ASAE Foundation Benchmarking
Association leaders make decisions that have far-reaching effects on their organizations. The ASAE Foundation collects data leading to industry benchmarks that can help association executives make informed choices.
ASAE’s benchmarking reports provide insight on financial operations, compensation and benefits, policies and procedures, and other areas. The data is collected through surveys of ASAE members and nonmembers and, in the case of ASAE’s Operating Ratio Report, from publicly available Form 990 reports and ASAE repositories of demographic data on associations.
The data collected by the foundation for these studies is now available through AssociaMetrics, ASAE’s benchmarking portal, which allows professionals to create customized reports to explore the issues most important to their organizations.
- Association Operating Ratio Report, 15th Edition
ASAE used publicly available Form 990 data matched to a set of 5,424 associations for which ASAE maintains demographic data. A survey was also conducted, with 258 respondents providing information on their financial operations. The study represents associations with different characteristics, including staff size, annual budget, geographic location, geographic scope, and type of industry. - Association Compensation and Benefits Study, 2016-2017 Edition
Surveys were completed by 411 CEOs and human resources, finance, administration, and operations staff from both ASAE member and nonmember associations. Respondents were asked about organizational characteristics, as well compensation, salary administration, and staff and retirement benefits. - Greater Washington Area Association Compensation and Benefits Study, 2016-2017 Edition
This report compiles data obtained from the 115 respondents in the national compensation and benefits study who were from the Greater Washington area. - Association Investment Policies, Practices, and Performance, 2016 Edition
Now in its third year, this report analyzes the investment practices and performance of participating associations. ORION Investment Advisors worked with the ASAE Foundation to provide content-area expertise in areas such as oversight and governance, allocations, and strategy. The findings provide examples of how associations are handling their investment strategies and offers ideas on how you might best prepare financially for your association’s future.
The foundation will conduct additional benchmarking surveys in 2017 and 2018 on policies and procedures in association management functional areas to provide association executives and managers with information on how they compare to their peers in the industry.