Sat.Mar 29, 2014 - Fri.Apr 04, 2014

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Is Growth Necessarily Good?

Spark Consulting

'At CalSAE’s ELEVATE Conference last week, I attended a session on association trend spotting led by Shelly and Mark Alcorn. My team was assigned the mindfulness trend. After some discussion about information overload, the pressure of always being connected and what that does to face to face personal connection, and what is the appropriate role for an association in a member’s life (hint: you are not the most important thing in your members’ lives), the innovative idea we came

Review 258
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3 Creative Ideas for Engaging Association Board Members

Wild Apricot

'How can you ensure an active, engaged board? In this guest post, Lamees Abourahma outlines three creative ideas that associations have implemented that have been effective.

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Navigating Extreme Association Trends

Aaron Wolowiec

'ASAE held its annual Great Ideas Conference in Orlando, FL last month. During that conference, Scott Oser and I had the pleasure of presenting a session titled, “Under Pressure: Navigating Extreme Association Trends.”. More than 50 association executives hailing from across the country attended our session. We were pleased so many of our colleagues were willing to take the plunge, as this session required an extensive amount of audience participation.

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Excitement, anticipation, and a week of great opportunities!

YourMembership

Today represents a milestone for YourMembership.com, with the kickoff of Xperience2014, our first customer conference. With more than 2,800 organizations using our software, representing 20 million members around the globe, our customers champion a highly diverse landscape of professions and causes. We are thrilled to welcome several hundred of them to Xperience2014 this week, and the significance of this conference is best said by J.P.

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Ultimate Guide to Monetizing Association Member Education

Unlock More Profit and Smarter Packaging for Member Learning Every decision that goes into your learning monetization strategy matters for your association’s bottom line. Our research has shown a clear correlation between high program maturity (and ROI!) and choosing the right monetization strategy. This eBook contains clear, actionable ways to approach packaging and pricing models that will help your association grow revenue, improve profitability, and drive expansion into new markets.

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Always the Last to Know: AllJoyn

Spark Consulting

'The Internet of Things is a really cool idea. The only problem is that, in order for it to happen, “things” have to be able to talk to each other, which is far from automatic. Different manufacturers, different operating systems, different control systems, different signals, different types of machine language. No communication. AllJoyn is an open source project that aims to bridge the language barrier, allowing a wide variety of Internet-connected devices to see each other, share i

More Trending

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Being Data Driven Is Harder Than It Sounds

Eric Lanke

'image source This week I was struck by two charts from the 2014 Economic Impact on Associations Report published by McKinley Advisors. And as I explored them in more depth, I retaught myself a lesson about how data is not often what it appears to be at first blush. First, I saw this chart, showing the reported membership retention rates of participating associations over the last five years.

Sample 126
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Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. So goes the adage.

Virtual

'Well, for many Board members, “fading away” means unceremoniously dropping them off the Board. That’s why former Board members are often a trouble spot for organizations—someone goes from being “in the know” to “out in the cold.” The result: a one time key member—and often still influential one—becomes disenfranchised. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Committee 122
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Generations Are Part of a System

Jamie Notter

'Every 20 years or so, we get all flustered as a new generation enters the workforce. A few years ago (and continuing today) that was the Millennials, and back in the late 80s and early 90s it was Generation X. When that happens, the topic of generational differences comes up to the foreground and we study this odd, new generation. When we think we know them well enough, the topic fades a bit, and obviously it will come back when the next generation hits us in a few years.

System 104
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Link Love Friday: Vain Nonprofits, Membership Surges and More

Wild Apricot

'This week''s link round-up offers good news about “Association Membership Growth”; tips for “Disrupting the Nonprofit Sector”, “Building Staff Writing Teams” and “Unlocking Hidden Fundraisers”.

