Spark Consulting
JULY 5, 2018
At some point, after generating leads and nurturing relationships and persuading people to join and helping them find their own individual engagement paths, it’s time to ask your members to renew, to stick with you another year. Membership retention is your goal – renewal is the process by which you achieve your goal. Renewal is all about how many of what types of notices are sent to whom on what schedule.
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 5, 2018
Most organizations pay for it without knowing it. What is it? Conference organizational debt. Your conference organizational debt includes the static roles, traditional structures, outdated models, long-established practices, antiquated procedures and legacy policies that prevent your organization from adapting to evolving markets, technology and society.
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Jamie Notter
JULY 6, 2018
When we give our consulting clients an overview of what should be included in their “Culture Playbook,” we offer up six possible sections of the playbook: Rituals and artifacts. Stewardship. Talent/HR. Process. Structure/Design. Technology. You don’t NEED to have a play in every section, but we found early on that people needed a little prodding to realize that there were more things to do to build a culture than change one or two processes.
Wild Apricot
JULY 5, 2018
You see them every day. On Instagram, on Facebook and IRL (in real life). Organizations that seem to win at marketing their mission and their programs. They are everywhere and their donor family (and budget) is large! Here are the three things they're doing right — and how you can too!
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 As funding requirements become more complex and stakeholder expectations for transparency grow, relying on outdated methods can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and compliance risks.
Reid All About it
JULY 6, 2018
The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community… WBT Systems explains why employer and learner interest in digital badges (credentials) is growing rapidly —and why your association should satisfy that interest. Does your association IT leader pass the CIO sniff test? David DeLorenzo describes the CIO-level skills all association IT leaders must possess —even if they don’t have the CIO title.
Association Universe brings together the best content for association members and organizers from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Higher Logic
JULY 5, 2018
Helping employees succeed and produce value for your organization is a universal objective for businesses, regardless of location, size or vertical. Providing them with resources and achieving this task was far easier in the past when employees worked in the same physical location, but with the advance of technology in the last decade, the modern workforce has become increasingly mobile.
Eric Lanke
JULY 2, 2018
I have to take issue with Amanda Kaiser of the Smooth the Path blog, who said in a recent post that trade associations don't really have organizational memberships. Your key contact member understands that some of their colleagues at their organization can be members. But, most often when they think about the value of the association, they are not thinking about the value to their colleagues, or even the value of the membership to their organization, they are thinking about the value of the memb
GrowthZone
JULY 3, 2018
In the last installment of the Difficult People blog series, we explore the last of the 16 techniques for managing your emotions when defusing uncomfortable situations with co-workers, members, and board members. STAY FLEXIBLE. Different people have different triggers and responses to those triggers. Staying adaptable will help you save energy and avoid stress.
Event Industry News
JULY 6, 2018
Written by Mark Pepler, MD Pepler Lee Events (picture right). How many conferences have you returned from in the last few years feeling it was a valuable use of your time? Be honest. Because, from my point of view, the majority of attendees at conferences these days seem completely disengaged. And perhaps that’s no surprise. You’ve been “asked” to attend by a senior manager, you would much rather be somewhere, anywhere else and are distracted by the huge ‘to do’ list that awaits you back in the
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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
Higher Logic
JULY 2, 2018
Two weeks ago, I attended the Forrester Customer Experience forum in New York City. The forum focused on leveraging Forrester’s recent research to help customer experience (CX) professionals deliver better CX. What does CX have to do with communities, you may ask? Quite a lot, as I suspected and then confirmed while at the show. Forrester conducts an annual survey measuring CX across various industries.
Association Success
JULY 2, 2018
From efficiency to analysis, AI has helped us develop our content offerings. What comes to mind when you think about Artificial Intelligence? Is it images of robots, machinery, and science fiction movies? In fact, AI has already made its way into our homes and offices, and that is great news, because it is successfully automating processes and taking care of the most arduous of tasks.
Membersuite
JULY 2, 2018
What can the American Revolution teach us about event planning? Plenty! Let's discuss how to take control over your events and ensure their success.
Event Industry News
JULY 2, 2018
Manchester Central has added to an already impressive list of recent industry successes by fighting off competition from all over the UK to be crowned ‘Best Conference Venue (over 1,300 theatre style) at the 2018 Conference Awards. The iconic city centre venue was also named ‘Best City Centre Venue’ at the National Venue Awards last month, whilst Duncan Leavitt, Technical Services Project Manager, scooped ‘Unsung Hero’ at the AEO Awards.
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.
Idea Architects
JULY 1, 2018
This fall I will serve as a Learning Catalyst for a national association ’ s ann u al conference. It is one of my favorite roles: leading opening and closing activities, cr e ating infor m al learning opport u nities thro u gho u t the event, designing a tool to help participants capture their learning and plan future actions, and much more. Throughout the event, I will engage participants in conversations with themselves and with each other to deepen their connections to the content, the commun
Association Success
JULY 5, 2018
Entrepreneurial thinking is like a mind gym – but that doesn’t mean it requires heavy lifting. Entrepreneurship isn’t a word that you hear often in the association space. Why not? Is it because associations aren’t able to think entrepreneurially? If we take entrepreneurial thinking to be a focus on the mission as well as on the bottom line, our organizations are perfectly poised to embrace this framework because we have passion, vision, and commitment both to our members and to society at large.
