4th Step to Relevance & Revenue: Members, Sponsors, or Investors?
It all comes down to expectations.
The most successful Chambers of Commerce (Chambers) and Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) are neither the largest nor have the deepest pockets. Every such organization is inherently local, tasked with moving the needle in a unique setting and culture, colored by unique circumstances and personalities.
This changes how we measure an organization in impact, efficiency, strategic alignment with community, and leadership. It’s more contextualized and nuanced than simple unidimensional outputs like budgets and membership counts when each community has one-of-a-kind advantages and challenges.
Instead, we measure outcomes, which is to say: how have lifestyles, behaviors, economic circumstances, social fabric, and more fundamentally progressed? There’s only one driver behind good outcomes, and we call it relevance.
Relevance is a chicken and egg scenario, where you need the right people involved to be relevant but you also need relevance to get them involved. It’s a delicate tightrope walk, but one consistent prerequisite is a mindset shift on how organizations approach the people in their market for fundraising. Most (almost reflexively) focus on traditional fundraising while others—who’ve experienced its limitations—rise to the level of transformational fundraising. Here’s the difference:
The traditional approach relies mostly on memberships and sponsorships, which is transactional and capped funding by default—but also measurable and a good, predictable baseline for budgets. It gets you started and keeps the lights on, but it also rarely cultivates a hotspot of economic activity, if ever.
NCDS’ recommended approach is transformational. It moves beyond members and sponsors into visionary territory, where token memberships and fundraising events fade into rote operations and investment-grade commitments flow into economic prosperity.
It’s a nuanced distinction that may seem subtle, but it’s a vital mindset shift for organizations looking to lead their community’s economic future. It also solves your chicken and egg problem from day one. Are you projecting an ambitious enough vision for your community’s economic future such that the ambitious, big-picture leaders emerge and get a stake in it? Or are you hosting another golf tournament?
Let’s dig a little deeper.
At its core, the difference between members, sponsors, and investors boils down to the type of relationship they expect to have with your organization. Expectations really are everything.
These individuals or companies engage with your organization through a transactional lens. Their contributions often follow a predefined “menu” of benefits. For example, a sponsor pays a specific amount and expects event signage, a logo on your website, or similar promotional perks in return. This is a straightforward exchange: money for marketing exposure.
This cohort bought your lemonade. ($)
On the other hand, investors are drawn by a transformational vision. They’re not just funding an organization; they’re buying into a plan for the future—a future that improves the overall business environment in your region. These contributions go beyond immediate gains, focusing instead on long-term impact.
This cohort released venture capital to grow your lemonade stand. ($$$$$$$)
Expectations dictate and even cultivate these relationships, and how you position your organization should reflect that fact. A transactional relationship assumes a finite pie—one where businesses compete for a bigger slice. Members and sponsors are often focused on short-term wins, like generating leads or boosting visibility. They’re unlikely to be large, influential players if their expectations stop here.
Investors, however, are interested in growing the pie. By improving the overall environment, they create opportunities not only for themselves but for the entire community. They understand that building a vibrant economy—attracting new businesses, cultivating talent, and improving infrastructure—will yield greater, compounding returns in the long run.
Instead of getting a better membership sales team, Chambers and EDOs can help their communities focus on growing the pie by leading initiatives like:
That’s just to name a few potential areas of focus. What it really requires is careful alignment with the priorities and objectives of your community’s influential leaders, which in turn informs careful strategy, planning, recruitment, and organization. Regardless, transformative goals in this vein attract investors who share in a vision that moves far beyond token budget line items into much larger funding sources.
One of the most practical distinctions between members, sponsors, and investors lies in who has the funding and for what purpose.
Contributions from members and sponsors typically come out of a marketing or advertising budget. These budgets are usually finite, rote, and tied to specific, short-term deliverables. In nearly all instances, this funding approach will sustain but not help you thrive.
Investments, however, can draw from larger and more diverse funding pools. Corporate budgets for business development, community relations, or even philanthropic foundations can often be tapped when they find a vision with a purpose that aligns with their mission.
This is a true, strategic unlocking of untapped funds that allows investors to commit at higher levels and for longer durations. When you position your organization as a driver of community change, you naturally align with the funding priorities of investors.
We’ve covered your participants’ expectations and how they work, now let’s think for a moment about yours. What can you expect in terms of engagement, participation, and ownership when embracing a transformative funding approach?
These contributors may never see your organization as more than a useful tool to achieve their business goals. Their relationship is functional, not emotional.
Investors are inherently more engaged because they have so much more at stake, both financially and emotionally. They view their contributions as part of a larger purpose, making them passionate champions of your mission. They’re more likely to advocate for your organization, join your board, rally others to your cause, and stay involved for the long haul.
This passion translates into greater advocacy, stronger partnerships, and more robust community support that will inevitably snowball when you deliver on your promises.
Your Chamber or EDO may be struggling to effect meaningful economic and community improvement year after year. You can achieve these ambitious goals by moving past memberships and sponsorships into a redefined relationship with your stakeholders
Here’s how to take action:
Being relevant means leading your community’s economic future—not just reacting to it. Each of the above recommendations requires thoughtfulness, [truly] strategic planning, stakeholder input, accountability, and a cohort of passionate volunteers to get it done.
NCDS just released a new, budget-friendly product called the Roadmap to Relevance and Revenue. At a fraction of the cost of an expensive fundraising consultant or cookie-cutter strategic planner, you can achieve increased relevance and unlock new kinds of transformational revenue.
It only takes eight weeks and we only accept 10 engagements each year. Each organization that participates gets a custom Roadmap to increase their relevance in the eyes of their community and most influential community leaders.
To start the conversation, contact us today for a free consultation.
Subscribe to our Updates
Subscribe to receive the latest updates to your inbox every week.
By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy.
The most up-to-date intelligence on the most important topics, sent directly to you.
By clicking Sign Up you're confirming that you agree with our Privacy Policy.
