Wild Apricot

JULY 17, 2013

'Here''s a look at the "Overhead Myth" and calls for new ways of thinking about and measuring non-profit and charity success.

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Spark Consulting

JULY 16, 2013

'I’m headed to Providence to speak at CESSE this week, and one of the sessions I’ll be participating in will be an idea swap where we’ll be sharing marketing materials. I’ll be facilitating the discussion, and the nice folks at CESSE asked me to prepare some general tips to help people as they reviewed each others’ materials.

Tips 240

Tips Marketing Price Review 240

YourMembership

JULY 31, 2013

'We’ve been attending ASAE Conference for years now but every year is a great new experience for a multitude of reasons. Sure, there are the amazing locations. There are the fun association parties. Oh…and the swag. Gosh, I love light-up pens. Those things are all part of what makes conference a great time but there’s [.] ( Read more. ) The post ASAE2013: Mental Mountain Dew for Associations appeared first on YourMembership.com.

Software 237

Software Conference Association Management 237

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

JULY 30, 2013

'Guest Post by Sandra Giarde, CAE. By now you’ve read about what to bring to ASAE. Your travel arrangements are all confirmed and reconfirmed. And your schedule is likely taking shape with sessions and parties identified as “must attend” and “might attend.”. However, there’s one more thing to prepare for at ASAE and nobody talks about it. And it has to do with feelings.

Atlanta 217

Atlanta California Resources Course 217

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Is your current AMS is creating more problems than it solves? You can lead the change. This eBook shares a customizable letter designed to help you clearly communicate your organization’s challenges, highlight the benefits of a modern system, and make a strong case for exploring a new AMS. Whether it’s outdated reporting, clunky workflows, or member frustration, this resource will help you start the conversation with clarity and position yourself as the advocate your organization needs.

How To

Aaron Wolowiec

JULY 23, 2013

'Kevin Whorton, principal of Whorton Marketing and Research. Last week, Jeff De Cagna explained that in order to thrive, associations must think differently. Simply put: They should accept change rather than shun it. And it starts by asking questions, even if management doesn’t want to hear the answers. Self-reflection is never easy, but this week, Kevin Whorton, principal of Whorton Marketing and Research , will help make the process a bit less painful.

Marketing 192

Marketing Discount Conference Survey 192

Wild Apricot

JULY 22, 2013

'Here are 4 key reasons why your organization should have a blog, as well as a Movie Monday video that offers a look at how one organization "built excitement and community engagement" with a blog.

Video 316

Video Communications Organization 316

Spark Consulting

JULY 11, 2013

'Is it just me, or is lean process trending? I recently read a great Harvard Business Review article on the lean startup. According to HBR, lean: …favors experimentation over elaborate planning, customer feedback over intuition, and iterative design over traditional “big design up front” development. It also includes the ideas of the “minimum viable product” and the decide –> experiment –> learn –> iterate cycle.

Review 207

Review Products Process Innovation 207

YourMembership

JULY 3, 2013

'I’ve worked for a software company for nearly half a decade. I’ve made it my business to stay on top of the latest and greatest additions to association management software – things that we’ve added and things the competition did. I’ve watched as we went from being the only vendor to offer an integrated solution (membership [.] ( Read more. ) The post Association Management Software: Giving You Your Day Back appeared first on YourMembership.com.

Software 226

Software Association Management Membership Management 226

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

JULY 2, 2013

'When I started my first association job way back when, I had no idea I''d still be working in the association industry more than 10 years later. Part of what kept me in this association realm is my intense nerd-love for all things associations. After gathering with a group of fellow association nerds last weekend, I thought it might be cool to try to pull together a list of common traits for those who love association-land.

