
Associations, trade organizations, unions, non-profit groups and other member organizations have been adopting learning technology at an accelerated pace over the last few years. Foundation to their mission, these organizations provide social collaboration, professional development, information, best practices and research to support their members and potential members. To some degree, every member based organization provides opportunities for their members to learn and grow.
Historically, these learning opportunities were delivered in person at annual tradeshows or regional workshops. With the evolution of eLearning, virtual classrooms, social learning, and mobile learning, it is now possible to extend the learning opportunities globally. To manage it all, member-based organizations need a Learning Management System that is integrated into their association management system to keep track of all the learners, content, registration, purchase, completion, certifications, continuing education credits, accreditation and more.
Five years ago, only large, national or global associations could afford the substantial investment of purchasing and deploying an LMS. With the advent of the Cloud LMS providers, LMS solutions for member-based organizations are no longer cost prohibitive and are available to associations of all sizes and budgets. Many solutions start at a nominal rate and implement in days or weeks allowing your non-profit organization to get up and running quickly and inexpensively. As an organization’s content library and reach grows, the LMS scales alongside and you only pay for what you need or use.
With the pricing and technology barriers removed, maybe it is time for your association to start achieving these predictable and measurable benefits with learning management technology:
- Increased revenue generation from sale of content and professional development
- Global expansion of organization into areas impossible to reach previously
- Increased perceived value for the membership
- Economies of scale of creating great content and getting to use over and over
- Manage continuing education for the members’ entire career
Top 10 Association LMS Case Studies
Here are the top 10 case studies I’ve collected recently reviewing dozens of the world’s best LMS solutions to support member organizations and other extended enterprise applications. The purpose of the list is not to rank the solutions against each other but rather bring exposure to the best practices and measurable benefits of so many great learning technology solutions in the association space.
Affiliated Distributors (AD)
Affiliated Distributors (AD) is the largest wholesale buying and marketing group in North America, comprised of over 530 independent distributor companies with over 3,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Affiliated Distributors utilizes BlueVolt LMS for Knowledge@Noon, a program created just for AD, that gives suppliers and distributors exactly what they want: faster and more effective product launches with a new culture of training.
American Management Association (AMA)
The American Management Association (AMA) is a world leader in professional development. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner to enhance employees’ skills, abilities and knowledge. Using SumTotal Systems, the AMA delivers virtual training and online seminars for individual and corporate members.
Big Brothers and Big Sisters
As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong enduring, professionally supported one-to-one that change their lives for the better, forever. Big Brothers Big Sisters uses ExpertusONE to connect disparate learning audiences, link hundreds of thousands of users and improved training readiness by 84%.
International Parking Institute (IPI)
Founded in 1962, IPI’s purpose is advancing the parking profession through leadership, education, professional development and connections. International Parking Institute utilizes Docebo to train, certify, measure and report on learning for parking professionals from member organizations in every industry globally.
Migration Institute of Australia (MIA)
The Migration Institute of Australia uses NetDimensions LMS to deliver training to agents located anywhere within Australia or offshore. The Institute uses NetDimensions Learning’s automatic notification, enrollments, assessments and functions to remind agents of their enrollments and prompt them when they do not access their modules. The MIA is steadily growing its catalog and enrollments exceeds hundreds of modules per month.
National Education Association (NEA)
The National Education Association (NEA) represents some 3 million public school educators, at all levels, across the United States. The National Education Association (NEA) launched the NEA Academy on WBT Systems TopClass LMS and offers approximately 500 online courses, the greater majority of which are provided by third party training suppliers.
Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA)
The Construction Financial Management Association is the leading organization providing educational programs and a forum for managers overseeing construction financial operations. The CFMA is standardized Digital Interactive’s Knowledge Direct LMS and provides training, certification and integration into an AMS system to drive down costs and increase member value.
Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)
Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has been making life more comfortable for contractors and their customers through the professional growth and success of its members. Using Digital Interactive Knowledge Direct LMS, the ACCA supports eCommerce, blended learning and annual meetings to educate and certify a target audience of 300,000 workers nationally.
