Wild Apricot
MARCH 21, 2014
'The March Nonprofit Blog Carnival is about non-profit disruption and innovation. So we looked at Fast Company''s Most Innovative Companies for 2014 to see if there were lessons to guide non-profit innovation.
Spark Consulting
MARCH 6, 2014
'During our February 27 Higher Logic Learning Series webinar on The Mission Driven Volunteer , there were several questions Peggy Hoffman and I didn’t have time to answer. That’s not cool! So we answered them for this blog post. What is the certification for volunteers at c3 organizations? PH: It’s the Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA).
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Reid All About it
MARCH 13, 2014
'Here’s a post I wrote for MemberViews Monday, a collaboration of bloggers in the association world who have teamed up to share their experiences and knowledge with other association professionals. The first topic in this series hosted by MultiView blogs is Advice for the Emerging Association Professional. — I never expected to work in associations.
Aaron Wolowiec
MARCH 25, 2014
'Sarah Lugo, digital marketing coordinator for Digitec Interactive. This month’s guest blog post is by Sarah Lugo, digital marketing coordinator for Digitec Interactive. Follow her on Twitter. Associations are beginning to grow their education departments by bringing member education online. Why? Selling courses and certifications online provides a new revenue source for the association while adding more value for members.
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Association Subculture
MARCH 10, 2014
'If you feel so empty So used up, so let down If you feel so angry So ripped off, so stepped on You''re not the only one Refusing to back down You''re not the only one So get up! Riot, Three Days Grace I just saw this article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. It details a fundamental shift in the way public colleges and universities are being funded and actually posits that public funds for higher education in some states may move to zero (ZERO) in the coming years.
Association Universe brings together the best content for association members and organizers from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Wild Apricot
MARCH 31, 2014
'This month, we''ve found 36 free non-profit webinars. Topics include: tips and tricks for seeking grants; non-profit CRM strategies; social media; non-profit tax law and more.
Spark Consulting
MARCH 17, 2014
'I’m excited to share the launch of the fourth whitepaper in the ongoing Spark whitepaper series, Risk: The Missing Link Connecting Strategy to Implementation. Co-authored with Jamie Notter ( JamieNotter.com ) and Leslie White , CPCU, ARM, CIC, CRM, ( Croydon Consulting ), the whitepaper tackles the question: why do senior teams have so much trouble with strategic decision-making?
Virtual
MARCH 20, 2014
'I’m still pretty young (by my own standards). But I can remember the days of pink “while you were out” slips, calling in for messages from pay phones and (gasp) not having email at work. And every innovation carries with it the same promise—it will keep us more connected. In many ways, this is true. When I sit in a far away hotel room talking to my kids over Facetime (when they actually answer), it’s a remarkable display of the promise of the connected society.
Aaron Wolowiec
MARCH 11, 2014
'As parents, I think most of us want to instill in our children the importance of giving back. Thus the reason I’m PTA president, I teach Sunday School and chaperone field trips. As a working mom, it’s sometimes hard to manage professional and personal commitments, but new federal government data suggest that we working moms volunteer the most. That said, volunteerism is on the decline, according to a new report released Feb. 25 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Ever wonder why brands like Apple, LEGO, and Sephora are going all-in on branded communities? It’s because online community building is the secret sauce to connecting with audiences in ways that ads and emails simply can’t. But here's the best part—it’s not just for big corporations. Associations can create thriving online communities too. GrowthZone’s eBook, "The Power of Community," breaks down exactly why a branded online community can be a game-changer for your association.
Jamie Notter
MARCH 18, 2014
'Both Amazon.com and Intuit have both declared publicly that their work teams should be no larger than a group that can be adequately fed with two pizzas. They do this to stay fast and nimble. I think the co-founder of Kayak was saying the same thing when he said “ No innovation happens with 10 people in the room ” (hat tip, Eric Lanke ).
Optimist Consulting
MARCH 26, 2014
'The latest MemberWise network report has just been launched. ‘Harnessing the Web to Drive Membership Value and Growth’ is now in its second year. It takes into account the responses of over 400 membership-sector professionals. It was a really informative read; I encourage you to download a copy. I have pulled out five things that I think are signals of trends for the sector: ‘ Digital-only’ memberships will increas e – whilst only 12% of respondents currently offer digital-only membership, 35%
Wild Apricot
MARCH 12, 2014
'The Web turns 25 today. Here''s a look back at the "technology revolution" it sparked and the impact it has had on non-profits and membership orgs.
Spark Consulting
MARCH 20, 2014
'Whitepaper release week continues! From the new Spark whitepaper, Risk: The Missing Link Connecting Strategy to Implementation , co-authored with Jamie Notter ( JamieNotter.com ) and Leslie White ( Croydon Consulting ): Strategy and risk are about choosing to do certain things and, sometimes more importantly, not to do certain things. Conversations about these choices are difficult because your organization naturally has a range of overlapping concerns and interests, typically represented by sp
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Association Navigator
MARCH 4, 2014
'I’m speaking again this week to University of Alabama law students about career opportunities for lawyers working in government relations. It’s not an easy time for new lawyers to get started, so I’ve been thinking about what I can say to help them in their searches. University of Alabama Law School – Tuscaloosa. Last year my presentation to these students focused on the association world, explaining what we do at Verto Solutions and Verto Legal Solutions.
