July, 2014

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Volunteers Please Come Back

Wild Apricot

'Here''s a look at survey findings (and SlideShare presentation) that offer insight into what motivates repeat volunteers.

Survey 320
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Good Leaders Know They Don’t Know Everything

Association Leaders

'If you study leadership, read about great leaders throughout history, or even if you just think about what you should do (and not do) to be a good leader, you may come away with a very wrong conclusion – that good leaders are always the smartest people in their organization and therefore have all the answers. If you look a little deeper in your examination of leadership and great leaders though, you will discover that the very best leaders, the ones who were able to sustain greatness for

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Meet You in Nashville: Where to Eat during #ASAE14, part 2

Reid All About it

'I’ve already written one post about dining in Nashville that focused on downtown restaurants – the ones closest to the Music City Center. But there’s more! Rolf & Daughters ( Twitter , Instagram ). 700 Taylor St., 2 miles/8 minute drive from the MCC. Just a short cab (or Uber) ride away is the Germantown neighborhood. During the digitalNow conference a bunch of friends and I went there to have dinner at Rolf & Daughters.

Nashville 260
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Getting Your Donors (Members?) To Fall In Love

Spark Consulting

'I often find that the cause-oriented/fundraising nonprofits do some awesome stuff associations could and should learn from. Case in point: this fantastic presentation by Big Duck ‘s Farra Trompeter on getting your donors to fall in love with you. Getting your donors to fall in love with you from Big Duck. Key points for associations: It’s all about lifetime value, whether we’re talking donors or members, so retention is critical.

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A New Look At Running Grants & Programs: Why Use A System When You Have Excel?

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 As funding requirements become more complex and stakeholder expectations for transparency grow, relying on outdated methods can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and compliance risks.

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Happy employees, big dollars

Aaron Wolowiec

'I remember the first time a boss took me out to lunch for a job well done. It was my first job out of college, and the editorial staff had just launched our newly designed magazine. As editor, I wrote and scrutinized thousands of words. I’m pretty sure the designer and I spent weeks staring at a computer screen and proofs. I’m fairly certain the lunch wasn’t that amazing.

Report 191

More Trending

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Key Insights To Help Inspire and Engage Millennials

Wild Apricot

'Here are highlights of the 2014 Millennial Impact Report and insights for non-profits and membership organizations.

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How much is too much?

Mariner

'Most can agree that we receive way too many emails in the course of a day. What’s more maddening, besides the increasing amount of spam (that’s another post), is the constant barrage of emails from a single source, i.e., the vendor that sends daily updates on products and services, or the e-letter that comes in 2-3 times a day with the “latest news.

Course 160
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Meet You in Nashville: Be a Tourist at #ASAE14

Reid All About it

'I’m interrupting my series of posts about eating in Nashville to tell you about some good spots to visit while you’re in town. Nashville’s a great city for visitors because so many destinations are within walking distance of each other. You’ll have an even more carefree tourist experience if you register for one of the ASAE tours on Saturday afternoon, August 9, or Tuesday afternoon, August 12.

Nashville 191
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Three Keys to Inspire New Ideas from Staff

Spark Consulting

'What does it take for associations to succeed at innovation? I’ve been doing some research on innovation initiatives in associations for a client and had written a bit about it for the Spark blog a few weeks ago. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Mark Athitakis from ASAE about what I’d learned in a little more length, and he wrote the following piece for Associations Now.

Proposal 197
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Find New Non-Dues Revenue Streams for Your Organization with This Free Guide

Struggling to generate revenue beyond membership dues? You're not alone. Our free guide, The Ultimate Guide to Non-Dues Revenue for Associations , offers practical strategies to help your organization boost financial health. Inside, you'll explore creative ways to generate income, including: Educational offerings tailored to your audience Event-based revenue opportunities Job boards that drive engagement and income Corporate sponsorship ideas A checklist to evaluate and strengthen your current a

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If Events Could Talk: 10 Strategies for Fueling a Powerful Voice

Aaron Wolowiec

'Has your association conducted a communication audit within the last three years? More specifically, are your meetings and publications teams working together to ensure your association’s events are effectively marketed? If your events suffer from stagnant or declining attendance, sponsors or exhibitors – or if you have difficulty securing quality speakers – the answer lies not in a silo, but rather in your team.

Sample 184
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Does Your Board Act as Your Innovation Committee?

Eric Lanke

'image source I found this post of the Harvard Business Review blog thought-provoking. It advocates for corporate boards to serve as a kind of innovation committee for the corporations they are put in place to safeguard. In one example, the post talks about the movement as it is afoot at Diebold, a manufacturer of ATMs and security systems.in conducting its annual self-evaluation, the board found that a number of its directors had recommended that a board committee be created to work explicitly

Committee 153
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Software News July 2014: 5.1 Is Here and Mobile App Coming Soon

Wild Apricot

'This month''s Software News outlines the exciting enhancements launched with Version 5.1 - just released! Also details on our upcoming mobile app.

Software 292
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Make the Seemingly Impersonal Personal for Your Members

YourMembership

The image of a world driven by technology has long been portrayed by Hollywood and the Sci-Fi world as cold, impersonal, inhuman, disconnected – you know, soulless computers, cyborgs, dystopia and the like. It can be a little stressful to imagine. Look, I can see you’re really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over. – HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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Forecasting Failures Are Costly: Heres How To Fix Them

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.

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Meet You in Nashville: Sipping at #ASAE14

Reid All About it

'I’m usually a beer and wine drinker, but back in May, my first stop in Nashville with my friends Ben Martin of Online Community Results and Teri Carden of ReviewMyAMS.com was at Rumours Wine Bar in the Gulch neighborhood. It was happy hour so a selection of cocktails were $5 or $6. Ben recommended the Old Fashioned — a very fine choice. We were heading elsewhere for dinner, but we split two small plates of snacks, including the Shishito peppers.

