Tag: Member Experience

Aligning Stewardship with Strategic Investment

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Private club leaders face a dual challenge when planning for capital needs: preserving the integrity of existing assets while strategically investing in facilities and amenities that will define their future relevance.

Member expectations and experiences continue to rise, influenced by generational transition and higher initiation fees. As a result, the approach to capital planning must evolve. It cannot be reactive or limited to like-for-like replacements. Effective stewardship requires rigorous financial discipline and a keen understanding of member priorities, industry trends, and evolving standards in hospitality.

Matching Funding With Use
Private clubs have traditionally relied on a combination of tools to fund capital investment with initiation fees, monthly capital fees, assessments and debt financing being the most common.

In recent years, demographic changes have reduced the predictability of initiation-based funding, particularly as longer member life cycles lower turnover. This creates a risk to financial stability that is dependent on factors over which the club has less control.

The accounting matching principle—under which members contribute toward the assets they consume—offers a useful framework for evaluating capital strategy. Historically, initiation-based models have not always achieved this alignment. Increasingly, clubs are adopting recurring capital fees to strengthen inter-generational equity and create a more stable, predictable funding source. This approach ensures that current members support both present operations and future capital needs.

From a financial stewardship perspective, amortization (depreciation) expense can serve as a useful proxy for asset consumption. As a benchmark, annual maintenance capital investment should approximate the club’s straight-line amortization. While not a precise measure of lifecycle requirements, this provides a practical indicator of whether a club is reinvesting at a rate consistent with asset consumption. Persistent reinvestment below amortization levels may indicate deferred renewal and increasing future pressure. This benchmark applies to maintenance capital only and does not account for growth investment.

Structuring Contributions Across Generations
Generational differences influence preferred funding structures. Longer-tenured members often favor lump-sum mechanisms, consistent with traditional ownership models. Newer members tend to prefer predictable, distributed contributions, which provide transparency and cash flow stability. These preferences reflect expectations about financial structuring, rather than inherent attitudes toward debt or risk. Recognizing these distinctions allows clubs to design funding strategies that resonate broadly while maintaining fairness and sustainability.

The Importance of Context
No universal funding model exists for private clubs. Additionally, major capital investments generally require member approval through formal governance. A technically sound project funding structure may be perceived as impractical if it misaligns with member priorities or club culture resulting in delays while projects await membership approval. Thus, capital planning must integrate financial analysis with member perspective related to age, tenure, membership category, culture and how they specifically use the club.

CAPITAL PLANNING BEST PRACTICES

Clubs seeking long-term sustainability follow three best practices:

Align Capital Planning with Strategic Direction
Capital investment should be guided by the club’s strategic plan. Maintenance requirements and growth capital must support the long-term vision. Advancing major projects without strategic clarity risks misaligned investment and sub-optimal use of member resources.

Maintain a Holistic Capital Plan
Effective stewardship requires understanding both existing infrastructure and future priorities. Reserve studies by qualified engineers identify asset condition replacement timing along with an analysis to smooth any high spikes in year over year financial projections to provide recommendations on extending the life of certain assets. Growth capital planning is more complex, requiring member feedback, market awareness, industry trends, and insight into amenities that will sustain engagement and attract prospective members. Integrating both dimensions yields a unified view of capital priorities aligned with funding strategies.

Develop a Funding Model Consistent with Membership Culture
The appropriate combination of capital fees, assessments, debt, and initiation contributions should reflect the financial preferences and demographic composition of the membership.

Effective capital planning in private clubs balances fiduciary stewardship with strategic foresight while considering all member demographics in order to gain voting approval. Clubs that succeed in this area are those that recognize capital investment not merely as a process of replacement, but as a deliberate mechanism for sustaining relevance and delivering long-term member value.

This article was written by Founding Partner Stephen Johnston. It appeared in the Spring edition of NCA’s Club Director Magazine.

Developing a Holistic Member Feedback Strategy

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A member survey provides valuable feedback for club leaders as a standalone evaluation mechanism. But the full value can only be unlocked when a survey becomes part of a holistic member feedback plan.