How To 204

How To Washington Products Industry 204

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Unlock the Power of Historical Data A Data Revolution: Why Your AMS/CRM Needs a Native Data Warehouse Today’s association leaders need more than real-time snapshots—they need the full story. MemberSuite: A Data Revolution reveals how a native data warehouse transforms your AMS into a strategic decision-making engine. In this free eBook, you’ll discover: The difference between a database and a data warehouse—and why it matters How to gain historical visibility into membership, engagement, events,

Leadership

Aaron Wolowiec

JULY 2, 2013

'Kelly Van Dyke presenting June 18 at the Michigan Meetings Expo. Kelly Van Dyke, CMP and I had the pleasure of delivering the highest rated education session at the Michigan Meetings Expo on June 18 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. That session, “ The Secret to Successful CSM/Planner Collaboration ,” is based on an Event Garde Blog post of a similar name from earlier this year.

Michigan 172

Michigan Communications Conference Cost 172

Association Leaders

JULY 1, 2013

'Socrates is one of the most famous ancient Greek philosophers. He lived in the 5th century BC. He has many famous quotes such as, “I know that I know nothing” Socrates is also credited with creating a form of logical reasoning known as the Socratic Method. The Socratic Method is based on a group dialog or discussion where participants ask and answer questions to improve critical thinking and develop great conclusions.

Leadership 163

Leadership Association Management 163

Wild Apricot

JULY 26, 2013

'This month''s round-up of free non-profit webinars offers more than 22 topics for August.

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Spark Consulting

JULY 26, 2013

'A large chunk of the association universe will be heading for Atlanta for #ASAE13 within the next week or so. I once again volunteered to be a “buddy” for a first-time attendee, and I had a nice conversation with her late yesterday afternoon to try to help her prep. Over the next two weeks, I’ll share some of what we talked about.

Atlanta 203

Atlanta Georgia Conference Tips 203

Speaker: Gareth Webb & Phil Selley, Founding Partners at Intouch Business

For many nonprofit organizations and NGOs, managing grants and monitoring projects with spreadsheets and manual processes feels familiar—but is it holding your organization back? As funding requirements become more complex and stakeholder expectations for transparency grow, relying on outdated methods can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and compliance risks.

System

YourMembership

JULY 12, 2013

'With less than a month away for ASAE I thought I’d share some social media prep work you can be doing to make the most of your conference attendance. With every conference there are two segments behind the social media activity – the event host/organization and the rest of the world. It’s important to stay in contact [.] ( Read more. ) The post 7 Tips to Making the Most of Conference appeared first on YourMembership.com.

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Tips Conference Social Media Organization 219

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

JULY 26, 2013

'Attending a big conference can make you feel like a freak. If you aren''t already plugged in to the who''s who of your industry, a huge meeting can make you want to hide out and make origami swans out of your business cards rather than pass them out to people at networking events. ?. There are several ways I prepare myself to make the most of any conference that might help attendees (especially my fellow introverts).

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Conference Course Tips Industry 200

Aaron Wolowiec

JULY 16, 2013

'Jeff De Cagna, founder of Principled Innovation LLC. As I wrote last week, this month I’ll be exploring some shifts in association management that some might say are extreme. To start us off, I spoke with Jeff De Cagna , founder of Principled Innovation LLC. From what I gather, he’s perhaps one of the most respected experts on new thinking.

Innovation 165

Innovation Atlanta Leadership Cost 165

Jamie Notter

JULY 23, 2013

'Dear Human Resources Field, I’ve been struggling with how to say this in the most supportive and effective way possible (because I do love you), but after a seemingly endless stream of imperfect drafts that I have deleted, I’ve decided to just blurt it out: I’m done with you. Sorry, but I just can’t do it any more. For decades, I have been your ally.

Resources 153

Resources Leadership Technology Course 153

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Revenue

Wild Apricot

JULY 25, 2013

'We''ve developed two new resources to help you build a better membership application form.

Resources 308

Resources 308

Spark Consulting

JULY 31, 2013

'Google has made some changes to Gmail, and they WILL affect you. Hubspot has the details. (See below for a great video from John Haydon to help you straighten out your own Gmail inbox organization.). MIT’s Technology Review has some good (and less rah-rah) information on the Gmail changes as well. New data proves that diversity promotes innovation.

