19. By understanding whether their association is at-risk gives association leaders evidence to lead the strategic change necessary to survive, even prosper, through challenging times. Without agreement on the severity of the situation each individual association faces, it is hard to convince volunteer leaders, staff, and members of the necessity of strategic change and the hard choices such change might require. With daily headlines becoming more dire by the day and the list of cancelled meetings getting longer and longer, fact was too often becoming replaced by rumor.

Association Laboratory believed it was critical to understand the following:

1. What was the financial readiness of associations prior to the pandemic?
2. What was going to be the impact of the pandemic on near- and long-term association and meetings revenue?
3. What did associations anticipate doing to react and recover from this impact?

This study highlights information representing a diagnostic of the association’s preparedness to weather the COVID-19 storm. It also includes information outlining respondents’ perceptions of the anticipated trajectory of meetings and association revenue — resources critical to funding Mission-based strategies.