As was outlined in the OneFPA Network Beta Test Assessment Report for Year-End 2020, assessing the progress made will be ongoing throughout 2021 every quarter. As detailed in the chart to the right, the assessment for Q1 2021 is focused on three primary areas: Technology Adoption, Service and Support, and Qualitative Data.
While the upcoming assessment for Q2 2021 will provide more impactful data related to membership, finances, and efficiencies, we must still measure what we can to determine whether our efforts are impactful. But impact over the first quarter was seen in several other ways, including the continued growth in collaboration between chapter executives and the Central Office staff; the continued work of the OneFPA Advisory Council to bring more voices to the table; and the development of a first-of-a-kind benchmarking tool that will help chapters.
The OneFPA Advisory Council
While the beta test is primarily focused on assessing whether or not efforts around centralized technology, staffing, and financial reporting/benchmarking, a lasting legacy of the program will likely be through the OneFPA Advisory Council. While the first year of the Council (2020) was focused on establishing its purpose and building a foundation, it started to hit its stride by the end of the year. The Council has now established a regular cadence for their meetings and has been exploring a variety of critical issues, including:
- Member recruitment/retention
- Member engagement
- Ways the Central Office can improve services to members and chapters
- How the Central Office and FPA chapters can truly collaborate
Meetings in November 2020 and February 2021 resulted in detailed reports being sent to the FPA Board of Directors and the Central Office outlining specific ways the organization can improve strategically, tactically, and programmatically. The Board and staff responded to these reports by outlining how the organization can improve and offered specific tactics the staff is taking to improve various programs that support chapters and the value members receive.
A recent meeting of the Council on April 8 focused on hearing from FPA President Skip Schweiss, CFP®, AIF®, and FPA CEO Patrick Mahoney about the current state of FPA and on hearing about a potential strategy to increase membership. Members of the Council will discuss this strategy with their respective chapter boards and come back to the next meeting on May 20 to share their feedback. This input will be sent back to the CEO and Board for consideration as they look to put this strategy into motion.
This is an example of the opportunity the Council affords the Association and why it will have a lasting legacy even when the OneFPA Network beta test is completed. The opening of communication between the Board, chapters, and staff has been significantly improved. FPA’s volunteer leaders and staff are hearing critical feedback, and that feedback is being used in the decisions that are being made.