Wild Apricot
NOVEMBER 20, 2015
In Part II of our Payment Processing Podcast Series, we speak with Tom Epplett, founder of iATS Payments, about the future of online payment systems: everything from Google Wallet, to KickStarter, to Bitcoin!
Higher Logic
NOVEMBER 6, 2015
David Spinks, founder of CMX, has been building communities since he was 13 years old. He attributes shifts like organizing for the gaming industry, joining Twitter and following thought leaders like Seth Godin and Lisa Gansky to his community success. The common thread is using technology to bring people together. The original definition for a company was a group of people coming together to exchange goods.
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Spark Consulting
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Guillermo Ortiz de Zarate and I recently had the chance to sit down with Rick Rutherford of Yourmembership.com to talk in a little more detail about some of the ideas raised in our new whitepaper, Innovate the Lean Way. Our conversation touched on issues like: What failure really is – and isn’t – and why it shouldn’t scare us so much.
Socious
NOVEMBER 5, 2015
Have you ever noticed the large number of corporate brands that market on some variation of having it your way ? There’s Burger King, Subway, Kmart, Walt Disney World, and many others. While Burger King started marketing that way 40 years ago, with the advent of social media and online retailers, personalized shopping experiences like you find with Amazon—offering people what they want on their terms—are becoming more of an expectation than a luxury.
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 As funding requirements become more complex and stakeholder expectations for transparency grow, relying on outdated methods can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and compliance risks.
YourMembership
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Quinn Brady, Vice President, Customer Success at YourMembership. Hello! Please allow me to introduce myself as the new Vice President of Customer Success at Yourmembership. It is my pleasure to make your virtual acquaintance. As this is a new role for me, our marketing team requested that I write a blog for you, which you will find below. Please enjoy.
Association Universe brings together the best content for association members and organizers from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Wild Apricot
NOVEMBER 10, 2015
Board Meeting Expert, Dr. Richard Lent shows how you can revitalize your board meetings to be perfectly productive, super structured, and extremely engaging.
Higher Logic
NOVEMBER 4, 2015
A winning community site – we all want it and we all can have it. It starts with strong design and a careful execution of the brand. I’ve put together eight tips that you can use right now to create a community site that is a winner in the eyes of your users, staff and prospective users. 1. Start with your logo. Your community site logo is the most essential element to the design of your community site.
Mariner
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Running a successful chapter can be a daunting task and nothing makes it more so than the operational side of things. To help with this, we’ve compiled a list of available tools and resources that chapters can use to address many of these tasks.
Socious
NOVEMBER 19, 2015
Over the past decade technology has changed at lightning speed. Systems are more intuitive and user friendly than ever before, as sites like Slack and Twitter continue to garner mass use with simplicity. Innovative association professionals understand the importance of keeping an eye on technology because ultimately it is a cost-effective way to streamline daily operations and keep members engaged.
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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
YourMembership
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Checking our social media feeds has become a part of our everyday life, and it’s especially true for millennials. It is as habitual as brushing their teeth or buying a pumpkin spice latte. Yet in an age of ever-growing computing power, readers have more difficulty concentrating on content now than ever before. It’s unavoidable; we’re surrounded by technology!
Aaron Wolowiec
NOVEMBER 30, 2015
Aaron Wolowiec, founder and president, Event Garde. Q & A with Aaron Wolowiec, founder and president of Event Garde. Editor’s Note: In celebration of Event Garde’s four-year anniversary, this month’s Event Garde-ian of the Month is Aaron Wolowiec. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us. As we go into 2016, we’d like to know what you think…how are we doing?
Wild Apricot
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Is your membership growth as stagnant as a pond? Wouldn't you love a proven recipe for successful? In an interactive case study, we reveal the strategies of how one organization grew over 300%.
Higher Logic
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
This guest post is by Jill Andreu, Naylor’s vice president of content strategy and development. Jill is responsible for the overall strategy, direction, leadership and management of Naylor’s editorial department. A colleague recently told me a story about how his 15-year-old daughter carries out her content strategy on Instagram. She doesn’t call it content strategy.
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.
