Reducing the Costs of Association Communications

In community associations, one complaint often heard from owners is the lack of communication from the board of directors about what is going on in the community, how their money is being spent and what, if any, activities are planned. Regular communication with the owners is sometimes a challenge for associations on a tight budget. Cost of printing, postage, or monthly maintenance fees can make regular communication cost prohibitive. How can an association balance communication with the homeowners and still keep the budget in check? Community newsletters and websites are two great methods of communication. However, each costs some money to produce and/or maintain, and if these items are not budgeted correctly, an association can quickly be over budget. Many associations however are finding creative ways to reduce these costs.

Newsletters are a great method of bringing the community together, they should include items such as current events from within the community, association event dates to increase participation, contact information for the Board and management and other useful information for the owners. But the cost for some associations to print and mail a newsletter often prevents them from producing one.

Here are some great tips on how to reduce the cost:

• Determine when the association sends out mailings and prepare newsletters to be sent as an insert.
  
  
• Hand-deliver the newsletter to save on postage.
  
  
• Solicit local businesses to advertise.
  
  
• Create an email list and email the newsletter, only mail to those that do not have email.
  
  
• If you have a website, add your newsletter to the website, announce the newsletter will only be available online.
  
  
• If you have a clubhouse, make copies of the newsletter and leave them at the front desk instead of mailing.
  
  
• Contract with a newsletter service to have your newsletter produced. These services often provide free newsletters and sell advertising to pay for the newsletter.

A community website is another communication tool that can help provide community information to owners. The interactive qualities of websites also give owners the ability to communicate with the board of directors, committees or management company. One cost saving feature of community websites is the ability to post community documents such as the governing documents or minutes, reducing the potential expense of mailing. Upon board approval, other items, such as budgets and financial statements, can also be uploaded to the community website. If the community is interested in starting a website, shop around, there are several services available from the very expensive (“we do it all for you”) to the very inexpensive (“you set it within our template and maintain it”).

Several of the service providers offer features such as photo galleries to post community event photos, mass email capabilities to send out reminders or newsletters to owners, survey options to find out what is important to the owners, unlimited document uploading and even advertising capabilities. Determine what features work best with your association and then find the service that matches your needs!

Many associations love the idea of a community website, but can not afford the monthly fee. If you association allows, try selling local merchants advertising space on the website to reduce or even eliminate the expense. Some services provide a page for local business advertising and have a basic template that is easy for businesses to use.

If your association does not allow advertising, review the association budget and the amount of mailings that go out to all the owners. Consider posting some of those items online instead of mailing. The amount saved could pay for the website! The association should still make a few copies for those that don't have access to the internet.

Whether your association distributes a newsletter or develops a website, regular communication to the ownership helps keep them informed about association matters and makes them less likely to question the board of directors actions. Always review all the options and find the method of communication that works best for you and your association.