British Dental Association (BDA)
The British Dental Association (BDA) is the professional association and trade union for dentists in the United Kingdom and was founded in 1880. Their mission is to promote the interests of its members; advance the science, arts and ethics of dentistry and improve the British nation’s oral health. The BDA brought in Totara LMS Partner Catalyst IT (Europe) to bring together a wide range of dentistry education content into a single system that was easy to use and access for over 10,000 members.
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
America’s Health Insurance Plans is a national association representing approximately 1,300 health insurance plans providing coverage to more than 200 million Americans and is a leader in health insurance education . AHIP uses WBT Systems TopClass LMS to enhance their training offering, improve customer service and save money by automating learning management.
Do You Have an Association LMS Case Study?
We’d love to hear about it. Please send them along to John@TalentedLearning.com and we’ll get it on the list! Be sure to see our full compilation of LMS Extended Enterprise Case Studies.
Want more insights? Replay our on-demand webinar!
How to Drive Association Success With Continuing Education
According to recent research, 60% of members say associations are their “go-to” source for continuing education. But a closer look at membership trends reveals a sobering fact – associations can no longer afford to rest on their laurels. Digital innovation has given rise to highly affordable, accessible content and community resources from independent sources.
In this disruptive environment, how can your organization leverage learning to retain existing members, win new members and support them throughout their careers?
Join me, and Tamer Ali, SVP and General Manager of Education Solutions at Community Brands, as we explore this topic in depth. You’ll discover how modern learning technology can help you:
- Strengthen your position as a relevant, trusted source of continuing education
- Add value by helping members stay ahead of accreditation requirements
- Develop and deliver useful content at member’s convenience
- Offer pricing that appeals to diverse audiences, while optimizing your revenue streams
- Apply marketing techniques that differentiate you and increase response from members and non-members, alike
We’ll also illustrate how innovative associations are leading the way in professional development best practices.
Replay this on-demand webinar now!
Need Proven LMS Selection Guidance?
Looking for a learning platform that truly fits your organization’s needs? We’re here to help! Submit the form below to schedule a free preliminary consultation at your convenience.
Share This Post
Related Posts
Does Your Business Really Need an LMS? Straight Talk with “The eLearning Coach”
When businesses want to train customers and prospects, they focus on very specific user scenarios, core functionality, third-party integrations, implementation needs and types of content.
Best Customer Education Blogs: 25 Must-Reads for Learning Professionals
The sheer volume of solutions that define the broader marketing technology landscape has ballooned from only 150 in 2011 to nearly 7000 this year, according to Scott Brinker at ChiefMartec.com.
What Factors Are Shaping the LMS Market? 2018 Learning Systems FAQ
Now that volume-based SaaS licensing has energized the extended enterprise LMS market, employee training solutions are following suit.
Which Learning Content Trends Matter Most to You?
Working hand-in-hand with machine learning (ML) algorithms, AI is an enabling technology that simulates human intelligence and to enhance learning, problem-solving, pattern recognition and predictive modeling.
LMS Trends: 2018 Mid-Year Learning Systems Market Update
With learning technology innovation, there's never a dull moment. That's why we're sharing a mid-year learning systems market update...
Extended Enterprise Compliance: Mapping the Ecosystem
To verify that their certifications are up-to-date, rig workers typically carry tools that are tied to one or more compliance databases – either an ID card that can be swiped for status checks or a mobile learning and tracking app.
Online Customer Training: Behind the Surge in Specialized Learning Systems
Customers became conditioned to the idea of purchasing training directly from product and service providers.
Attraction Marketing Tips For Enterprise Learning Success
Defining the "what, when, where, how and why" of key user scenarios will inform the learning experiences you develop, then you can craft appropriate communications to drive the right audience to the right content at the right time.
Association LMS eCommerce: How to Lift Online Learning Sales
Depending upon your organization's existing AMS infrastructure and learning requirements, the ideal solution may be one of four AMS-LMS integration strategies.



















FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL