Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 15, 2014

'Here is a list of resources to help you get your organization (e.g., member renewals, events, volunteer recruitment, website and much more) off to a good start in 2015.

Resources 403

Resources Recruitment Recruiting Technology 403

Spark Consulting

DECEMBER 9, 2014

'How do you write good marketing copy? In a nutshell: Think about your audience. Who are they? What do you know about them? Use that information to craft a personalized message. Talk like a real person, and write like you speak. Shorter and simpler is better than longer and more complex. Don’t be excessively formal, don’t use jargon, and don’t use undefined acronyms.

Marketing 304

Marketing 304

Mariner

DECEMBER 23, 2014

'The most common lament we hear (ok it’s tied with “we can’t find volunteers”) is how can we get the volunteers to actually do what they say they will. As we’ve always said here at Mariner, volunteer management is really HR management and so the many principals for motivating employees are relevant.

Team 186

Team 186

Aaron Wolowiec

DECEMBER 16, 2014

'Two years after graduating college, I entered the association world. I served as director of communications for an association for four years – and I loved every minute of it. As all association professionals understand, resources were thin but job responsibilities were huge. I was all things communications, media relations and public relations. But marketing?

Marketing 168

Marketing Social Media Content Report 168

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Association Leaders

DECEMBER 16, 2014

'I recently read an article published in the New York Times about how IBM develops new ideas through a collaborative team effort. You can read it here. A critical value most successful teams have is TRUST. When members of a team trust each other, they can accomplish great things together. Unfortunately, trust doesn’t always exist on teams. IBM has developed this interesting collaborative structure for teams that seems to work for them when trust doesn’t exist.

Team 163

Team New York Process 163

Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 12, 2014

'In this guest post, Alex Balan offers his take on 5 social media trends non-profits should pay attention to for 2015.

Social Media 329

Social Media 329

Spark Consulting

DECEMBER 3, 2014

'One of the best ways to promote your association and its programs, products, and services is to let your members, customers, audiences, and other stakeholders do it for you. In other words, to use testimonials. ASAE’s June 2010 Communications Section newsletter (login required) listed 7 key questions to ask to generate compelling testimonials: Why did you choose to participate with <your program>?

Newsletter 300

Newsletter Communications Products Conference 300

Idea Architects

DECEMBER 14, 2014

'Imagine you are leaders of an important community institution, one some might even describe as beloved. You have a difficult policy change to announce, one presumably driven by relevant data and reflecting the best option from among many that were thoughtfully considered. Despite the case you can make for it, the decision is not going to be popular with many.

Indianapolis 136

Indianapolis FAQ Press Release Process 136

Aaron Wolowiec

DECEMBER 9, 2014

'Just as we all start trying to lose those holiday pounds, it looks like 2015 is going to be a fun year for food and drinks. Drinks served in mason jars. Art installations created from donuts. DJ booths made from cookware. Out-of-the-box – and off-the-plate thinking – will define 2015, according to a new e-book by socialtables, which produces cloud-based software for the hospitality industry.

Sample 165

Sample Conference Software Course 165

Speaker: Sean Yoder

Nonprofits are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate financial accountability while continuing to expand their impact. Traditional budgeting models often fall short, reinforcing silos, limiting flexibility, and stalling growth. Enter collaborative budgeting: a dynamic, team-driven process that enables smarter resource allocation and builds financial resilience at scale.

Process

Mariner

DECEMBER 31, 2014

'In Carol Burnett''s immortal words, we''re so glad we had this time. together! And we look forward to more time in the company of friends and colleagues in 2015!

135

135

YourMembership

DECEMBER 18, 2014

Last week we held our December Thought Leadership webinar Mindful Associations: Fuel 2015 Success with Vision and Gratitude , with Holly Duckworth, CAE, CMP, recognized speaker and CEO of Leadership Solutions International. Holly joined us to share some very interesting principles and techniques she’s developed and included in her first book to be released in January 2015, titled Ctrl+ Alt+ Believe: Reboot Your Organization For Success.

Leadership 150

Leadership Tips Innovation Content 150

Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 22, 2014

'Here are details on our next Expert Webinar: Tools For More Effective Board Meetings – January 21st.

Tools 325

Tools Leadership 325

Eric Lanke

DECEMBER 15, 2014

'Everyone should read this great post from Seth Godin, The Tragedy of the Last 10%. In it, Seth describes how increasing market share and profitability can come when a company lowers the price of its product by 10%. Sometimes, the same thing happens when the company can re-engineer its cost structure so it can subsequently lower its price by a second, or even third 10%.

Price 130

Price Member Engagement Products Revenue 130

Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Community Engagement

There’s more than one way to end the year with impact—and we’re letting you decide the direction. In this "choose your own adventure" community-led webinar, attendees will vote in real time to pick one of three year-end event strategies to explore in depth: Volunteer Appreciation Events 🧡 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaigns 🌈 Mission/Program Celebrations 🎉 Once the path is chosen, we’ll dive into a step-by-step engagement workflow plan tailored to that format, showing how

Strategy

Jamie Notter

DECEMBER 8, 2014

'There is a down side to this wonderful human brain that we all have in our heads, and that is that sometimes we can spend too much of our time living up there in our heads, and not down here in reality. This is particularly true when you face a challenge–a significant conflict with someone, a rough spot at work, an illness in you or a family member.

