1
Proposal for Restructuring Business Dues
(December 2008)
Under the current membership structure, businesses are able to join AASHE and receive the same benefits as institutional members. Many of these benefits are less relevant for businesses, which tend to be most interested in marketing their product or service to the campus sustainability community. Staff created a Business Partnership webpage describing the primary ways that businesses can support AASHE,1 but businesses have expressed interest in higher level engagement that would allow them to obtain greater exposure to the campus sustainability community. Additionally, there is often some confusion as to whether or not AASHE exists to support the businesses in their mission to sell products and services to the campus sustainability community. The Membership Team (Judy, Julian, Andrea, Liz, and Niles) proposes that AASHE expand its current business membership structure to offer more sponsorship and networking opportunities and change the membership status of businesses from "members" to "supporting members2." Specifically, the Membership Team proposes a Business Alliance Program. Businesses would be able to choose between three annual fee levels which correspond to different dues and benefits as detailed below.
Business Associate
‐ similar to current business membership, and same rates • Associate membership in AASHE • Access to Resource Center • Authorized use of member logo • Networking opportunities • Recognition on the AASHE Members page • Conference and sponsorship discounts • *Basic inclusion in business directoryBusiness Supporter
All Associate benefits plus: • Opportunity to offer 1 educational webinar with 1 email blast to the membership announcing the webinar • ½ page sponsorship in AASHE Digest • 1 featured interview in the AASHE Blog • *Highlighted in business directoryBusiness Leader
All Associate benefits plus: • Opportunity to offer 2 educational webinars, with 1 associated email blast to the membership announcing each • 1 full‐page sponsorship in the AASHE Digest • 1 educational post or featured interview in the AASHE Blog • Recognition as a sponsor of a relevant section of the Resource Center, including the Forum3 • *Featured in business directory Upon implementation of this proposal, all current business members would automatically become Business Associates. If a business wished to gain more benefits and access to our members, it could participate at a higher level. We chose 1 http://www.aashe.org/about/business.php * AASHE plans to introduce a Business Directory by the beginning of 2010. This benefit would be added to the list at that time. 3 Details have yet to be decided on for this benefit; the Forum wouldn't be listed as a benefit until it is completehip. not to include any of the existing “Business Partnership Opportunities”4 as benefits in these Levels (with the exception of AASHE Digest sponsorship) to ensure that our new offerings do not reduce the revenue already received through event and program sponsors
Fee Structure
The proposed fees for the Business Alliance Program are listed below. Note there are five categories of participation at each level which are divided according to annual sales. These categories match the current membership structure and recognize the differences in financial ability between small and large companies.Category Associate Supporter Leader
> 1 million $300 $5,000 $17,500 1 million – 5 million $750 $6,500 $19,000 5 – 25 million $1250 $7,500 $20,000 25 – 100 million $2000 $8,500 $21,000 > 100 million $5000 $10,000 $22,500
Business Associate prices are equal to 2009 business membership fees (which were increased from years past). Business Supporter and Leader prices were selected to average $10,000 and $25,000 respectively. These figures were chosen based on what other organizations comparable to AASHE charge for participation in similar programs. Participants in the Business Supporter Program would have to renew their support each year, much the same as current membership, and the renewal process would work the same as it does currently. The only difference would be that a business member could choose to upgrade their membership at any time. In such a circumstance, the renewal date would be reset to the first of the month following the date when the upgrade took place. The cost of the upgrade would be discounted by a prorated amount to compensate for the remaining months of membership at the previous level. For example, a Business Associate that upgrades halfway through their membership term would pay the appropriate rate listed above minus half of the cost of their original Associate dues. Appendix A lists organizations with similar business supporter programs as proposed in this document.
