Home / Events / Pandemic Survival for Associations – Diversifying Revenue in Challenging Economic Times

Trade associations and membership organizations have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of in-person seminars, conferences, and annual meetings. Shrewd 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) organizations have already worked out how to pivot and create new revenue sources to adapt to uncertain economic conditions. What are the secrets to successfully refocusing your organization and building a sustainable revenue model?

Join GRF CPAs & Advisors for a peer-to-peer roundtable discussion among association CFOs, CEOs, COOs and other senior management. Our facilitators will lead the group in frank discussions about the issues plaguing organizations seven months into the COVID-19 crisis. With no end in sight, we will explore what is keeping leaders up at night and hear from some Association executives about the changes they have made or will make to supplement their annual revenue in this environment. Participants will come away with strategies, methods and best practices for diversifying revenue for short-term survival as well as the organization’s longevity.

Additional Facilitators

Omid Mohebbi, CPA | Manager, Nonprofit Audit

Mr. Mohebbi is responsible for managing audit engagements and serving as a client liaison throughout the planning, fieldwork and post-fieldwork stages of each audit. In addition, he ensures the efficient, timely and accurate completion of fieldwork, audit report preparation, and presentation of the audit and other key deliverables to governance bodies of the firm’s clients.

Colleen Eubanks, CAE | CEO, International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)

As an accomplished leader in the nonprofit and association sector, Colleen has more than 25 years of executive and senior leadership in charitable, membership, and trade organizations. Preceding her appointment to the CEO position at IASP, she was Vice President of MCI USA (formerly Coulter Companies) for 8 years. In addition to her client association leadership roles, Colleen brought her extensive expertise and passion for good governance and strategic planning to a wide variety of MCI clients, including the American Thoracic Society, ITechLaw, The ESOP Association, and others.

Mark Stodter, Controller and Systems Administrator | Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges

Mark Stodter is the Controller and Systems Administrator for the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) in Washington, D.C. Mark joined the AAVMC in 2009. As the Controller, he maintains all accounting records, payroll, and financial reporting for the association. As the Systems Administrator, Mark maintains all the IT infrastructure for the association. Over the last five years Mark led the effort to migrate all AAVMC IT systems to the cloud. That move positioned the AAVMC for a seamless transition to remote working when that emergency decision was made because of the global pandemic. Previously, he worked in the private sector as an accounting professional in the telecommunications, manufacturing and retail industries.

John Henry, CPA, CTP | Chief Financial Officer (CFO), American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

John Henry is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).   The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private sector organizations which represent a $71 billion industry that directly employs 430,000 people and supports millions of private sector jobs.  Prior to joining APTA Mr. Henry served as CFO for Jefferson County located in Jefferson County Alabama.  Prior to joining Jefferson County Mr. Henry was the Associate Treasurer for asset management in the Office of Finance and Treasury (OFT) for the District of Columbia managing the District’s investment programs, including the general fund, the Districts 401(a) and 457(b) retirement programs, the 529 College Savings program and the District’s Other Post Employment Benefit’s Fund.  Mr. Henry was a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army with the 82nd Airborne Division and is a graduate from the U.S. Army Ranger and Airborne Schools. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and holds the Certified Treasury Professional designation. He earned, with honors, a master’s in business administration, finance, from Howard University and a bachelor’s with honors in accounting from Virginia State University.

Additional Information

• Learning Objectives: To develop strategies, methods and best practices specific to associations pursuing revenue diversification to survive challenging economic conditions
• Instructional Delivery Methods: Group Internet-based
• Recommended CPE: 2.0 CPE
• Recommended Fields of Study: Business Management & Organization – Non-technical
• Prerequisites: None Required
• Advance Preparation: None
• Program Level: Basic
• Course Registration Requirements: None
• Refund Policy: No fee is required to participate in this session.
• Cancellation Policy: In the event that the presentation is cancelled or rescheduled, participants will be contacted immediately with details.
• Complaint Resolution Policy: GRF CPAs & Advisors is committed to our participants’ 100% satisfaction and will make every reasonable effort to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. Please contact kdavis@grfcpa.com with any concerns.

GRF CPAs & Advisors is a CAE Approved Provider. This program meets the requirements for fulfilling the professional development requirements to earn or maintain the Certified Association Executive credential and may be applied for 1 (one) credit toward your CAE application or renewal professional development requirements. Every program that we offer which qualifies for CAE credit will clearly identify the number of CAE credits granted for full participation, and we will maintain records of your participation in accord with CAE policies. For more information about the CAE credential or Approved Provider program, please visit www.asaecenter.org/cae.