---
title: "Membership Hack: Digital Dashboards"
id: "40889"
type: "post"
slug: "membership-hack-digital-dashboards"
published_at: "2017-12-15T21:27:59+00:00"
modified_at: "2017-12-15T21:27:59+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/12/15/membership-hack-digital-dashboards/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/12/15/membership-hack-digital-dashboards.md"
excerpt: "To give members a hands-on experience with data, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association built an interactive digital dashboard."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "dashboard"
  - "data visualization"
  - "Member Benefits"
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Director"
  - "VP"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

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 » Membership Hack: Digital Dashboards

**How to hack it?**Too often, associations rely on [the dreaded PDF document](https://associationsnow.com/2016/06/association-still-sharing-pdfs-online/)
 to deliver annual reports and other critical information to members. That was once the case for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, but this year ELFA gave its members access to an online version of its annual [Survey on Equipment Finance Activity (opens in a new tab)](https://www.elfaonline.org/data/sefa-survey-of-equipment-finance-activity)
 (SEFA). The digital dashboard allows members to access 10 years of data, including this year’s findings.

**Why does it work?**A dashboard of current and historical data allows ELFA members to search for the information they need most. ELFA used Tableau to digitize its annual survey, but there are other data tools, such as [DataHero (opens in a new tab)](https://datahero.com/)
 and [Microsoft Power BI (opens in a new tab)](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/)
, that can be used to create similar dashboards.

“Expanding the SEFA from an annual report to an interactive dashboard allows users to quickly and easily connect to the information they care about and take a deeper dive into the data,” said Bill Choi, vice president of research and industry services, in a statement. “Whether you’re wondering about trends in the equipment finance industry or looking for new business opportunities, the online SEFA lets you view this rich data set in a new way.”

**What’s the bonus?** The digital dashboard also gives members a way to benchmark themselves to evaluate their competitive position in the marketplace, offering a valuable benefit that encourages them to engage with the association.

(Rawpixel/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

[Tim Ebner](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/)

Tim Ebner is communications director and press secretary at the American Forest & Paper Association in Washington, DC. He is a member of ASAE’s Communication Professionals Advisory Council and a former Associations Now senior editor.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/)

Tags: [#dashboard](https://associationsnow.com/tag/dashboard/)
 [#data visualization](https://associationsnow.com/tag/data-visualization/)
 [#Member Benefits](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-benefits/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)

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