Tips 235
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2024 Association Survey Results Report

2024 Association Survey Results Report For the 10th year, association professionals across the U.S. and Canada provided a look at the inner workings of their organizations when they replied to GrowthZone’s annual survey. Read the 2024 survey results report to see how your association compares: Top Challenges Retention Rates Non-Renewal Reasons Automatic Renewals Reinstatement Strategies Member Engagement Changes & Strategies Why Members Join Non-Dues Revenue Sources Dues Increases, and more

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My slides from Managing Membership seminar

Optimist Consulting

'I was delighted to speak today at the Managing Membership Seminar organised by the IAmGroup and Adapta Consulting. I focused on retention. You can download my slides here. If you would like a no-obligation discussion about your retention challenges please contact me.

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Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. So goes the adage.

Virtual

'Well, for many Board members, “fading away” means unceremoniously dropping them off the Board. That’s why former Board members are often a trouble spot for organizations—someone goes from being “in the know” to “out in the cold.” The result: a one time key member—and often still influential one—becomes disenfranchised.

Committee 116
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Horror Writers Association Calls for End to Author Bullying

Associations Now

'In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the association is asking the online retailer to update its customer review policy to protect authors and publishers from harassment. To help protect authors and publishers from online bullying, the Horror Writers Association is asking Amazon to strengthen its customer review policy. Readers and purchasers are Amazon’s market but, if content is king and if Amazon’s published policies are to mean anything, then the authors who create the content

Review 87
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From Strangers To Friends: Bridging Attendee Loneliness With Conference Community

Velvet Chainsaw

'Everybody needs to know. Somebody who cares. Just a friendly face. You can trust to be there. Are you afraid to be known. And not be a stranger? Everyone’s connected but no one is connecting. The human element has long been missing. Tell me, have you seen it? Have you seen it? Alone by Armin Van Burren (feat. Lauren Evans). Watch the Alone video. Are Your Attendees Alone?

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The Retention Ripple Effect: Nonprofit Staff and Donor Dynamics

Speaker: Andrew Olsen, CFRE - EVP, Fundraising Solutions at DickersonBakker | Kat Landa, CFRE, CSD - SVP, Talent Solutions at DickersonBakker

Across the nonprofit sector, organizations invest heavily in donor retention efforts, yet the struggle of cultivating lasting relationships remains. While attracting new donors is crucial, the lack of repeat donors poses significant financial risks. Through a comprehensive analysis of industry data, experts argue that there is a direct correlation between donor burnout, donor retention, and the talent retention crisis.

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Association Membership Growth Surges

Membership Marketing

'The theme for the 2014 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report is the continued positive growth in association total membership numbers. A total of 894 associations participated in the research this year and altogether 53% of them reported growth in their overall membership numbers. While 15% said that their membership stayed the same, 28% saw a decline, and 4% were unsure if their membership grew or declined.

Survey 74
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When fishing for members or donors, use the right lure.

SCD Group

'A week or so ago (3/20), I wrote that successful associations fish where the fish are. But, that is not enough. Success means not only selecting where to fish but also carefully selecting which lures you should use to find those members or donors. For example: If I want to catch bass in a fresh-water lake, on the surface, I’ll select a spinner, popper or buzz bait.

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“Almost” Journalism: Advocacy Groups Try Their Hand at News

Associations Now

'Roll Your Own Ethics Code The approach of organizations like Human Rights Watch reflects a shift in journalism in recent years—from purely objective news reporting from outlets like The New York Times or the Associated Press to stories produced by journalists with a transparent point of view. The Online News Association is working on a DIY ethics code that makes room for both and offers guidance in areas where “honest journalists might disagree.” ONA plans to release a draft (and as

Arizona 87
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Crank Up Your Conference Emotional Intensity With Bright Lights

Velvet Chainsaw

'Forget about turning down the lights to set the mood for your opening general session. Why? It’s the perfect way to disengage and dial back your attendees’ emotions. If you want to emotionally connect and increase your audience’s emotional intensity, a University of Toronto study says you need to turn lights up bright! Bright Lights Arouse Intense Emotions.

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SME Relationships: Proven Solutions for Seamless Collaboration and Success

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

💢 Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending review cycles? Are you wondering if your Subject Matter Expert actually got that last review request? Are you having trouble trying to decipher impractical or conflicting feedback? 💢 If any of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may benefit from a crash course on managing SME relationships!