There are three main components of member feedback that we believe are essential to a best-practice member feedback strategy. All three tie together and support insights that are stronger than the sum of the individual parts.

Real-Time Feedback drives tactical action for the club. While club managers need to be able to interpret positive and negative experiences on a daily basis, few capitalize on all of the potential feedback outlets and touch points at the club. In doing so, they are “reactive” rather than “proactive” in terms of making actionable improvements to the member experience.​

*Open collectors can be implemented for each touch point at the Club, for example, at the conclusion of dining or a golf round.

Periodic Trending continues to be a critical measurement tool because it provides a baseline for satisfaction and a consistent trend year-over-year. Periodic trending feedback lends itself to benchmarking and is an effective tool for monitoring and measuring performance against goals. Real-time feedback can be sporadic, which is why a periodic survey, such as a satisfaction survey, of the entire membership that evaluates the overall member experience for a given period is an essential measurement tool. ​

Long Term Planning to define and refine the vision is a critical exercise of the strategic planning process, and requires continued member buy-in. As the world evolves rapidly, every few years comes the need to reassess members’ outlooks toward club usage, preferences, expectations, and capital desires. Effective long-term planning surveys then leverage periodic trending and real-time feedback to help measure the outcomes of each planning cycle.

As you contemplate any form of member feedback, we encourage you to take a step back and first identify a holistic member feedback strategy that is synergistic and aligns with your organizational goals.

This article was written by Director Ben Hopkinson.

Appreciating Depreciation – A Plan for Funding Capital at Your Club

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Appreciating Depreciation…
A Plan for Funding Capital at Your Club

Many clubs are trying to create a capital plan to ensure assets are maintained and amenities, both now and in the future, meet the needs of its membership. The plan would have been relatively easy to create and maintain had the appropriate process been followed from the onset.

However, economic challenges, directors’ personal agendas and not appreciating the impact of depreciation, have left clubs with both deferred maintenance of assets and a lack of appropriate cash reserves to fund the club’s capital needs.

A common miscue by most clubs is not to consider depreciation of assets as an operating expense. Put another way, all members of the club should pay for this use the same way they pay for golf course maintenance expenses, clubhouse expenses or any other expenses based on use. These operating expenses are factored into annual dues to fund operations – why not think about capital maintenance in the same manner?

Unfortunately, many clubs chose to ignore depreciation, as a non-cash expense, and charge members for only cash expenses. As such, there has been no matching of “use costs” per member for the capital assets of the club. This results in those clubs having to fund capital expenditures based on absolute need and current cash surpluses. As assets deteriorate over time, this often leads to choices being made on which assets to maintain – leading to deferred capital costs – which then needs to be addressed using other funding methods such as assessments to the membership. Continuously raising capital dues can put clubs outside of the market, especially when competing with non-equity clubs who typically do not charge capital dues. This form of funding capital expenditures can impact both financial sustainability and a club’s brand in the marketplace.

Below, we outline steps to ensure support the financial sustainability of your club:

1. Understand Maintenance Capital Needs: clubs need to understand the annual cost to maintain their existing assets over a 20-to-30-year period, similar to a reserve study for a condominium.
This study is more than just a financial exercise, as professional engineers will be able to opine on the impacts that weather, improper installation or unusual usage, among others, can have on the useful life of an asset. After examining the life expectancy of existing assets, factoring in the costs to repair and replace assets at the end of their useful life or the extension of life span of certain assets to smooth annual costs your club can develop a plan to fund the maintenance capital to maintain the conditioning of your existing assets.

2. Quantify Your Sources: evaluate your incoming cash flows that can be used for funding maintenance and growth capital expenditures.
With your reserve study providing a thoughtful estimate of maintenance capital expenditures, it is time to understand how this can be funded under your current funding structure and begin to contemplate changes, if needed to fund the depreciation of your club’s assets. This includes an estimate of expected cash to be received from entrance fees, operating surpluses, and any other capital fees, net of required debt servicing costs to service existing debt.

Since many clubs did not historically charge members the depreciation cost, then over time deferred capital has occurred. In light of this methodology, new members must contribute to both capital maintenance of existing assets and new capital. As such, from a matching principle perspective – one would suggest that entrance fees should be used to fund both capital maintenance and new capital projects.