Leadership 130

Leadership Products Marketing 130

Aaron Wolowiec

DECEMBER 23, 2014

'This guest blog post by Mark Athitakis , a contributing editor for Associations Now, originally ran Dec. 22 on Associations Now. Athitakis has written on nonprofits, the arts and leadership for a variety of publications. He is a coauthor of The Dumbest Moments in Business History. You can follow him on Twitter at @MarkANMag. Mark Athitakis, a contributing editor for Associations Now.

Leadership 164

Leadership Social Media Case Study Revenue 164

Mariner

DECEMBER 18, 2014

'The year is almost done, which means many of us are starting to ponder our New Year’s Resolutions (again!). We’ll spend the coming days in quiet reflection on where we failed in 2014 and how we can better ourselves in 2015. Whether it’s making changes to our physical, mental or spiritual well-being, we’ll forge ahead with a list of resolutions written in the spirit of renewal.

131

131

YourMembership

DECEMBER 11, 2014

America’s hiring again and associations and their members have reason to celebrate. Last Friday the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced a very strong jobs report that caught many economists by surprise. With more than 270,000 jobs added in September the unemployment rate fell below 6% for the first time since before the recession. That trend has continued through November.

New York City 150

New York City New York Social Media Recruiting 150

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How To

Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 19, 2014

'Here''s a link round-up full of trends and predictions for 2015 for non-profits and membership organizations.

Communications 315

Communications Organization 315

Eric Lanke

DECEMBER 1, 2014

'I''ve been writing about a facilitation workshop I recently attended--a workshop to learn how to be a better facilitator and how to teach others to do the same. It was organized and led by Jeffrey Cufaude of Idea Architects. I got a lot of takeaways that are relevant to the work I and my staff do with our association''s Board, committees, and task forces.

Committee 130

Committee Leadership Examples Products 130

Jamie Notter

DECEMBER 3, 2014

'All groups have norms–expectations about how the group does things. For formalized teams or Boards or Committees, once the group has been in existence for a while, the group norms become unspoken. Everyone knows them or can observe them fairly easily and learn to play by the rules. Until you get someone who doesn’t. And then it can be a big problem, because when you try to negotiate with that person, you often start from a position of “Why is this person violating the rules so

Committee 129

Committee Team 129

Aaron Wolowiec

DECEMBER 3, 2014

'I fled this week from the blustery temperatures of Grand Rapids, MI to a warmer climate in Dallas, TX. Always the bridesmaid (facilitator) and never the bride (learner), it was a chance for me to turn the tables and become a participant in ATD’s Master Instructional Designer Program. It all started at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. I was booked on a non-Delta flight with a brief stop in the Bermuda Triangle (otherwise known as Chicago).

Michigan 139

Michigan Dallas Chicago Content 139

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Leadership

Virtual

DECEMBER 16, 2014

'A very smart polling professional once told me the formula for satisfaction was “S=P-E”. Put another (actually understandable) way, Satisfaction equals Performance minus Expectations. I love this. As consumers, we see this all the time. Check in to a Holiday Inn and you’re happy with a clean room. Check in to a Four Seasons and just having a clean room isn’t enough.

Survey 125

Survey Association Management Resources Products 125

YourMembership

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Reinvent the tired, predictable conference experience by using readily available technology to wow your attendees, simplify communication, and create a spectacular, lasting impression that takes your organization above and beyond their expectations. Your First Impression Starts BEFORE Attendees Arrive. You know the sayings, ‘First Impressions Mean Everything’ and ‘It only takes 7 Seconds to Make an Everlasting Impression.

Conference 150

Conference Social Media Cost Technology 150

Wild Apricot

DECEMBER 5, 2014

'This week''s link round-up offers insight and ideas on: board meeting breakout sessions, tools for capturing and acting on member feedback, reinventing your events, and developing an "attitude of gratitude".

Tools 304

Tools 304

Eric Lanke

DECEMBER 8, 2014

'I''ve been writing about a facilitation workshop I recently attended--a workshop to learn how to be a better facilitator and how to teach others to do the same. It was organized and led by Jeffrey Cufaude of Idea Architects. I got a lot of takeaways that are relevant to the work I and my staff do with our association''s Board, committees, and task forces.

Committee 126

Committee Maine Leadership Innovation 126

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

Jamie Notter

DECEMBER 19, 2014

'In every blog related to business or leadership, you’re going to find buzzwords, and mine is no exception. Culture, engagement, ownership–and even the very basics of leadership, change, and management–are all words that start to lose their meaning the more we talk about them. It’s like saying a word over and over again, until it doesn’t even sound like a real word any more.

Maine 127

Maine Leadership Products Organization 127

KiKi L'Italien's Acronym Soup

DECEMBER 1, 2014

'What does the future hold in store for me? The picture isn''t clear. I never anticipated becoming an association executive. I still remember moving to Bethesda, Maryland, from Joplin, Missouri, starting my first job in associations - working for the Parenteral Drug Association. What was an association and how could I explain it to my family? These were the questions that plagued me whenever I wasn''t worried about how to make my next strategic move to make more money and move up in position.

Missouri 118

Missouri Social Media Maryland America 118

Virtual

DECEMBER 10, 2014

'A lot is made about bad customer service. But let me tell you, customers themselves are no picnic. Tom Peters once said “when your flight is messed up and you approach the counter, treat that person like she is the only person in the world that can help you. Because she is.” A lot of customers haven’t gotten that memo. So what does this mean? It means that no matter what you do, you and your staff may have to deal with a tough (sometimes irrational) customer.

Committee 122

Committee Association Management Organization 122