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 6, 2018
To be successful in the 21st Century, we have to become comfortable with ambiguity and contradiction. We must learn to reframe our questions and rise above conventional mental models. We have to embrace experimentation and try new things. We have to adopt strategies that encourage us to abandon ingrained, comfortable ideas and employ new ones that may feel unfamiliar.
Event Industry News
JULY 6, 2018
Unique Venues of London unveiled Borough Market as the newest member to join the association that this year sees it celebrating its 25 th anniversary. Borough Market is London’s oldest and most renowned food market, championing the very best of British and international produce. The venue spaces are situated within the market itself, with the Market Hall and Three Crown Square offering dynamic event environments that can hold between 300 and 350 guests.
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!
Beacon Live
JULY 6, 2018
Expert Ideas for Engaging Your Association Memberships Did you know that the number one reason association members skip out on membership renewal is a lack of engagement with their organization?
Association Success
JULY 3, 2018
How our communication choices can pave the way for transformation Language matters. It matters for many reasons; not least because when different perspectives and priorities collide, the way we communicate can set the stage for moving forward. Thinking carefully about language and communication when implementing a culture shift in your association can help establish and cement the tone of the change, and turn a potentially challenging situation into an opportunity for learning and development.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JULY 5, 2018
On Tuesday, I shared with you the “new” metrics for email engagement , which include whether your emails are read before they are deleted and whether people are replying to or forwarding them. It’s this engagement rate more than whether you have spammy content or design that affects whether your emails are delivered to the inbox these days.
Event Industry News
JULY 5, 2018
It’s safe to say that conferences have come a long way in the past decade. An industry that has felt more than a little homogeneous in the past, has evolved into a packed calendar of diverse events which have as much emphasis on entertainment, as they do education. The proliferation of these less traditional conferences comes hot on the heels of music festivals growing increasingly popular, this has been dubbed “festivalisation”.
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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
Mizz Information
JULY 6, 2018
Happy summer! Hope yours is going better than mine so far. : /. A few weeks ago, I led a DC-area Idea Swap about 21st century communication strategies for associations, so figured I’d repurpose it here for those of you not in the DC area. I hate powerpoint so figured I’d try something new– Wakelet –to curate the examples I wanted to showcase in a way that was both easy to use for the live presentation but also easy to share online.
WBT Systems
JULY 3, 2018
It’s a great time for job-hunting—as long as you have the skills employers need. But, 92 percent of executives believe Americans don’t have the right skills for available jobs. 54 percent of those executives say the education system doesn’t teach the skills needed for today’s workforce. Colleges and universities can’t adapt their curricula fast enough to meet the demand for new skills—but associations can.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JULY 2, 2018
Here’s what’s happening at Nonprofit Marketing Guide this month: All-Access Pass Sale. Through this Friday, July 6th, you can save $200 off our Annual All-Access Pass. The Pass gives you 365 days of access to live and recorded webinars, weekly time savers, peers and industry experts, and much more. Get your All-Access Pass and save $200.
Event Industry News
JULY 6, 2018
What delegates want from events is changing fast and becoming more complex. As research shows more than three-quarters of millennials (78%) would choose to spend money on an experience or event over buying something desirable*, for brands looking to maximise the commercial value of their conferences and events it’s more important than ever to understand delegates’ needs and wants.
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Is messy, outdated, or duplicate data making it harder to track engagement, revenue, and performance? Poor data quality can slow your organization down and prevent you from making informed decisions. With The Dirty Data Guide , you'll discover: Practical steps to clean your data and maintain accuracy over time. A checklist to help your team implement data hygiene best practices.
Mizz Information
JULY 6, 2018
Happy summer! Hope yours is going better than mine so far. : /. A few weeks ago, I led a DC-area Idea Swap about 21st century communication strategies for associations, so figured I’d repurpose it here for those of you not in the DC area. I hate powerpoint so figured I’d try something new– Wakelet –to curate the examples I wanted to showcase in a way that was both easy to use for the live presentation but also easy to share online.
Robert Skrob
JULY 3, 2018
Every time one of your members quits, a piece of me dies. It is a relationship lost. A promise broken. Opportunity unfulfilled. It’s my mission to help you never let it happen again. I take it personally when one of your members quits. Can we ever make it stop completely? No. And, honestly, we want some churn. We need to get rid of the people who don’t fit or shouldn’t be our members.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
JULY 3, 2018
When Facebook changes its news feed algorithms, it’s all nonprofit communicators want to talk about. But much more important algorithm changes are underway elsewhere: Email inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo have been changing the algorithms that decide which emails get delivered and to whom. These changes started a few years ago and are now fully in place, and the algorithms get smarter every day.
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