3. Comprehensive Strategic Planning: understand and document member’s expectations for the Club, including an in-depth study of current and expected utilization of club assets.
Steps 1 and 2 ensure an understanding of the “now”, but clubs are dynamic organizations and the members of today will look very different in 2, 5 or 10 years. This is where a strategic plan, informed by market trends, operational efficiency, member’s expectations, vision and importantly utilization of club assets, becomes critical to capital planning. This plan will help answer important questions in capital planning such as:

• What do my current and future members want from the club?

• Based on current and projected utilization do we have the right assets? Are they of sufficient quality to continue to meet and exceed expectations?

Determining and documenting who you want to be as a club will guide your capital planning and focus. This is a critical step in planning the growth capital expenditures that will need to be funded to meet member’s expectations for the future of the club.

4. Facility Planning: develop a comprehensive campus(es) plan for your Club allowing members input and understanding of the master plan.
Utilizing what you have learned from the strategic plan and utilization study, engage relevant architectural experts (i.e., structural, landscape, golf, etc.) to develop a facility master plan. This will help ensure that capital projects are phased and completed in a way that is not detrimental to future projects or your campus.

The facilities master plan needs to be approved by the membership and any new capital improvements would be approved by the membership along with the funding plan of each such improvement.

This should include periodic communication throughout development, including explaining the research and findings to members so that they are given enough information to vote intelligently on the plan and individual projects.

Key themes to communicate to members include:

  • Maintenance capital is funded in an understandable manner (I use it, I pay for it) based on an informed plan to ensure management is not missing and not planning for critical capital expenditures. No longer is it based on absolute need, it is based on a comprehensive plan with the future in mind.
  • The strategic plan for the future is clear and socialized with membership. Those charged with governance have a clear mandate and the research to back decision making to continue to enhance the club’s value proposition. Current and projected utilization, market trends and club vision are defined to inform future capital planning.
  • A facility master plan ensures the continuity of the campus remains (or is improved!) and growth capital projects (and importantly funding plans) are approved by an informed membership.

Overall capital planning and funding of capital expenditures are key to maintaining a club’s brand, financial sustainability and member satisfaction. Do not fall into the trap of funding by scarcity, instead take the steps to clarify capital funding for members, management and those charged with club governance.

This article was written by Founding Partner Stephen Johnson and Evan Van Eerd.

One Size Strategic Planning Does Not Fit All

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Too many private clubs struggle with the strategic planning process, yet it is essential to stay relevant, financially sustainable, and impactful. One reason is the time required to produce a quality the plan. Another is the fact there is significant confusion in the marketplace about what a true strategic plan entails.

Part of that confusion comes from the fact that the landscape of strategic planning for private clubs is increasingly diluted with off-the-shelf solutions, data, and products promising fast results, yet failing to deliver real strategic direction.

Renowned economist Michael Porter has often stated that “the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do”. To follow that thinking, your strategic plan must go beyond basic tools and templates. It must be based on a deep understanding of your club’s unique needs, research-driven, and adaptable to evolving challenges.

COOKIE CUTTER STRATEGIC PLANS DO NOT WORK

Strategic planning is not a one-size-fits-all exercise. Your plan should be unique to your club and market conditions, avoiding these common risks associated with adopting a generic approach:

Lack of Strategic Direction – Many off-the-shelf solutions focus on operational tasks rather than defining a clear vision for the future.

Misalignment with Club Needs – Generic plans often fail to account for the specific challenges, culture, and goals of your club.

Inflexibility – The private club marketplace evolves rapidly. Ready-made plans do not account for changing conditions that can quickly become obsolete.

Wasted Resources – Without a tailored plan, clubs end up directing resources to low-impact initiatives that do not drive value and satisfaction for members.

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS ARE CRITICAL

A strong strategic plan is built on data and analysis—not assumptions. Many clubs rely too heavily on data alone to drive their strategy. Unfortunately, without proper analysis and insight, all that data is just noise.

