Association Brain Food Weekly: 11.20.20

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…

86 “normal,” please. Joy S. Davis, CAE, who works at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, said: “I need to operate now and look forward, not try to claw may way back to ‘normal.’ The ‘normal’ we know is history. And I have to ask, do we really want to repeat it? We should not, even if we think we can.”

Yes! Preach, woman! This is a pledge everyone should repeat upon starting work each day. Read the rest of her excellent post, Normal is Over(rated) – For Now, at the Velvet Chainsaw Consulting blog.

Certification launch. WBT Systems shares the advice of two association execs who launched a certification during the pandemic. Amidst the helpful insight, two messages stood out for me: “a crisis presents opportunities, not just threats,” and “pivot, don’t panic.”

Virtual conference pricing. I’m realizing each of this week’s posts has a serious message to share. Here’s one from MemberSuite: your virtual events have value so stop making them free. Can I get an amen?! You devalue your community, content and conversations by not charging attendees an appropriate registration fee.

Sponsorship redesign. The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses had just revamped their sponsorship program when the pandemic hit. Rasheeda Childress at Associations Now describes how they created customized opportunities for their premier partners instead of offering the same old, tired silver, gold and platinum menu of sponsorship “benefits.”

Gratitude practice. Not a scientific study, I know, but when I dedicate a little time in the morning to writing about three things I’m grateful for, I usually have a satisfyingly productive day. Fíonta shares a bunch of ideas for thanking your volunteers and cultivating an organizational habit of gratitude.

Quick hits before we get to the list of next week’s free education:

• 40 one-sentence newsletter tips. (Josh Spector)

• Dreading a winter lockdown? Learn to love walking in the rain. (Melissa Harrison, The Guardian)

• 11 easy weekday habits that let you be lazy on the weekends. (Ella Cerón, Apartment Therapy)

• Trust me on this one… David Whyte’s “Blessing” poems are interpreted through a visual journey across the Irish landscape in this short film by filmmaker Andrew Hinton. (Emergence)

Good eats—skip down to the list of free webinars if you prefer take-out. If you’re a home cook, check out the weekly In The Kitchen posts on my Grabbing the Gusto blog.

• Embrace the cozy. When it gets cold, I start thinking about cranberries—childhood conditioning, I guess. The star of our Sunday dinner was cranberry chicken parmesan. It may sound weird but it’s really good. While eating the leftovers for lunch, I realized it’s a bit like Thanksgiving and since this Thanksgiving is a no-turkey feast (yay!), that’s fine by me.

• On the side, balsamic-maple roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon (I doubled the sauce), and oven-baked polenta with roasted mushrooms and thyme. What a glorious meal it was!

• “Yellowfin tuna, again?” A phrase often heard in this house but never with a whiny tone, always an excited one. This time, I made blackened tuna with a spice rub of brown sugar (responsible for some serious blackening), chili powder, garlic and onion powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt.

• An even simpler fish dish the next night: black drum fillets baked with butter, lemon juice, Aleppo pepper flakes and Turkish seasoning.

• I was getting bored with my usual greens treatments, so I took inspiration from this recipe to make kale, radish, turnip and daikon greens with linguiça, chickpeas, onion, sweet pepper, jalapeño, garlic and smoked paprika.

Here are the educational events scheduled for next week. If you have a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link before Wednesday evening the week before it’s scheduled. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.

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Fri 11/20 at 10 a.m.* – Member ROI Simplified: Safeguarding Your Organization’s Future

The most important method for safeguarding your organization’s future is to research, embrace, and maximize your Member ROI. Learn how to measure your current ROI in actual dollar numbers, use the numbers for influencing the membership decision, grow your ROI, and prove beyond a doubt that membership in your organization is a good business decision. More info/register.

Host: Ed Rigsbee, CAE, president at Rigsbee Research

*All times are Eastern Standard Time unless otherwise noted.

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Mon 11/23 at 11 a.m. – The ROI Member Recruitment Brochure: How to Create Brochures That Positively Influence Membership Decisions

Learn to determine who should be membership targets, which features of membership should be highlighted, how to develop an effective brochure layout, decision motives for joining, and how to train your members to use the brochure. More info/register.

Host: Ed Rigsbee, CAE, president at Rigsbee Research

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Mon 11/23 at 1 p.m. – Leveraging Your CVB Relationship: Tapping Into Free Services From CVBs/DMOs

Hear how to gain new insights and benefit from the myriad free services provided by CVBs and DMOs that will ease your bottom line, workload and stress. Learn how to design an action plan for integrating services of CVBs and DMOs as part of your event resources, create empathetic compassionate relationships with your industry partners, and devise your own toolbox of free services to request from CVBs and DMOs. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Presenter: Bonnie Wallsh

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Mon 11/23 at 1 p.m. – Chatting with Agnes & Cecilia

This series of 15- to 20-minute videos cover hot topics and issues related to 501c organization management. New episodes are posted by 1 p.m. every Monday. Check out Cecilia’s new Nonprofit Executive Spotlight series too.