Jamie Notter
NOVEMBER 4, 2015
Okay, I apologize for being one week late with Culture Chat --Maddie and I were with a client last Thursday so we couldn't pull it off. But we think this topic is worth waiting for, Culture and Technology: Technology doesn’t just impact productivity and efficiency--it can shape your culture. How you use intranets, internal online communities, and even basic information sharing tools will end up pushing your culture in one direction or another, so you’d better make it intentional.
Socious
NOVEMBER 17, 2015
In an ideal world, every online community would have a perfectly suited team of community managers working full-time to make the community awesome. Unfortunately, the reality of business needs and priorities often means that communities have to prove their value before upper management will commit to a full-time employee for them. This common situation, in turn, makes it difficult to really focus the time and effort that’s needed to get value out of a community.
Mariner
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
Let us spread the word: thank-you. For when we do, we show appreciation, caring, empathy, love and kindness. And so Peter, Carol and I say. Thank-you!
Aaron Wolowiec
NOVEMBER 30, 2015
Last month, I had the opportunity to present a session on meeting management (e.g., a staff meeting, a committee meeting or a board meeting) to a group of volunteer leaders. We started by viewing the following (hilarious!) YouTube video depicting every meeting ever. After debriefing the video, which included a discussion of many of the personalities/bad habits represented (e.g., The Time Nazi, Get Here When You Can Guy and The Negator), we launched into my four steps for facilitating the most pr
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!
Wild Apricot
NOVEMBER 10, 2015
Board Meeting Expert, Dr. Richard Lent shows how you can revitalize your board meetings to be perfectly productive, super structured, and extremely engaging.
Higher Logic
NOVEMBER 18, 2015
Automation rules are crucial for community managers -they alleviate daily or repetitive tasks while encouraging member behavior you want to see. If you're lucky enough to have a community platform that supports automation rules - congrats! When you’re starting out, it can be difficult to know where to begin and scary to let go of the reins. There are so many different directions to take - what are the basic ones everyone should know?
Potomac Core
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Anemic economic performance is unfortunately becoming a mainstay in the U.S. economy. The release of the 3 rd quarter GDP numbers where only 1.5% growth was reported is another reminder of how much the ground is shifting for associations. Companies will likely view membership through an even narrower prism of operating margins if economic conditions weaken further.
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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
Eric Lanke
NOVEMBER 16, 2015
Got into a friendly argument with a colleague about last week's post , where I revisited an idea that I've discussed before : that program committees should report to an association's Chief Staff Executive, or CEO, and not its Board of Directors. His take? Absolutely not. Never. Committees must always been created by and report directly to the Board.
Aaron Wolowiec
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
Like most businesses, associations have a lot of bulk. Maybe that’s because it’s hard to trim the fat. That said, eliminating wasted efforts and minimizing defects can lead to new products and innovations, according to a new whitepaper by Elizabeth Engel , CEO and chief strategist for Spark Consulting , and Guillermo Ortiz de Zarate , director of information systems for National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
Wild Apricot
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
Join us for a Free Expert Webinar, featuring Gail Perry on How to Get Your Board Members Engaged and Active in Fundraising.
Higher Logic
NOVEMBER 17, 2015
Our guest blogger Rachel Happe co-founded The Community Roundtable to support business leaders developing their community and social business strategies. Rachel has spent the last 20 years helping organizations implement emerging technologies to advance their business strategies. We've all been there. You go to an event. A conference. A workshop. You leave inspired - with takeaways, idea lists, a stack of business cards and contacts.
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.
Jamie Notter
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
One reason so many conflicts become "stuck" is that we think the conflict is only about the ideas involved. We forget that it's really about two (or more) human beings in a relationship. So as we get into it, we dive straight into the ideas. You make your point; I make my counterpoint. We go back and forth and usually end the conversation frustrated and without any significant agreements.
Socious
NOVEMBER 12, 2015
Take a second and go out to the Google Play Store or iTunes, and search for free apps. How many came up? Some number this side of a google? (Sorry, bad pun.) But the answer is a lot, right?
Eric Lanke
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
One of the very first posts I wrote for this blog (back in September 2011) was titled, " Should Committees Report to the Board? " and it challenged that very piece of conventional wisdom. In the post, I argued that committees whose function was programmatic (i.e., related to how the association managed its programs, not how it governed itself) should, in fact, report to the chief staff executive.
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