Leveraging the following structured research allows you to make informed decisions aligned between your vision, market realities, and stakeholder needs:

Stakeholder Insights
Gathering data on stakeholder behaviors, preferences, and engagement is essential to help tailor your strategies to what truly matters to your stakeholders.

Market and Membership Analysis
Analyzing market trends and understanding your members’ needs and preferences ensures your strategy is aligned with their expectations and effectively positions your club in the marketplace.

Financial and Operational Health
Reviewing revenue streams, cost structures, and operational efficiency ensures your plan is visionary, feasible and based on reality and will avoid overly ambitious goals not supported by capabilities.

Aligning Vision with Market and Financial Realities
Your club’s vision must align with what can realistically be achieved in the marketplace and within your financial constraints. A strategy that does not account for these factors may set the club up for failure.

A PROVEN APPROACH TO DRIVE RESULTS

Here are five approaches to guide your strategic planning process:

  1. Align Internal Capabilities with Objectives
    For long-term success, make sure your club’s internal capabilities—such as talent, systems, and processes—are aligned with strategic goals.
  2. Prioritize High-Impact Initiatives
    Focus on initiatives that deliver the greatest value and prioritize them in your strategy. Instead of jumping on every trend, identify the projects or initiatives will drive the most significant outcomes based on thorough analysis and clear insights.
  3. Scenario Planning
    Incorporating scenario planning into your strategy allows you to anticipate and prepare for different alternative futures, whether they involve economic shifts, regulatory changes, or shifts in member expectations.
  4. Link Strategy to Execution
    According to GGA’s Club Leaders’ Perspective research, less than half (48%) of clubs with strategic plans are monitoring progress against goals. A strategy must be actionable with progress tracked to assure your plan priorities are translated into measurable actions that achieve the desired outcome.
  5. Balance Short-Term Wins with Long-Term Goals
    While it is important to demonstrate progress with short-term wins, your strategy should also prioritize long-term sustainable growth. Balancing both will keep your club leaders focused on the future vision while maintaining momentum.

MAKE STRATEGY COUNT

Strategic planning is not just a box to check—it is a critical process that shapes your club’s future. Taking the time to build a thoughtful, research-driven strategy aligned with your unique goals and market conditions will ensure you have the guide to drive real, long-term success.

This article was written by Managing Director and Partner Michael Gregory and appeared in NCA’s Club Director Magazine.

5 Reasons To Survey Employees During Peak Season

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If you are a private club leader who is hesitant to run an employee survey during your peak season…you are not alone.

Many businesses, especially those with strong seasonal cycles like private clubs, worry about survey fatigue or skewing results during their busiest periods.

However, postponing employee feedback until the “quiet season” might mean missing out on crucial insights.

Here are the 5 Reasons capturing real-time employee insights, even during peak periods, can be incredibly valuable:

Capturing Reality in the Moment: Your busy season is when your operations are truly tested, and your employees are experiencing the most intense demands. Surveying during this time captures real-time perceptions of workload, resource availability, communication effectiveness, and overall employee experience under actual operating conditions.

Identifying Stress Points & Strengths: You can uncover critical stress points and potential areas for burnout or inefficiency as they happen, not months later when the memory has faded. Conversely, you can also identify what strategies and support systems are working well during high-pressure times.

Actionable Insights for Immediate Impact: Feedback gathered during peak times can lead to adjustments that directly improve the current employee experience, rather than waiting for next season. This immediate responsiveness boosts morale and trust.

Informing Future Planning: Understanding how your team feels and performs under pressure provides invaluable data for future staffing, training, resource allocation, and operational improvements for subsequent busy seasons. It’s a key piece of the puzzle for sustainable success.

Benchmarking Against Real Conditions: For organizations like private clubs, the “busy period” is often the standard operating condition. A survey during this time reflects the true employee journey for a significant portion of the year, offering a realistic baseline.

While we always recommend thoughtful planning, don’t let seasonality be the sole reason to delay vital employee insights. A well-designed, focused survey can be a powerful tool for understanding and supporting your team, even when every table in the restaurant is full!

Let’s connect to talk about the test time to survey your employees.

