Associations often approach budgeting as a once-a-year task — a document created at the start of the year, checked periodically, and then set aside until the next cycle. Yet in practice, departmental priorities like marketing seeking better engagement tools, finance aiming for faster month-end closes, and membership teams needing improved data visibility are deeply interconnected. What may initially seem like separate requests are often symptoms of an outdated budgeting process that doesn’t adapt to evolving organizational needs.
These insights were central to a recent webinar on strategic budgeting for impact in 2026, featuring Tom Harlow, Interim CFO at American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), and Theresa Miner, CFO of CareerSource Pasco Hernando. Both emphasized that a modern budget must be living and strategic, not static. According to Harlow, “A lot of organizations spend time thinking about the strategy in multiyear terms, but they don’t spend the time thinking about their budget in multiyear terms. And that’s what a strategic budget starts to do.” He added that budgets must be ongoing tools, not simple twelve-month checklists: “It has to be an ongoing process that you’re looking at and continuing to extend.”
Strategic budgeting allows associations to align resources across departments, better anticipate operational needs, and make capital investments, like technology improvements, without overloading any single department. Miner emphasized the cultural aspect of budgeting: “Strategic budgeting is as much about culture as it is about capital.”
Strategic Budgeting: A Living Tool
Strategic budgeting shifts associations from static spreadsheets to dynamic tools that evolve with organizational priorities. By embedding budgeting into year-round strategic planning, leaders can proactively adjust allocations to meet emerging needs and maintain alignment with mission and policy objectives.
Technology investments illustrate this point. Disconnected systems create redundant work, slow operations, and consume staff time, yet they’re often treated as IT or finance issues alone. Instead, associations should collaboratively involve stakeholders from across departments, ensuring that budgeting decisions reflect real-world operational impacts. As Harlow noted, “If your systems aren’t connected, your strategy isn’t connected either. Modern associations need technology that scales with them — not systems that hold them back.”
Engaging People to Inform Strategy
A critical component of strategic budgeting is gathering input from the people using the systems every day. Associations can survey staff to identify pain points, such as duplicated data entry, manual report generation, or reconciling disparate systems. These insights help quantify the hidden costs of outdated processes and create a compelling case for investment.
Miner highlighted this point, emphasizing that budgeting decisions are as much about people as numbers: “Sometimes the hardest part of modernization isn’t the technology, it’s helping people see the value of change.” Harlow agreed, noting that strategic budgeting is “an organizational exercise that brings together the people dealing with day-to-day challenges and puts a human face on the problem—and demonstrates why inaction isn’t an option.”
Consistent communication across departments is essential. When teams understand how their work connects to larger strategic initiatives, the budget becomes a tool for alignment, transparency, and culture-building, not just accounting.
Budgeting for Technology and Mission Impact
Smart budgeting for technology goes beyond tracking subscription fees or implementation costs. Associations should ask whether new systems integrate with existing platforms, reduce manual work, enable reporting without extra effort, and scale with future growth. Strategic budgeting allows these considerations to be part of a multi-year planning lens, making larger investments less intimidating and more clearly tied to mission impact.
“You don’t just budget for software; you budget for impact,” Harlow said, highlighting that technology decisions are ultimately mission decisions.
Turning Strategy into Action: Steps to Modern Budgeting
Once associations commit to a strategic approach to budgeting, the next challenge is execution. Modern budgeting is about creating a process that informs decision-making, aligns stakeholders, and drives mission impact. Here’s a practical framework to put strategic budgeting into action:
1. Gather candid feedback from your team
Start by engaging staff from across departments. Hold meetings or workshops to identify the operational pain points slowing your team down. Encourage them to share specifics, such as how much time is spent entering data into multiple systems, manually reconciling reports, or training new staff on disconnected platforms. By uncovering these inefficiencies, associations can quantify the hidden costs of outdated processes and understand the areas that will benefit most from investment.
2. Aggregate insights and identify common challenges
Once feedback is collected, look for recurring themes. Are multiple departments struggling with the same reporting issues? Is data redundancy creating bottlenecks? Highlighting these shared pain points helps prioritize technology or process investments and gives leadership a clear picture of where resources can have the greatest impact. This information also supports building a compelling case for change, demonstrating that investments are tied to tangible operational improvements and mission delivery.
3. Assess investment scope and priorities
With pain points identified, consider the size and scope of potential investments. Associations rarely have unlimited resources, so prioritize initiatives based on urgency, impact, and feasibility. Key questions to guide decisions include:
- Will the new system integrate with existing platforms or create additional silos?
- Does it reduce manual work and administrative burdens?
- Can it provide required reporting without extra effort?
- Is it adaptable to changing needs next year and future growth?
- Is it on a consistent upgrade path that would future-proof the investment?
Making smart, forward-looking choices ensures technology supports current operations while providing flexibility for the association’s evolving needs.
4. Create a plan to communicate and gain support
Finally, develop a clear narrative around the proposed investment. Outline why it’s needed, how it aligns with the mission, and the benefits for staff and members. Include a comprehensive business case covering costs, implementation needs, staffing, training, and projected ROI. Engage key stakeholders early, adding a human perspective to complement the financial rationale. Supplement the proposal with materials such as an executive summary, strategic rationale, and a timeline of milestones. When stakeholders understand both the operational and mission-driven benefits, the organization can move forward with confidence and alignment.
Investing in Impact
Modern budgeting is about more than allocating dollars; it’s about investing in impact. By aligning financial planning with mission, policy, and organizational culture, associations can free staff to focus on work that matters, deliver better member experiences, and improve operational efficiency.
When associations embrace this mindset, the budget becomes a living tool to drive mission, culture, and growth, not just a retrospective report. Strategic budgeting enables organizations to proactively allocate resources, support innovation, and ensure that every dollar contributes to meaningful outcomes for both the association and its members.
