The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
Membership model. It’s the right time to reevaluate your association’s membership model, says MemberSuite, because members (and their employers) most likely have different expectations, preferences and needs after two years of economic and pandemic-induced change.
Flipped learning at Annual. WBT Systems suggests an unofficial (not ASAE-endorsed) flipped learning experience for ASAE Annual attendees. After explaining the benefits of flipped learning, they offer a list of blog posts to read for background or perspective before attending four Annual sessions.
AMS (r)evolution. Empowered Margins sat down with 70 developers to get their thoughts on all things AMS, such as integration, APIs, security, eCommerce, data visualization, and more. They explain how these factors affect the member experience, how the AMS market is changing and what you should look for in a new AMS.
Future-proofing. Chris Vaughan at Sequence Consulting shares ten strategies for preparing your association for the future. Some of my favorites: cranking up content, reinventing events, enhancing networking, evaluating capabilities and scenario planning.
Association journals. Open access is disrupting the traditional journal business, which is why Gregory Bologna, CAE, writes at Association Ventures Playbook about climbing down from the ivory tower and rethinking digital publication opportunities.
Member/customer engagement. Many associations are using conversational engagement to draw people into relevant conversations, identify their goals or needs, and respond appropriately—at scale, not individually. PropFuel describes why and how this innovative approach to communicating and engaging with members and customers is so successful.
Board director traits. Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta shares a recap of a webinar he attended on the seven surprising traits of future board directors. These traits would be useful when screening prospective hires too.
Consulting. Adrian Segar at Conferences That Work shares advice for attracting great consulting clients—advice that applies to other professional services too. This article would be useful for those starting out and perhaps even those who are already some years in.
Opportunity-spotting. Amy Wilkinson at Entrepreneur describes three ways entrepreneurs came up with new ideas during the pandemic. All of them are ripe for stealing by your association.
Quick hits
Create a Project Management Lite survival guide for your association. (Nia Delmast, Cimatri)
Why a time zone recruiting strategy has become the latest hiring trend. (Lindsey Galloway, Chief)
Navigating rising AV costs for events. (Casey Gale, PCMA)
Four helpful iPhone and Android tricks you may not know about. (J. D. Biersdorfer, New York Times)
Good eats
Skip down to the list of free educational events if you prefer takeout.
We loved these taco zucchini boats, although my zucchini weren’t that enormous, so, after stuffing the squash, half the filling remained. I added red bell pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper and corn to the filling, and served the ‘boats’ with a sprinkling of cilantro and hot sauce. Before storing the leftover filling in the freezer, I enjoyed it on tomato slices, topped with avocado and hot sauce, a fantastic lunch.
On the side, one of my inventions: southwest succotash with zucchini, onion, poblano, red bell, green bell, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, grape tomatoes, corn, black beans, oregano and cilantro. Pretty darn good!
Another night, we had the old striped mullet standard: dredge the fillets in flour with garlic powder and salt, then in a buttermilk/hot sauce combo, and finally in a mix of cornmeal, panko and ancho chile powder before pan-frying. Squeeze lemon juice all over as you drain the fillets on paper towels.
Here are the educational events scheduled for next week. If you have a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.
Fri 8/12 at 12 p.m.* – AWTC Mindful Networking
Held the second Friday of each month, these intimate, virtual conversations are a chance to form meaningful connections with other women and allies in the association technology community. Each Mindful Networking will feature one of our amazing AWTC award winners, followed by breakout rooms with changing topics (selected by our featured guest). More info/register.
Host: Association Women Technology Champions
Guest: Megan Cottrell, director of digital strategy, CREW Network
*All events are online at Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Fri 8/12 at 12 p.m. – EventTech Chat
A weekly conversation about meeting and event technology, including software, hardware, and audiovisual for in-person and online events. More info/register.
Host: Brandt Krueger, founder Event Technology Consulting
Fri 8/12 at 4 p.m. – Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (Book Club Discussion)
Join us for the next installment of the three-part summer book club series. We will discuss the book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown. More info/register.
Host: Fridays@4
Mon 8/15 at 12:30 p.m. – Planning for New Tech & Tools
Learn about the best ways to plan for tech and tools, including revisiting your bylaws and other due diligence, deciding on your budget, aligning your board and staff, and building a timeline that works for your goals & resources. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Personify
Presenters:
- Rebecca Achurch, CEO, Achurch Consulting
- Janna Knapp, Senior Director of Professional Services at Personify
Mon 8/15 at 1 p.m. – 30-Minute Monday | Exploring Your Own Shift
As a follow up to our conversation two weeks ago, now that we’ve had time to think about and put into practice what Stacey shared, we want you to ask your questions. What is next, where are you stuck in your path to owning your own shift? We will be exploring the next step because community is important and key to your success. 0.5 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: MPI
Presenter: Stacey Ruth, author of Own Your Own Shift
Mon 8/15 at 1 p.m. – Emerging Tech & Innovation in a Nonprofit Environment (Nonprofit Conversations with Cecilia Sepp, CAE)
This series of 15- to 20-minute videos covers hot topics and issues related to 501c organization management. New episodes are posted around 1 p.m. every Monday. Check out Cecilia’s Nonprofit Executive Spotlight series too.