Eric Hutchison
Director, GGA Partners
eric.hutchison@ggapartners.com
614.271.9355

 

What Club Members Want

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Knowing what members want and need is a primary focus in most private club boardrooms. Club leaders are inundated with special requests and sometimes selfish recommendations from internal sources at their clubs. The advice often comes with the assurance, “Everyone agrees with me.”

The challenge for club leaders is to discern how many members equal “everyone?” Are you and your three golf buddies “everyone?” Or is it you and the other three at your bridge table? How many people equals “everyone”?

Seven items round out the list of what members want, according to GGA Partners™ 2024 Club Members’ Perspective report. While traditionally important areas of club life were noted, such as dining, golf and club facilities, nuanced recommendations surrounding the overall experience emerged. From increased communication effectiveness to the use of systems to increase ease of access, members want more, but they also want increased efficiency and a focus on initiatives that simultaneously enhance the world around them.

Dining Experiences
Improve the quality, consistency, and variety of food, create more casual dining options, enhance outdoor dining spaces, consider themed dinners and special events and address inconsistent service.

Golf Course and Practice Facilities
Continual emphasis on maintaining and improving the golf course, enhance the practice facilities, including driving range, short game areas and golf simulators.

Clubhouse and Facilities
Renovate and upgrade locker rooms, bathrooms, and lounge areas, consider indoor amenities like a fitness center or spa, focus on maintaining a high standard of cleanliness and décor and consider a more sustainable approach.

Member Experience
Increase communication with members, offer more member events and activities, cater to a broader range of age groups.

Social and Recreational Facilities
Add recreational amenities that provide more opportunities for social interaction. Consider family-friendly amenities like playgrounds, kid’s areas, or other activities to create greater interaction.

Service and Staff
Members want improved booking systems and better communication with members, maintain a high level of professionalism among staff, provide ongoing training in customer service and improve transparency in club management.

Environmental Sustainability and Initiatives
Calls for environmental initiatives, such as adopting electric vehicles and reducing plastic waste.

The Club Members’ Perspective report is part of GGA Partners’ research initiative intended to understand what key stakeholders currently see and what the future holds for an increasingly complex and exciting area of the hospitality business. This research series explores unique views from within the private club, golf, resort, and residential community segments.

What drives members’ priorities? Eric Brey, Ph.D., and GGA Director guiding the firm’s research initiative advises, “It is important for club leaders and operators to remember that members have an emotional relationship with their clubs less so than a transactional relationship.”

This article was written by GGA Partner Henry DeLozier for BoardRoom Briefs, appearing in the May 8, 2025 edition.

 

It’s Survey Season

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“Clubs that do not objectively survey their members and rely on ‘perception’ are more likely to perceive higher overall satisfaction than clubs who actually measure.”

GGA Club Leader’s Perspective 2024 Research Survey

Perception vs Reality
If you are a winter season club and nearing the end of your peak season usage, it is important to reflect on the year that was and begin planning for the year ahead to continuously improve the member experience.

By conducting an annual member survey, you avoid the risk of blind spots when it comes to understanding the real member experience at your Club.

Now is a Good Time for a Member Survey
The benefits of working with GGA to conduct your member survey now include:

Optimal Timing
Members can evaluate their experience this season while it is on their minds.

Support for Planning Season
Updated, accurate and reliable data and insights will support goal setting and strategic initiatives.

Performance Review Insights
Results will provide objective metrics to support departmental goal setting and evaluation of managers.

Year-Over-Year Feedback Blueprint
Set the stage for year-over-year consistency and valuable trending feedback in the years to come.

Demographic Insights
What did your new class of members think of their first season? A GGA survey will help you cross-section the attitudes of a multitude of demographic profiles.

Updated Benchmarking and Trends
Updated benchmark comparisons and broader industry satisfaction trends will help you prioritize areas of focus and anticipate future member needs.

Now is the time to gain valuable insights from your members to replace perceptions with reality. A GGA member survey will provide you with an understanding of your members’ experiences and expectations that will allow you to continuously improve for the year ahead.