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Five Best Practices in Nonprofit Crowdfunding

Beth Kanter

'Flickr Photo by Lendingmemo. Note from Beth: Last year, 30% of the $5 billion crowdfunded went to social causes according the “ Cracking the Crowd Funding Code “ Nonprofit’s use of crowdfunding is growing at an exponential rate with many nonprofits jumping on the crowfunding bandwagon attracted by the potential of finding new supporters.

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4 Posts on Association Marketing

SCD Group

'This Best of The Week focuses on tips for association executives on association marketing: The 8-Second Challenge: Email Marketing for Our Shrinking Attention Span By Cynthia Price via Entrepreneur Email is not dead. Indeed, the ROI for email is more than $40 per dollar spent, a return higher than any other marketing channel, according to the Direct Marketing Association.

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Checkup Time: Make Your Next Event Healthier for Attendees

Associations Now

'Is your conference as healthy as it could be? A fitness or wellness challenge at your next event may be the best way to get your attendees moving, as well as competing and engaging with one another. I’ve had fitness—well, more like running—on my mind for close to two months as I was physically training and mentally preparing to run my first 10K last weekend.

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Kneebucklingly Sweet Idea Generation Tool: Brainwriting

Velvet Chainsaw

'Brainstorming is out! Brainwriting is in! Brainstorming Challenges. Brainstorming is something most of us know and have used at some point in our lives. It’s a tool often used to create a list of spontaneous ideas contributed by a group. Alex Faickney Osborn popularized the tool in 1953. Osborn claimed that brainstorming was more effective than individuals working alone when creating lists of solutions.

Tools 80
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Measuring the ROI of Enterprise Learning for Customers, Partners, and Professionals

Prove the ROI of Learning Struggling to measure the business impact of learning initiatives? Try our three-pillar approach to show the true value of learning, backed by stories from real businesses like yours. Make 2024 the year of ROI!

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Methods for Facilitating Innovation in Nonprofits

Beth Kanter

'Last month I had the pleasure of taking the Luma Institute Train the Trainers workshop where I got a chance to immerse in practicing facilitation techniques based on human centered design principles. The workshop instructor Peter Maher is founder and CEO, of Luma Institute , and a Jedi Master. The co-facilitator was Amy Hedrick who works in Product and Design Innovation at Intuit.

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4 Reasons Associations & Nonprofits Should Monitor Freelance Numbers

SCD Group

'The stats in a FastCompany’s Leadership Now story headlined Why Everybody''s Going Freelance caught my attention and should concern association executives and other association professionals. The core numbers from the article: 17 million Americans self-identified as independent workers – as in freelancers, temps, self-employed consultants. This May 2013 number is up 10% from 2011.

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For SABR, Data Is Just a Small Part of the Equation

Associations Now

'Umpires Balk On Close Calls Sabermetrics might not exist to measure the success of a baseball umpire’s calls, but new research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business might be the next best thing. Ph.D. students Etan Green and David P. Daniels analyzed ball and strike calls by major league umpires for more than 1 million pitches during the 2009-2011 seasons and found that umpires tended to make biased calls based on the situation.

Phoenix 82
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Do You Have Inbred Conference Marketing?

Velvet Chainsaw

'Sure, it is much easier to use association-owned media from your magazines, newsletters, website, blogs and discussion lists to promote your conference. But using only your own lists creates inbred conference marketing. So who are you missing with that marketing? Four Steps To Move Beyond Inbred Marketing. How do you find the 20 something that just entered your industry and has no idea you exist?

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Here’s a Powerful Marketing Tool Designed for Associations

Show the Benefits of Membership to Your Toughest Prospects. Download this FREE infographic from GrowthZone AMS, Why Join an Association, and start using it as your go-to recruitment and retention marketing tool. Post it on your website. Use it in sales presentations. Or use it as inspiration to create your own version. Infographics have power. They're a quick read.