Delegates to PRSA’s 61^st Assembly, and the second annual PRSA Leadership Assembly, turned their attention to the Society’s financial future as they met prior to the start of PRSA’s 2011 International Conference, “Imagine. Create. Inspire. Envisioning the Future of Public Relations,” in Orlando, Fla.

Following nine months of discussion and debate, Assembly Delegates overwhelmingly approved a proposal to increase PRSA’s membership dues by $30, not to exceed $255 annually. The proposal passed by a nearly 4-to-1 margin (209-to-53), with the increase scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2012.

Members who renew (regardless of their renewal date) or initiate PRSA membership by Dec. 31, 2011, will still receive one additional year of membership at the 2011 base membership rate of $225.

Discussion of the proposal lasted less than 10 minutes. Delegates appeared to understand the rationale for a dues increase, given the Society’s efforts to cut expenses and realize new sources of non-dues revenue, as well as the increased costs of business and the current economic climate.

Continue reading " Leadership Assembly Approves Membership Dues Increase "

As expected, PRSA’s Q3 financial report shows that revenue and expenses for the first nine months of 2011 are tracking below budget, due to continued economic weakness and cyclical business patterns.

We continue to believe that PRSA will finish the year with a slight surplus over expenses, and thus achieve our budgetary goals for the year. While PRSA has traditionally contributed 1 percent of budgeted expenses to its net asset balance (“reserves”) at year end, we anticipate that stagnant revenue, increased costs and a reduction in corporate spending on professional development will prevent us from doing so this year.

Through September, the Society realized a net deficit of $744,000 from operations, which is $50,000 better than budget. This compares with a net deficit of $582,000 for the same nine-month period in 2010. In response, PRSA implemented a cost-reduction program that lowered expenses across all operations by $316,000, which more than offsets the $266,000 reduction in overall revenue.

PRSA also took steps to address the continued underperformance of the nation’s economy and financial markets, by updating its investment policy to safeguard its assets and responsibly grow its investment portfolio. As a result, PRSA’s portfolio decreased only 5.7 percent during the first nine months of 2011, bettering the performance of the S&P 500, which declined 8.7 percent over the same period.

Finally, we continue to follow a highly focused budgeting process. A 2012 operating plan has been developed, based on the strategic priorities outlined in the Society’s 2011-2013 Strategic Plan, and translated into a balanced financial plan for the year. Given the possibility that PRSA will implement its first Membership dues increase in 10 years in 2012, the Finance Committee has reviewed two separate draft budgets for the coming year: One that anticipates passage of the dues increase by the Leadership Assembly; and a contingency plan with multiple options for possible expense reductions, should the dues increase not pass.

Continue reading " PRSA Financial Report: Looking at the First Nine Months of 2011 "

PRSA’s release of the results of the 2011 Membership Satisfaction Study has generated some questions from members, particularly regarding methodology and data interpretation. Ketchum was pleased to manage the research for PRSA’s 2008 Membership Satisfaction Study, the Society’s 2009 Chapter Survey and the current study of PRSA’s members. As the person at Ketchum responsible for the research, I wanted to share a bit about the methodology and what we found.

First, the technical details:

• Sample size — 1,126 current members, 202 lapsed members and 584 people who have never been a member. To put that into perspective, most surveys you see in the news have a sample size of 1,000 for the entire American public. Results of this study are projectable to the overall populations within the respective margins of error at the 95-percent confidence level.
• Margin of error — Ninety-five (95) percent of the time if you were to repeat this same study 100 times, you would get answers within +/- 2.2 percent for members, +/- 6.9 percent for lapsed members, and +/- 4.0 percent for “never members.”
• Weighting — Responses were weighted to the overall profile of the PRSA membership in terms of tenure in the PR industry. This is to ensure results approximate the membership as closely as possible, and is a standard practice in survey research.

Continue reading " Analyzing the PRSA 2011 Membership Satisfaction Survey "

Editor’s Note: Throughout the ongoing discussion regarding a proposed dues increase, some PRSA members have expressed interest in better understanding the value of PRSA National. In a May 2011 column in Public Relations Tactics, William M. Murray, CAE, PRSA president and chief operating officer, offered insight and commentary on the value of National and the role it plays helping PRSA’s 114 chapters and its 22,000 professional members succeed daily.

We spend a lot of time at PRSA thinking about member value and looking for ways to keep member satisfaction at its presently high level. One question that people occasionally ask me pertains to the value that our members receive from PRSA National, relative to the value that they receive from their local Chapters.

As the relationship between PRSA and its Chapters is cooperative, complementary and mutually beneficial, it’s sometimes difficult to know exactly where the value of National membership ends and the value of Chapter membership begins.

It’s a fair question — one that merits further exploration here. And perhaps the best way to answer this is by considering what our profession might look like without PRSA National.

Without a national organization knitting together PRSA’s Chapter network, there would be essentially 114 local PR organizations of different sizes, philosophies and membership criteria. Each former Chapter would be separate and distinct from other Chapters, as well as from similar organizations.

The members of these new organizations would have far fewer professionals to network with — most likely several hundred locally, compared with the 22,000 members of PRSA nationally.

Continue reading " PRSA Perspectives: The ‘Value of National’ Question "

Now that we’re more than halfway through a busy year at PRSA, it’s a perfect time to take stock of how 2011 is going. (Editor’s Note: PRSA Chair and CEO Rosanna M. Fiske, APR, offers her mid-year update in this video report.)

The good news is that, despite a challenging economy and lean finances — basically a break-even budget for PRSA this year — we are adhering closely to our operating plans for 2011 and are continuing on course to deliver existing, new and improved member benefits.

Like many organizations, PRSA has its own rhythms. We are currently in the process of selecting our future leaders and planning for our International Conference, which will be held Oct. 15-18, in Orlando, Fla. Sure, not all of our members run for office or attend our Conference, but chances are that we’re working on something that affects you or your Chapter, regardless of your plans.

Continue reading " PRSA’s Progress: Taking Stock of 2011 "