For more information, contact:

Michael Gregory
Managing Director & Partner
michael.gregory@ggapartners.com

Planning for the Next Business Cycle

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The sun does not shine on the same dog’s back every day.

This folksy reminder should be a point of focus in private club boardrooms because most clubs have full memberships with wait lists, giving club leaders the sense that happy days are here to stay. It was not that long ago that the majority of private clubs were scrambling to find new members while some of that majority—roughly one in five—faced economic failure.

During these good times, what should you be doing now to prepare for an economic downturn or a slowdown in membership demand?

Become the Employer of Choice
Private clubs throughout North America have steadily rebuilt their staffing levels to “full.” At the worst of the pandemic, many clubs were operating with less than 75 percent of their workforce while laboring to recruit more team members. While this objective is not an easy one, personal and personalized services, which are the backbones of the private club value proposition, require reliable and well-trained staff.

Many club leaders have been of the mind that their club simply needed to “throw money at prospective employers,” and they have been surprised to learn that those attracted to private club services seek fulfillment that comes from several important benefits:

• Being a part of a good team. Those who would be in personal services at private clubs want what club members want…belonging. The best employees know that they are capable, well-trained, and of valuable service. They want to belong to a team where their attributes have value and recognition.

• Being recognized as a reliable teammate. Recognition is important to everyone and, especially, to those who are team players.

• Being proud of their employer. Staff members know the best clubs – and employers – in town and want to join the winners. Club leaders must be alert to doing the right things right in the eyes of their staff.

Focus on Capital Reserves & Capital Planning
Many clubs aggressively spend new-found capital—from government programs and new members joining the club—on long-deferred capital maintenance projects and improvements. In many clubs, generations of club leaders dismissed the notion of making capital investments when they did not see ready access to capital through debt or capital calls on members.

Club boards should focus now on the capital maintenance projects that will update, repair, or replace existing assets on their clubs’ balance sheets. Capital reserves should begin to be built for the next round of capital needs.

Extend Your Club’s Brand Reach
In good times, club leaders think their clubs are great. In bad times, such as before the pandemic, many club leaders were afraid of their clubs’ brand because either they did not know what to do with it or because the brand pillars had been ignored for decades. There are three easy steps to improve your club’s brand reach are:

1. Improve board communications with members. Members expect the club and its board to be transparent. Improving board communications can be as simple as the board committing to a regular schedule of updates on topics of interest to members or as advanced as adopting a style guide that brings forward an editorial agenda that tells what topics the board will be communicating and when.

2. Embrace rising generations of members. Clubs are regenerating as the most tenured members age out of active use of the club while newer and younger members are settling in. The oldest members want to be remembered, respected and included. Newer members want advanced capabilities, apps, and immediate access. Check your club’s bandwidth to ensure that the club’s capabilities are up to current standards for access and content.

3. Act on the club’s core values. Ensure that your communications content is timely, inclusive, and easy to understand. If, for example, your club claims to be a “family club,” ensure that programs and programming include everyone in the family and go beyond the easiest choices.

It is called a “business cycle” because events change with high predictability. It is advisable to plan now for economic changes, slow-down, or global events.

Creating Your Forward-Looking Capital Plan

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The process to create a capital plan begins with three questions:

1) Do you know how much capital your club requires to replace its existing assets?

2) Not including your ‘wish list’ of whiz-bang new assets like golf training technologies or new casual dining or state-of-the-art member services, do you know what your capital needs are?

3) And do you know how your club will source the required funds?

Like most club leaders, you may have answered these three critical questions with a cautious ‘no’. The fact is that few clubs are looking to the future with a bona fide capital asset replacement plan.

Here are three steps to take for beginning your club’s forward-looking capital planning:

1. Conduct a capital reserve analysis of existing assets.
Build an asset replacement spreadsheet with the following columns:

Asset Description | Useful Life | Remaining Useful Life | Replacement Value

This will yield a comprehensive view of current assets and provide the club and its future board members and operators with a clear-eyed understanding of the sums required over the upcoming 10- and 20-year time periods. With these steps, you have established your current capital needs on an annualized basis.

