Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 3
ABA Financial Update
By Dr. Maria E. Malott, Executive Directory/Secretary Treasurer
Income
Figure 1 shows income sources in 2005. The annual convention is by far the most significant source of income, followed by membership, international efforts, and publications.
Figure 1. 2005 ABA income by category.
Fifty-six percent of the Association’s revenue comes from the annual convention, including on-site continuing education, bookstore sales, and other convention-specific services. Trends for the annual convention continue to be positive. Registration has grown an average of over 5% annually since 1979. Over the past five years, however, the rate of growth has increased to an average of about 9% annually. At the 2006 Atlanta convention, ABA’s registration totaled 3,960 members. Figure 2 shows registration trends since 1997.
Figure 2. ABA convention registration by year, 1997-2006.
Annual submissions can be a good predictor of convention attendance. After four years of relative stability, submissions in 2007 increased 12% from the previous year, as shown in Figure 3. Based on this growth, it is possible that we will experience record registration in San Diego next year.
Figure 3. ABA convention submissions by year, 1997-2006.
Furthermore, attendees have consistently indicated a high level of satisfaction with the annual convention. Follow-up surveys are sent each year to all convention attendees with valid e-mails, with responses consistently received by about 22% of those surveyed. Figure 4 shows that, on average, 94% of respondents have rated the convention overall as excellent to very good for the past eight years.
Figure 4. Percent of survey respondents who rate the ABA annual convention overall as Excellent-Very Good, 1999-2006.
Membership is the Association’s second greatest source of income, accounting for 28% of annual revenue. ABA’s membership growth has averaged 11% annually since 1978. Over the past ten years, however, the rate of growth has averaged about 6% annually. In 2006, ABA reached a historical record of 4,953 members. Figure 5 shows membership trends for the past ten years.
Figure 5. ABA membership by year, 1997-2006.
Although growth trends have been high, ABA membership is directly dependent on the annual convention, as many people become members to take advantage of registration discounts. The ratio of membership to convention attendance is 1.15 members per attendee, while comparable organizations have a ratio of 4.07 members to convention registrant. This ratio of member to registrant is a unique characteristic of our organization and makes ABA’s financial stability highly dependent on the success of the annual convention. And although our financial success has been remarkable in recent years, failure in the annual convention could significantly threaten ABA’s existence. Because of this financial vulnerability, ABA has begun over the past several years to diversify its income sources. Our most successful effort to this end has been the establishment of international conferences, which now represent ABA’s third largest source of income and generate 6% of annual revenue in the years held. The 2005 conference in Beijing, for example, had a profit margin of 24%, taking into account the labor costs of all of us in the administrative office. Early indicators for the 4th international conference in Sydney, Australia are positive, as well, and we look forward to seeing everyone in Sydney on August 12 – 14, 2007. ABA is also experimenting with specialized conferences to meet to the ever increasing needs of its members. The Progress and Challenges in the Behavioral Treatment of Autism conference will be held February 2 – 4, 2007 at the Boston Sheraton in Massachusetts. In addition, ABA will organize an educational conference in 2008 tentatively titled Evidence-Based Practices, Scientifically-Based Instruction and Educational Effectiveness. The intent is that these types of smaller, more selectively focused events will be of service to members and at the same time effectively diversify ABA’s income sources, making the organization ever more valuable to members and less vulnerable to financial instability. Publications are the fourth source of income for ABA, accounting for 5% of revenue. The good news is that, as mentioned in President Tom Critchfield’s cover article in this issue, ABA will launch a new journal in 2008 specially targeted for practitioners. In addition, while subscriptions to many behavioral journals have decreased over the past several years, institutional subscriptions to The Behavior Analyst (TBA) have remained stable; of course individual distribution has increased with membership growth but this does not generate additional income as the journal is included with membership. On the other hand, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior (TAVB) has experienced accelerated growth: subscriptions have increased in 405% from 2000 to 2006. Figure 6 shows the yearly trends of TAVB subscriptions.
Figure 6. Subscriptions to The Analysis of Verbal Behavior by year, 1997-2006.