Hosts:

• Cecilia Sepp, CAE, CNAP, principal and founder, Rogue Tulips LLC
• Agnes Amos-Coleman, MBA, CMP, education, conference, event, certification consultant, Amos-Coleman

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Tue 11/24 at 11 a.m. – The Future of Events: Sharing a Vision of Emerging Trends

As we near the end of 2020, many are asking what events will look like in 2021 and beyond. From the rise of the hybrid event model, rapidly emerging technologies, increased online communities, wider global reach and new revenue streams, one thing is certain, the future will open up more opportunities for events than ever before. Hear about the key areas and trends defining the future of events and the opportunities that these hold for event professionals. More info/register.

Host: Virtual Events Institute

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Tue 11/24 at 2 p.m. – 10 Online Association Community Leaders Discuss the Role of Community in 2020 (Association Chat)

In a year with fewer in-person meetings, online communities have played an important role in helping people feel more connected. Find out how the leaders for some of your favorite online communities in the association community have stepped up to the challenge. Hear why they created their groups, the stories they’ve heard this year, the lessons they’ve learned, the role of community right now and what opportunities there are for more community members to become more involved or even create their own online groups. More info/set reminder.

Host: KiKi L’Italien, senior consultant, Tecker International, LLC, and host, Association Chat

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Wed 11/25 at 8 a.m. – Maximizing Revenue through Smart Pricing Strategies

Let’s get ready to knock-off 2020’s business challenges and kick-off 2021 stronger than ever. Join us for a weekly breakfast series of strategy, planning and engaging peer discussions on common challenges faced by Associations, along with best practices to overcome them. More info/register.

Host: Halmyre

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Wed 11/25 at 9 a.m. – Conferences and Meetings: Has the Pandemic Been the Mother of Invention?

Join our speakers discussing their experiences of running their annual meetings online this year, reflecting on what worked well and what worked less well, and how their experience of this year will inform their meetings strategy going forwards. More info/register.

Host: Society Street

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Wed 11/25 at 11 a.m. – The ROI of Words: How to Write Website Copy That Will Drive Member Renewal and Recruitment

You can no longer depend on interns or web designers to write your member value copy for influencing renewals and retention. They do pretty, you must do effective. Learn how to write the kind of benefit (or what’s in it for me) copy that will influence the decision to join or renew. More info/register.

Host: Ed Rigsbee, CAE, president at Rigsbee Research

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Wed 11/25 at 1 p.m. – #ExpoChat on Twitter

ExpoChat is a Twitter-based conversation on topics related to the trade show industry. More info.

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Wed 11/25 at 8:30 p.m. – Meaningful Engagement: Communicating with Your Members in Troubled Times

In uncertain times, members look to their association for guidance and direction. They are hungry for interaction from their industry leader and trusted partner… you! We will take you through a number of strategies and technologies that can help you support your members and transform your organization, including email marketing, member portal, relationship management, online events, and remote working and digital transformation. More info/register.

Host: Professional Advantage

Presenters:

• Ann Davey, CEO, Massage & Myotherapy Australia
• Chris Harrington, CEO, Australasian Cemeteries & Crematoria Association
• Dennis Dalla Costa, Business Development Manager, Professional Advantage
• Nick Koerbin (FSAE), Executive Director, Association Executive Services

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Tue 12/1 at 12 p.m. – Governance System Redesign: Designing the Change Process (ASAE DC Ideas Swap)

Learn how to evaluate your current governance system and introduce the concept of governance redesign. Hear about getting buy-in from board members and a governance system design framework. Walk away with the knowledge needed to redesign your governance system so that its functionality is improved and the board is better positioned to add value. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Greater Washington / National Capital Community

Presenter: Robert Nelson, CAE, Principal, Nelson Strategic Consulting

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Wed 12/2 at 11 a.m. – VIVid Virtual Presentations

Learn three categories of engagement techniques that you can use to accomplish your virtual presentation’s goals by engaging attendees and helping them stay focused on your presentation. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Component Relations and Volunteer Management Professionals Community

Presenter: John Bellotti, Chapter Program Manager, National Association of Tax Professionals

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Thu 12/3 at 12:30 p.m. – Measure What Matters: DEI Impact

Hear about the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) metrics other organizations are tracking, share your own successes and challenges, and gain a better collective sense on how to measure what matters when it comes to DEI impact. More info/register.

Host: McKinley Advisors

Presenters:

• Heba Mahmoud, senior manager, diversity initiatives, Consumer Technology Association
• Tim Hopkins, senior advisor, McKinley Advisers

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Thu 12/3 at 2 p.m. – The Path to Association Podcast Success

Hear why the panel of podcasters decided to start one for their organization, how they develop the content and content schedule, what it takes to produce the episodes – the magic that happens behind the mic, how they launched the podcast and tips for promotion, feedback they’ve gotten from members, and what they know now that they wish they knew before they started. More info/register.

Host: Matrix Group

Presenters:

• Joanna Pineda, CEO, Matrix Group
• Dave Coriale, President, DelCor Technology Solutions
• Patricia Cole, Vice President of Communications, Catholic Charities USA
• Brian Reardon, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, The Catholic Health Association of the United States
• David Werning, Director of Content Development, Catholic Charities USA

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Fri 12/4 at 2 p.m.  – Foresight Fridays with Jeff De Cagna

We will discuss pre-selected foresight topics and questions. Participants will enjoy compelling future-focused learning 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor for Foresight First LLC

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Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers free professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter before Wednesday evening.

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