Budgeting for 2025: 4 Key Steps to Consider

As budgeting season approaches, it's crucial to ensure your organization's financial plans align with your goals. At Dynamic Benchmarking, we work closely with industry associations to help meet budget objectives through our technology and services. Here are four steps, based on guidance from Harvard Business School, to consider for your 2025 budget: 

1. Determine Your Goals
Clear goals are essential for any budgeting process. If member benefits are a priority, incorporating benchmarking should be a key consideration. With advancements in technology, it's important to deliver data securely and efficiently. If your organization still relies on manually manipulated spreadsheets or reports, it might be time to adopt a more robust solution. Our DB platform enables members to generate their own reports with custom filters, all within a secure environment that adheres to antitrust laws. Additionally, our new KPI (Key Performance Indicators) dashboards offer instant visual insights into crucial metrics. For 2025, we are excited to introduce the AI (Artificial Intelligence) StatChat bot, which will provide members with tailored answers securely sourced from your industry. 

SAMPLE KPI CHART: Benefits Expense per FTE

2. Estimate Your Income  
Accurately estimating your association's income for 2025 is crucial for achieving your budget goals. While enhancing member benefits is often part of the budget, funding these benefits can be challenging. Benchmarking can serve as a revenue generator, often paying for itself. Data is a critical benefit for members and a major reason for joining your association. On average, sponsored platforms generate over $15k in non-dues revenue. Our Dynamic Benchmarking platform also saves your staff time with automated reporting, allowing them to focus more on member service.  

 $15K+ average in Non-Dues Revenue

3. Identify Your Expenses
When identifying expenses, consider fixed costs, variable expenses, and one-time costs. Your members will also be evaluating their own budgets in these categories. Providing them with comparative financial and operational data is a unique advantage of your association. In an unpredictable economy, members need insights into their expenses, such as employee benefits and operational costs, to ensure they are budgeting effectively and identifying areas for improvement. 

SAMPLE KPI CHART

4. Determine Your Budget Surplus or Deficit 
Once you've assessed your income and expenses, apply these figures to your annual budget. This will help determine if there are surplus funds for new projects and which projects are most worthwhile. In an election year with economic uncertainty, prioritizing the right projects is crucial. At Dynamic Benchmarking, we believe that if member data isn’t a part of your budget, you may be overlooking a vital member benefit. 

We wish you the best in your budgeting process. If you’d like assistance or want to explore how our solutions can fit into your budget, schedule a meeting with our team.