2. Itemize the assets you wish to add to your asset roster.
Contemporary design concepts that enhance member experiences are emerging, offering clubs greater relevance and engagement for members – new and old. Among the most popular new concepts are:

Sports Training Facilities like golf and tennis swing and stroke analysis technologies and the gamification of these technologies.

Al Fresco Dining Venues like porches and patios bring the indoors out and the outdoors in many clubs where COVID-era members grew comfortable with a little more personal space and sercouldle to navigate dining spaces more comfortably.

Swimming pools for all ages where club members require lap lanes for serious fitness swimmers, splash pads that are proving safer (than the old-school kiddie pool) for children, and resort-style pool areas for adult members.

Club leaders should plan boldly when considering new amenities. When the membership market cools, good fortune will favor the bold.

3. Identify the sources of funds that are needed.
This is the uncomfortable topic during which most club boards freeze up and seek to procrastinate. Many leaders are uncomfortable telling members that more money is required for the future.

Don’t sell your members short. If they were smart enough to join a fine club, they are smart enough to know – whether they like it or not – that club membership comes with extra costs. Furthermore, most members know that fiscal discipline and prudent financial planning are the primary duties of servant leaders. Three points to remember when thinking about club spending:

  • Members expect you to know and tell them what is required for the club’s successful future. Ignoring this fact causes members to distrust their board members.
  • Members are intolerant of board members who ignore their financial responsibilities.
  • Even those criticizing dues increases know there should be a capital plan.

Use the following best practice standards in sourcing needed funds for capital requirements:

– Begin with the understanding the monthly dues should be used to pay the club’s bills. Regular dues fund all expenses on the income statement – labor costs, operational and administrative expenses.

– Joining fees paid by incoming members are used for funding capital asset replacements. If these funds are inadequate to fully address capital replacement needs, clubs turn to debt, capital calls on members (assessments), and a combination thereof.

Planning for the future financial needs of your club should be a top priority. Following these steps will set your club on the proper path.

This article was written by GGA Partner Henry DeLozier for BoardRoom Briefs.

 

Building Member Trust

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Signs of distrust are everywhere, and private clubs abound with demands for greater transparency from club leaders as trust and trustworthiness are constantly being questioned.

Frustrated board members who work tirelessly in service to others can become demoralized by fellow members who demand “more transparency.” The incredibly nuanced circumstance comes down to three keys:

1. Say what you will do…and do it.
To achieve this simple-sounding advice requires that the board speaks with one voice and in writing. Too many board members become overly – and overtly – political when they are simply servant leaders within a membership of qualified leaders.

2. Communicate consistently.
Members – whether skeptical or not – want to know more. And no matter how much “more” the board provides, members assume that something is being withheld.”

Tactical steps that work:

  • Establish a standard cadence for Board communications concerning financial and governance topics. See that the club delivers to the timeline and cadence it has promised.
  • “Brand” club communications to enable members to know which they want to delete without reading. Some members have grown weary of promotional messages from the club concerning food and beverage specials…they can easily be deleted. Everyone wants to know about dues increases and capital projects.
  • The branding need not be the stuff Madmen might develop, it can be simply the Club Financial Update or Board Notes.
    Address misinformation and the bad actors behind it. Correcting inaccurate information is a service to all members. Quietly holding the bad actors to account is the duty of the board and its executive committee. Put people on notice.

3. Keep score.
Report performance results…especially if there is a miss. Taking ownership of unmet promises or misses is a part of being trustworthy. Ready examples are:

  •  Summarize last month’s financial performance, explaining whether it was on-budget, under- or over-budget. Make it easy for members to understand the information being presented from the board and management.
  • Measure engagement results. How many people signed up for the member/guest? How many had to be turned away? How many dropped out preventing others from the chance to participate? How many members voted…and did not. Everyone wants greater accountability which is a 360-degree proposition.
  • Take ownership of the misses. Owning an error, and explaining the steps that will be taken in the future to avoid making the same mistake, is a part of being trusted.

Your club can proactively move toward a more civil and reliable community when the leaders take the lead in trustworthy ways.

This article was written by GGA Partner Henry DeLozier and appeared in the January 4, 2025 edition of BoardRoom Briefs.

 

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