Guests: Mike Jacka and Bryant Richards
Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, CNAP, principal and founder, Rogue Tulips LLC
Tue 8/16 at 12 p.m. – How YOU Wow
When it comes to WOWing your next event, it’s not just gags, tips, and tricks. You need to make sure all your tools are sharpened and ready to go. Come gain a new perspective and a fresh look at how you better assess, engage, and execute your next event, your next project, within your company, or perhaps yourself. And there might even be a tip or two in there for good measure. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: MPI
Presenter: Rob Barber, Vice President, Modular Systems + R&D, ATOMIC
Tue 8/16 at 12:30 p.m. – Secrets of an Undercover Attendee
As we go back in person, it’s critical to understand how our attendees shop for events and what’s often missing from your marketing efforts. It’s time to think like an undercover attendee. Hear about the impact of COVID on the association world and how we got distracted from the mission of our associations. Learn about the sense of ownership across your organization, the tattoo exercise and how to apply it to your association, what makes your audiences passionate about your event, whether your history is holding you back, how to think about your event’s mission, how to create a secret attendee, common mistakes seen on event or show sites, what it means to show up alone at your event, how to maximize volunteers, and how to leverage your location to improve your event. More info/register.
Host: Personify
Presenter: Jay S. Daughtry, M.Ed., Owner, CQbd
Tue 8/16 at 12:30 p.m. – Meetings of Membership Minds
These impromptu, casual discussions about membership concepts, issues, and challenges are conducted live online and open to membership professionals to comment and offer insights. More info/register.
Hosts: Dan Ratner, The Business of Membership, and Scott Oser, Scott Oser Associates
Tue 8/16 at 2 p.m. – Mobilize Explores How Associations Are Upgrading to a Modern Community Platform
Learn how to replace outdated technology and smoothly transition to a modern community software platform, and how to create best practices when implementing community software for your association. Find out how both TCEA and NACTO boosted engagement and loyalty by 3x-5x when compared to traditional communities. More info/register.
Host: Mobilize
Presenters:
- Lori Gracey, Executive Director, TCEA
- Claudia Preciado, Director of Engagement, NACTO
Wed 8/17 at 1 p.m. – Activity Integrations: Different Approaches to Syncing Activities Between Your System of Record and Other Systems
Every association today is leveraging more than one system to engage with members. Yet when selecting those systems there is often little planning with regards to integration. In reality, integrations should be defined by the business requirements, and associations should know that not all integrations are equal. Learn about different approaches to integrations along with business implications for each and reasons when each may be the best approach. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.
Host: U.S. Transactions Corp.
Presenter: Justin Burniske, Principal Consultant, Co-Owner, Meta-Dao
Thu 8/18 at 11 a.m. – The Journey to Earning your CMP
Whether you are just beginning your path to the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Certification or you are ready to sit for your exam, attend the CMP candidate webinar to make sure you are prepared. More info/register.
Host: Events Industry Council
Thu 8/18 at 2 p.m. – The Key Advocacy Trends, Metrics, & Insights You Need for 2023
Having a savvy advocacy strategy is critical to ensure your organization stays competitive and finds fresh, compelling ways to engage advocates. Get the key takeaways from our 2022 Advocacy Benchmark Report, which analyzed tens of thousands of advocacy campaigns and millions of messages sent using VoterVoice. Learn about actionable findings, advocacy trends, and best practices to bring with you into 2023. More info/register.
Host: VoterVoice
Presenters:
- Tyler Craddock, Vice President of Government Affairs, National Association of Residential Property Managers
- Lee Dobson, Area Director of Government Affairs, BAYADA Home Health Care
- Sherry Whitworth (moderator), Managing Director, Public Affairs and Advocacy, FiscalNote
Fri 8/19 at 12 p.m. – EventTech Chat
A weekly conversation about meeting and event technology, including software, hardware, and audiovisual for in-person and online events. More info/register.
Host: Brandt Krueger, founder Event Technology Consulting
Fri 8/19 at 4 p.m. – So You Made a Connection. Now What?
We hear a lot about networking, but not about valuable relationships. Hear how to view the practice of networking in a different light, expand your frame of reference about what a network can be, and develop ideas for the ‘now what’ phase so a connection can be more effective and mutually beneficial. More info/register.
Host: Fridays@4
Presenter: Laurie Cooke, CAE, CEO emerita of the Healthcare Businesswomen Association
Wed 8/24 at 1 p.m. – Busting The Myths About Hybrid Work
Explore the myths about remote/hybrid work and dive into the data and stats that debunk what many of us used to think was fact, including: organizational culture—can it exist without a physical gathering space; brainstorming—can it be meaningful and effective without being face-to-face; and flexibility—does giving staff the chance to work from home 2-3 days a week really provide the flexibility they want. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Achurch Consulting
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 by Wednesday afternoon.
Creative Commons licensed photo by Henry Perks via Unsplash
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