What Is An Association Management Company? An association management company is a for-profit company that manages multiple non-profit associations, professional societies and foundations. Out of the some 13,000 associations in the United States, over 25% are managed by professional association management companies and the numbers are growing daily. Based on the concept of shared resources, an association management company provides volunteer organizations with the expertise they need, when they need it. Many organizations find that by utilizing this concept, it is usually more cost effective, plus a higher degree of professionalism can be found than can be had with a captive staff. An association management firm accommodates a typical association or society with headquarters in a centralized location. The overhead cost of the office is divided among the organizations represented. This provides for an association to see a growth in resources and profit from professional equipment and cutting edge technology. With an association management company, this is all possible without a weighty investment. In addition, many association management companies are members of the AMC Institute and subscribe to the AMC Institute's code of ethics. A dministrative Services: The core of DMS support begins with administrative services. DMS provides a key contact staff person, who may become the executive director of the organization. The executive director manages a team of DMS professionals which provides services to the organization. Depending upon the scope of services needed, the team can consist of a few staff members working part-time on the account or encompass any number of full-time professionals. Administrative support services potentially include day-to-day support, a corporate office and official mailing address, annual non-profit state filings, and advisement on a broad array of governance issues. B oard & Committee Support: For an organization to be effective, a strong board and committee structure needs to exist. DMS can make volunteer board and committee involvement much easier. We make all necessary meeting arrangements, coordinate site selection, develop the agendas in consultation with volunteer leadership, compile and distribute materials, take minutes, and schedule conference calls. If desired, we can provide a comprehensive board book with all pertinent organizational information including past minutes, articles, by-laws, director responsibilities, Roberts Rules of Orders, budgets, and customized materials. In addition, DMS can provide planning and development facilitation services. In todays' world, association planning is critical because members needs are constantly changing. For many associations, yearly reviews of the strategic plan are very important. C onvention and Meeting Planning: DMS currently plans and executes over 100 meetings per year ranging in size from 10-member board and committee meetings to convention and trade shows with over 1,000 participants. With two professional meeting planners on staff and other employees with extensive meeting planning experience, we can ease the volunteer burden by making your meetings of any size run efficiently. Convention and meeting planning services include but are not limited to the following: Work with the Board of Directors in selecting sites for meetings, which would also include assembling information for a Request for Proposal to be sent to Convention and Visitors Bureaus as well as to specific meeting site properties. This proposal would include the space and event requirements of the association as well as room block needs Site inspection, hotel contract negotiation, and review Contacting and contracting local speakers Program/registration brochure planning and design (working in coordination with association members) Mailing registration materials to prospective attendees Meeting registration processing Handling on-site registration Meeting budget preparation Meeting/event coordination Arranging all banquet event orders with hotel, including catering needs, room setup and design, and audio visual requirements Meeting signs Final program handouts Name badges Meeting evaluations Performing post-convention follow-up, including reviewing billing statements and payment of all expenses Preparing and distributing post-meeting financial report to Board of Directors D ata Base Management and File Storage: The life blood of an organization is knowing your members. DMS has the technology to keep track of an organization's membership and prospective members. Although we carry the latest versions of Filemaker Pro, DMS also has the capability of converting and maintaining practically all other database management software. Both paper and computer file storage is available. We have secure off site file storage for paper files and back up our computer files nightly. E ducation, Accreditation and Certification: To many organizations, increasing professional competency in their given field is a high priority. DMS has the capability to develop, manage and maintain accreditation and certification programs. In addition, we provide educational opportunities for the members of many of our association clients through education and training seminars, tape libraries and long distance learning through the use of the Internet. F inancial Management: Financial and accounting management is an essential service that DMS provides to most of our clients. All DMS personnel are bonded and will facilitate the annual budget developed by the association's Board of Directors. DMS maintains all financial records for your organization, and works with the accounting firm of your choice to develop and complete an annual audit, which we strongly urge each of our clients to have done on an annual basis. It is a standard recommended procedure in the non profit world. A general description of the financial services we provide includes preparing monthly financial statements, reconciling bank statements, sending membership dues notices, generating reports on cash disbursement and receipts, assisting with tax return preparation and filing, and paying all bills under the direction of your association treasurer. G overnment Relations/Regulatory Interface: DMS provides government relations programs for many of our state clients within Iowa. At the federal level, we participate by virtue of running state associations with national offices and by representing national associations directly. At both the state and federal levels we maintain the ability to advocate effectively for our clients as needed. DMS stays current regarding rules affecting lobbyists, and we provide for both state and federal PAC administration. We are very cognizant that the rules implementing legislation are sometimes as important as the legislation itself. Toward that end we stay up on the regulatory process and procedures in a number of industries. H osting and Web Development: The use of the Internet has proved to be an invaluable tool in educating, informing and marketing in the association environment. DMS provides Internet services to a broad spectrum of clients, but we have special expertise in the association world because it is our primary business. We believe that for an association to effectively use the Internet as a service delivery mechanism, a fusion of disciplines is needed including technology, design, writing, marketing and business insight of the specific association and its members. I nformation and Communications: In the world we live in today, communications is key to a successful association and DMS specializes in designing award winning newsletters, directories, brochures and magazines. To facilitate member communications, DMS has developed systems which allow for each member of each association to determine the most appropriate communication methods. E-mail, broadcast e-mail, fax, broadcast fax, regular postal mail, and web site posting are all options DMS can offer. In addition, DMS has desktop publishing capabilities including QuarkXPress, giving us in-house capabilities for designing business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, newsletters, directories, signs, flyers and other materials. All DMS staff have e-mail addresses and Internet access through our own T1 line, plus we have full capability for file and graphic transfer by modem. J oint Team Effort DMS's management philosophy is one in which we use a team approach to work with each association based upon the personalities and disciplines required to get the job done. This inner-disciplinary approach allows for the best use of time and talent and is also very cost effective for the association.
	Diversified Management Services 525 S.W. 5th. Street, Suite A Des Moines, Iowa 50309-4501 Phone: (515) 282-8192 Fax: (515) 282-9117 Web: www.assoc-mgmt.com Email: dms@assoc-mgmt.com