The associations segment has taken some big hits, from a new presidential administration heavily scrutinizing the tax status of nonprofits and cutting research funding to an anticipated drop in international attendees and industry experts traveling to the U.S.
We sat down with one of the foremost associations thought leaders, KiKi L’Italien, former CEO and host of Association Chat and current operator of KiKiLItalien.com and AmplifiedGrowthMedia.com, to discuss what she believes are the issues that are most impacting the segment.
Here are four issues that should be on the radar of anyone in an association, from members to staff, leadership and planners.
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Layoffs
“I just saw something from the The Chronicle of Philanthropy that was talking about nonprofit jobs, and I guess there were over 3,000—and that’s a low estimate—jobs lost in the nonprofit sector in June alone. Personally, I’ve been hearing from people, too,” L’Italien said. “All kinds of businesses in our industry, industry partners, are feeling that, while the nonprofits, the associations, are feeling budget anxiety and fighting tariffs [and other government actions] on Capitol Hill.”
L’Italien added that although one of the biggest factors in the budget woes and resulting layoffs can reasonably be attributed to policies from the new presidential administration —such as tariff threats, government funding and research grants being stripped—some of the association segment’s woes are lingering from the Covid-19 era.
“When you start thinking about the business models for associations, a lot of them are still recovering from the Covid years and trying to make that up,” she said. “What’s happening with meetings and the rising costs that are associated with them; that was already a concern. I don’t think that it got to a point where people felt like that stabilized after Covid. I saw something the other day where somebody in the events industry was talking about how it’s cheaper to buy people Starbucks cards than it is to just offer them coffee.”
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AI Fatigue
While AI inarguably is transforming the business world, just keeping up with this revolutionary technology is yet another thing to add to the long list of existential association woes.
“It’s overwhelming, and people are burned out because it’s a lot of change in a very short amount of time,” she said. “A lot of association leaders have to look at things like budget constraints and losing grant funding and worrying about their meetings, and then they look at AI and they’re like, ‘Oh man—I can’t even right now!’ The adoption of AI is difficult when you’re thinking about how you are trying to implement training and things like that internally. It’s just a lot for people right now when they’re trying to figure out what they should invest in when it comes to AI technology and what they should just wait and see about. Associations are very much in that ‘risk-averse, maybe I should wait and see’ category.”
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A Crisis of Trust
What’s real and what’s fake, and just what should be prioritized in this time of disruption? There’s just too much information in the pipeline, so association leaders may be frozen at the proverbial switch.
“Whether it’s association members or association leaders, a lot of people are looking at their organizations or associations and they’re saying, ‘Is this doing what I really need it to do?’” L’Italien said. “And whether you’re talking about trade associations or professional societies, things have been upended in all kinds of industries right now. It’s been very difficult for association leaders to know what they really need to do [because] it’s very difficult to do the right thing by all people.
“Members of associations are looking around saying, ‘Can I trust them to do what they say they’re going to do?’” she continued. “‘Are my dollars going where they need to go? What is the best use of this part of our training budget or this part of our professional development?’ For those organizations that have not really been focused on cultivating that sense of belonging and thinking about the value proposition for their members, this is probably a really hard time for them when that value question comes up.”
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In a world overwhelmed with information and bad actors using technology to deceive people online, L’Italien believes the authenticity of face-to-face meetings is all that more important.
“People are really desiring authenticity, whether it’s through communications or authenticity when you’re meeting with others,” L’Italien said. “We’ve got a situation where people don’t necessarily know who to trust, where to trust. They don’t trust what they’re seeing. They don’t trust what they’re hearing. They don’t trust necessarily what institutions are telling them. People are hungry for something that’s real; something that doesn’t seem like it’s AI generated. It’s really becoming even more special to have those in-person meetings where you’re able to have those conversations that you can’t have in any other way.”
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International Attendance
News of intense scrutinization of international travelers entering the U.S. and what many believe are draconian U.S. immigration enforcement actions has resulted in a sizeable drop in inbound visitors. This trend is reverberating through association circles, with many worried about a precipitous drop in international attendees as well as expert presenters.
“They’re definitely [concerned] and they’re seeing it, especially if you’re in healthcare-related associations or science societies; they’re struggling,” L’Italien said. “Some people, internationally, don’t even want to come into the United States because they’re not sure…if they’re going to end up being detained and not even be able to enter. And in the association industry and the events industry, when you are booking so far out…I think that if you’re an event planner working for a scientific association right now, you’re probably very concerned about making these plans two and three years out.
“You’ve got all of this concern about, ‘Oh, you’re having a scientific meeting. Well, I don’t know if any federal employees are able to attend. I don’t know if international scientists feel comfortable attending,’” she added. “The ripple effects are definitely being felt across the industry right now and people are talking about it.”
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