Financial Impact
Because AASHE business members could still join and renew at the same rate and receive the same benefits that they have enjoyed previously, AASHE would not see a negative financial impact by adopting this proposal. We do not have a clear sense of how many businesses would participate in the higher levels of support so it is difficult to project exactly how much additional revenue this proposal would generate. However, if just two members chose to join or renew at the Leader rate, and three members chose to join at the Supporter rate, AASHE would receive approximately $62,500 of new revenue. Since the benefits offered to business supporters are relatively inexpensive to provide, net income would also be strongly positive. Below are example budgets at the Supporter and Leader levels, followed by an example scenario of five business supporters and the potential income generated. 4 listed http://www.aashe.org/about/business.php * AASHE plans to introduce a Business Directory by the beginning of 2010. This benefit would be added to the list at that time.3 Fig. 1: Supporter Budget Income Supporter $7,500 Total Income $7,500 Expenses 1 webinar Webinar Fees ($200) Staff Time (including overhead) 20 hrs at $35 per hour ($700) 1 email blast for the webinar Staff Time (including overhead) 5 hrs at $25 per hour ($125) 1/2 page sponsorship in AASHE Digest Staff Time (including overhead) 5 hrs at $25 per hour ($125) 1 featured interview in the AASHE Blog Staff Time (including overhead) 5 hrs at $25 per hour ($125) Total Expenses ($1,275) Net Income $6,225 Fig. 2: Leader Budget Income Leader $20,000 Total Income $20,000 Expenses 2 webinars Webinar Fees ($400) Staff Time (including overhead) 40 hrs at $35 per hr ($1,400) 1 email blast for each webinar Staff Time (including overhead) 10 hrs at $25 per hr ($250) 1 full page sponsorship in the AASHE Digest Staff Time (including overhead) 5 hrs at $25 per hr ($125) 1 educational post or interview in the AASHE Blog Staff Time (including overhead) 5 hrs at $25 per hr ($125) Recognition as a sponsor of a section of the Resource Center Staff Time (including overhead) 5 hrs at $25 per hr ($125) Total Expenses ($2,425) Net Income $17,575
Fig 3: Example Revenue with Three Supporters and Two Leaders Income Supporter Income 3 Supporters at $7,500 each $22,500 Leader Income 2 Leaders at $20,000 each $40,000 Total Income $62,500 Expenses Supporter Expenses 3 Supporters at $1,275 each ($3,825) Leader Expenses 2 Leader at $2,425 each ($4,850) Total Expenses ($8,675) Net Income $53,825 With all expenses included, AASHE's net income for the example listed above would be $53,825.
Conclusion
The Business Alliance Program will provide companies with more marketing, interaction, and educational opportunities within the campus sustainability community. The program will also result in increased professional development and educational opportunities for AASHE institutional members through the webinars and blog posts that Supporters and Leaders provide. Finally, the program can only increase revenue for AASHE, which will enable us to expand our offerings and further our mission.5
Appendix A
Associations with Similar Corporate Supporter Programs
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
5AACC offers membership to businesses under its "Corporate Program." The Program contains four levels with fixed prices for each level:
Category Name Fee # Participants
Leader $50,000 or above 3 Partner $25,000 or above 3 Advocate $10,000 or above 10 Associate $5,000 or above 8 Members of the Corporate Program receive similar benefits to institutional members. However, their benefits are expanded to include several marketing and networking opportunities. For example, Corporate Leaders receive 2 complimentary full page ads in the CC Times annually and in the CC Journal annually, a corporate banner ad on a prominent section of AACC Website, recognition on display at AACC Washington, D.C. headquarters, and more.6 Benefits then decrease according to level. Additionally, AACC lists several principles to guide AACC's corporate relations. A few examples include: • AACC secures corporate support solely for programs and initiatives that fall within AACC's Strategic Action Areas. • AACC does not endorse or recommend the purchase or use of any company's products or services. • AACC strives to deal in an ethical and fair manner with competing companies. • AACC retains editorial control of publications with corporate sponsors.
American Council on Education (ACE)
7ACE does not offer membership to businesses. Instead, it offers the "Alliance Program," through which companies can become associates of ACE. The levels are as follows:
Category Name Fee # Participants
Leadership $200,000+ 5 Directors $100,000 ‐ $199,999 1 Supporters $25,000 ‐ $99,999 7 Billing <$5 M Billing >$5 M Friend $2,000 $5,000 41 The Alliance Program benefits include invitations to special events, advanced notice of new programs and opportunities 5 http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutAACC/Giving_to_AACC/Corporate_Program/corporate_program.htm 6 http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutAACC/Giving_to_AACC/Corporate_Program/corporate_leaders.htm 7 http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/Membership/TAP/index.htm
for collaboration, visibility in selected ACE publications and meetings, special recognition in ACE publications, 10‐25% discounts on all ACE publications and conference registration fees, and more. The $25,000 and above level allows companies to "build relationships with campus leaders." Additionally, ACE has a list of guiding principles for its Alliance relations. The list includes such guidelines as: • ACE does not endorse any specific company's products or services, nor recommend their purchase or use. ACE strives to deal in an ethical and fair manner with competing companies. • ACE reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any Alliance Program participant and further reserves the right to reject any application for any reason. • ACE will provide appropriate acknowledgment and recognition of sponsors in accordance with ACE sponsorship policies and procedures, including those set forth in the Annual Meeting Sponsorship Prospectus, and with applicable laws and Internal Revenue Service rules and regulations. Corporate sponsors are subject to ACE's terms and conditions for sponsors.
American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)
The ACUPCC offers three levels of sponsorship to interested corporations:Category Name Annual Fee # Participants
Platinum $50,000+ 2 Gold $15,000 ‐ $49,999 6 Silver $5,000 ‐ $14,999 5 Platinum sponsors receive: • Their logo on the "Supporters" page of the ACUPCC website • Recognition in ACUPCC Annual Reports • Ability to use the "ACUPCC Supporter" logo • Ability to offer up to two webinars per quarter • Participation in special ACUPCC "task forces" • Opportunity to send representatives to annual ACUPCC summit meetings. Benefits then decrease according to level.