Aaron Wolowiec
MARCH 4, 2014
'The ASAE Great Ideas Conference is right around the corner. If you’ve not attended before, I highly recommend looking into it (if not this year, then next year). The event focuses on creative approaches to everyday issues in association management and is built around the sharing of – you guessed it – great ideas. Unlike other events, this conference offers a relaxed, but business-oriented environment where you can step back from your day-to-day routine and be exposed to new thinking.
Jamie Notter
MARCH 17, 2014
'Joy, Inc.: How We Built A Workplace People Love. by Richard Sheridan. Portfolio/Penguin, 2013. This book is by Richard Sheridan, who is the CEO of Menlo Innovations , a software company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They’ve been covered by Inc. , NPR and others, partly for their radical ideas of (a) having all their software programmers work together in one big room (no offices, not even cubes), and (b) actually having two programmers per one computer.
Optimist Consulting
MARCH 26, 2014
'I was recently asked by a client to look into what they would need to do to move to paperless committees for their board meetings. They are currently trialling their new system following my research project. Here are 4 steps you need to take if you want to do this at your organisation: 1. Involve your members. Start by talking to your board members about potentially changing your processes.
Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg
Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.
Wild Apricot
MARCH 19, 2014
'Does association size impact your ability to meet your mission? Here are some thoughts on the impact of budget and membership size - and a reminder about our Small Membership Survey.
Spark Consulting
MARCH 18, 2014
'From the new Spark whitepaper, Risk: The Missing Link Connecting Strategy to Implementation , written with Jamie Notter and Leslie White: The risk management process involves the continuous identification, assessment, prioritization, and selection of risk management techniques; implementation; and monitoring of outcomes. But what if the board and senior team members don’t all agree on what the risk is, how likely it is, or what impact it might have?
Eric Lanke
MARCH 17, 2014
'image source I had an interesting debate on Twitter last week with Jeffrey Cufaude. It started with me tweeting this paraphrased snippet from one of the Corner Office columns I had just read in The New York Times. No innovation happens with 10 people in a room. Too many critics. 2 or 3 will nurture a new idea; give it life. [link] — Eric Lanke (@ericlanke) March 14, 2014 Cufaude took issue with it, calling it ridiculous, and stating (probably correctly) that innovation can happen with any numbe
Aaron Wolowiec
MARCH 18, 2014
'In this day and age, we’re inundated with data. And some of us thrive on it. Especially event planners. Data are key to improving your events, to giving your customers and potential clients what they crave. But how do you know which data are important? It’s something called event intelligence, the subject of a new(ish) Professional Convention Management Association whitepaper by Eric Olson, CEO and president of Zerista, and Staci Clark, global marketing strategy manager for Cisco Systems.
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Jamie Notter
MARCH 4, 2014
'In a recent Switch and Shift blog post , I made the point that communication from the top needs to increase dramatically in this day and age. In fact, it’s less about communicating specific messages from the top, and more about creating a culture of transparency. One of the reasons behind this is generational. The people at the top are nearly all Boomers and Xers, two generations that both grew up with the idea that knowledge is power and the basic expectation that only the people at the
Optimist Consulting
MARCH 26, 2014
'I recently received this personalised printed membership invitation from the IoD. The good quality card invitation was printed with my name on it, which I felt was a nice touch: In addition, they offered a tailored website page with my name on it: I also liked the fact that they used an image of a woman, which I assume was intentional as I am female too.
Wild Apricot
MARCH 24, 2014
'Does your non-profit or membership organization have a blog? Here are some great thoughts on why you should be blogging and tips and resources to help you get started.
Spark Consulting
MARCH 27, 2014
'I’m presenting at Cal SAE’s ELEVATE Conference today, on the topic of membership marketing on a shoestring budget. During the presentation, I shared five tips. Below are the bonus tips I promised everyone in the session: Membership recruiting is an eternal program, not s series of intermittent campaigns. Have a plan! The same holds true for retention.
Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson
Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.
Eric Lanke
MARCH 10, 2014
'Last week I wrote about a staff scavenger hunt we organized at my association''s trade show, which is co-located with the trade show of one of our major customer markets. In teams to two, venture out onto the show floors and take a picture (or video) of a fluid power component. On our show floor it''s worth five points. On the customer market show floor it''s worth ten points.
Association Adviser
MARCH 17, 2014
'Hank Berkowitz, Association Adviser. In case you missed it, two important anniversaries occurred last week. The Internet turned 25 and Association Adviser turned 4. Whether reflecting on the past quarter century or past four years, remarkable changes have taken place. The world’s geography and climate has been changing before our eyes. The economy, financial markets and labor market are greatly improved (see chart below).
Jamie Notter
MARCH 13, 2014
'Does everyone in your organization understand risk in a similar way? Have you even talked about it? When you choose a strategy, have you considered the risks (and that includes the risk of foregoing opportunities, as well as the more obvious risks attached to your chosen course of action)? And do the people who are implementing your strategy ever consider risks?
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