Social Media 190

Social Media Review Video Innovation 190

YourMembership

JULY 16, 2013

'Ahh Twitter, whether it is a source of association news or how you keep up with the Kardashians, there are now over 200 million monthly active users. It’s a substantial audience when you think about the average time spent on it by users is 170 minutes per month – not bad for a micro-blog platform. Plus [.] ( Read more. ) The post Million Dollar Question for Associations appeared first on YourMembership.com.

Social Media 210

Social Media 210

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

JULY 9, 2013

'Every time ASAE Annual rolls around, people start making their lists of parties and receptions to attend. I am no different. But this year I decided to make my list public - will I see you at these parties? I''ll be updating this list as I hear about other parties and receptions, so leave your info in the comments! Some of these require sign-ups or RSVPs ahead of time, so I''ll try to include links or contact information as we get closer to the date.

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183

Speaker: Dave Sackett

Traditional budgeting and forecasting methods can no longer keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Static budgets, rigid annual forecasts, and outdated financial models limit an organization’s ability to adapt to market shifts and economic uncertainty. To stay ahead, finance leaders must leverage a future-forward approach—one that leverages real-time data, predictive analytics, and continuous planning to drive smarter financial decisions.

Cost

Eric Lanke

JULY 22, 2013

'image source Last week, in The First Step Is Always to Do a Survey , I continued writing about the process I used to create my association''s values statement, despite some misgivings about the value of values statements I''ve previously shared and still hold. Wanting to create a space where honest dialogue could take place not just about the values we wanted to aspire to, but those--good and bad--that the organization currently held, I circulated an anonymous survey to eveyone on my staff.

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Survey Leadership System Organization 145

Association Subculture

JULY 3, 2013

'Well, we did it (and when I say we, I mean we)! The first Association Jam actually happened and I am so grateful for everyone who participated. We had awesome hosts +Vickie Lester +Maria Nazario +Wendy Kavanagh +Elizabeth Engel and +KiKi L''Italien. My CA co-hosts +Sandra Giarde and +Gina Sutherland kept me grounded and were awesome at making sure everyone had enough grub and libations.

CA 142

CA Video Innovation Examples 142

Wild Apricot

JULY 8, 2013

'If you are kick-starting some communications planning this summer, here are some tips and resources that might help.

Tips 285

Tips Process Tools Communications 285

Spark Consulting

JULY 18, 2013

'Back in April, I came out with a white paper of the same name, which focuses on looking at how associations are using AMS and/or CRM to form better relationships with their members and includes case studies of three associations that have each taken a different approach to this. I’m doing my first presentation based on the white paper today at the CESSE annual meeting.

Case Study 183

Case Study Conference Technology Marketing 183

Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand

Do you really know your donors? Not just what they give, but who they are? 👥 In this interactive session, we’ll break down how nonprofits can use behavioral indicators (affinity, recency, frequency, and monetary value) to build prospecting segments that go beyond wealth screening and actually align with donor identity. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to move beyond basic demographics and cultivate supporters based on how they already engage with you!

Analysis

YourMembership

JULY 23, 2013

'Associations and other member-based organizations are facing a new set of challenges. These challenges have been blamed on a myriad of things including social media, the economy, and even millennials. The irony is that in a time when everyone seems to want to be a part of a community/social network, many associations are struggling with [.] ( Read more. ) The post 5 Things Associations are Doing Wrong and How to Fix Them (Part 1) appeared first on YourMembership.com.

Social Media 207

Social Media How To Membership Management millennials 207

Jamie Notter

JULY 11, 2013

'In Monday’s post I talked about Rita Gunther McGrath’s HBR article on Transient Advantage. She suggests that in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world, companies should not be looking for a sustained competitive advantage, but should instead be developing a portfolio of transient advantages that will bring them success moving forward.

Strategy 139

Strategy Innovation Examples Industry 139

Eric Lanke

JULY 15, 2013

'image source Last week, in Accepting the Value of Values Statements , I wrote about my decision to create a values statement for my association, despite some misgivings I''ve previously shared and still hold. You see, as much as possible, I wanted to avoid the "values imposed from above" dynamic. This is what the boss wants, so let''s agree with him and go back to doing what we were doing before.

Survey 136

Survey Proposal Leadership Project 136