Nashville 182
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What I’m Reading

Spark Consulting

'Do you know the content marketing 4-1-1 ? MGI’s 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmark report is out. One, you should download it ASAP. Two, Associations Now has been doing a series of posts on the results, and I love the point of this one: “ you have to eat your vegetables.” Yep. Advice from Aaron Wolowiec about getting your comms and events teams to work together to create a better event.

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Six Ways to Intersect Publications and Education Events

Aaron Wolowiec

'This month’s blog post is by Kim Howard, CAE, an award-winning publisher and president of Write Communications, LLC. Write Communications works with association leaders to create mission-aligned content for every channel for measurable results. She is the immediate past president of Association Media & Publishing. Howard can contacted at kim@writecommunicationsllc.com.

Education 170
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Surest way to lose a volunteer.

Mariner

'I came across Ashima Goyal-Siraj ’s piece in Volunteer weekly , The “Oh! by the way” trap. It’s in response to an article. by Thomas McKee on the same subject, and one that I—and just about any volunteer—can relate to.

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The Everyday Donor: Unlocking Prospecting Segments Through Behavior Analysis

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!

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19 Free Non-profit Webinars For August 2014

Wild Apricot

'This August there are 19 free non-profit webinars in our round-up – on hot topics such as: “Getting started with video”; “Storytelling basics”; “Supercharging corporate donations” and much more!

Video 277
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What did you just step in? It’s change!

YourMembership

In the movie Forrest Gump our hero, heart broken at the loss of his mom and his best girl Jenny, decides to take a year-long sabbatical by going on a run that takes him coast to coast a couple of times. One day while talking with an admirer as he runs, Forrest steps into a pile of “something less than pleasant”. To paraphrase the conversation, the admirer says, “Wow man, you just stepped in a big pile of “change.

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Authority and Accountability

Jamie Notter

'This is a guest post by Thad Lurie, Chief Operating Officer at EDUCAUSE. au·thor·i·ty: the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine. ac·count·a·ble: subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable. Questions around authority and accountability in organizations can be heavily entangled with both cultural challenges and process questions, and are not easily addre

Maine 131
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Leadership Lessons on the Hiking Trail

Eric Lanke

'image source I spent the last week in Colorado on vacation. We made it an outdoor vacation as much as possible, with hiking and biking the dominant activities. I''m not an extreme sports kind of guy, but I do like doing things outdoors that in some small way test me and my capabilities. This was a family vacation, so our choice of outdoor activities was limited by the capabilities and comfort levels of my two young children.

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2025 Association Survey Results Report

GrowthZone’s 11th annual survey highlights trends, challenges, and strategies shaping the membership industry through insights from U.S. and Canadian association professionals. Get your copy of the 2025 Association Survey Results Report to see how your organization measures up: The biggest challenges associations are facing Membership retention trends and non-renewal insights Strategies for automatic renewals and reinstatements Shifts in member engagement tactics Why members are joining (and sta

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Bonus content: Event Garde e-news – July edition

Aaron Wolowiec

'Cally Hill, Director of Client Relations. Q & A with Cally Hill, Director of Client Relations. Q: When you’re not working for Event Garde, what keeps you busy? A: I enjoy spending time with my family and watching Tigers baseball. Q: If you could meet one famous person, who would it be, and why? A: Tom Hanks. He has been my favorite actor since he was on the sitcom “Bosom Buddies” in 1980.

Content 138
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Proposing governance changes – what the CIPR did

Optimist Consulting

'Governance changes can be a difficult sell to members. They can be complex (and not always very interesting!) which can prove difficult to communicate to members in an engaging way. The key in my experience is to use a multi-platform and multi-message approach – you want to give members the greatest chance of receiving and understanding the message.

Proposal 130
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Is Your Association’s Personality Shining Through?

Wild Apricot

'Is your association or club struggling to get the younger generation involved? Maybe adding more personality to your communications might help.

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Opportunity Knocks – Are You There?

YourMembership

It seems that when things change for the worse, they tend to do so very quickly- like rising gas prices. Yet, when conditions improve they seem to do so slowly- a penny here, a penny there- never making much of a difference. When the Great Recession hit in 2007, the impact on the job market was felt immediately and unemployment peaked at 10 percent only a couple years later in 2009.

Education 150
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Navigating Payroll Compliance: Future-Proofing Payroll in an Evolving Regulatory Landscape

Speaker: Jennifer Hill

Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.

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Cracking the Culture Code: Outsourcing In Order to Increase Engagement

Jamie Notter

'This is a guest post from Eric Lanke , the CEO of the Fluid Power Association. How does an association executive build and sustain the culture of his organization? Specifically, what is his role versus others in the organization’s hierarchy? Conventional wisdom says culture comes from the top and, in many respects, that’s true. But associations, like all organizations, are systems.

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Going on Vacation

Eric Lanke

'image source What do you do when you go on vacation? No, not where do you go and what do you do there, but what do you do about all the people who may want to get a hold of you while you''re gone? In my association I try to make it as clear as possible. Vacation is for vacation. When you''re on vacation there is no expectation that you can be reached.

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Association membership is on the rise

Aaron Wolowiec

'I love my Barnes and Noble membership. Last Christmas, I saved nearly $100 because I was a member. I also love my World Market membership because, well, I enjoy the wine discounts. And then, there’s my Public Relations Society of America membership, which provides professional development, networking opportunities and member-only must-haves for public relations junkies like me.