Association Adviser
MAY 7, 2025
Why content strategynot just content creationholds the key to audience engagement, revenue, and long-term relevance. Associations are fighting a quiet battle: theyre creating more content than ever, but often seeing less return. Newsletters go unopened. Webinars underperform. Social posts fade quickly into the algorithms abyss. Its not a lack of effort.
Achurch
MAY 7, 2025
Budget planning season is more than a financial checkpoint: Its a chance to align your associations mission with its resources. A well-structured budget helps your team prioritize, communicate with your board, and make confident decisions throughout the year. In this post, well walk through how to build a solid annual budget, from historical analysis to flexible forecasting, tailored to the unique revenue streams and expenses of associations. 1.
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Association Adviser
MAY 21, 2025
From refining strategy to reimagining leadership and member engagement, todays association leaders are tackling complex challengesand theyre finding insight and inspiration in the right books. We asked ten association executives and thought leaderseach of whom appeared on the Association Adviser podcastto share one book thats shaped their leadership, problem-solving, and change-driven approach.
.orgSource
MAY 6, 2025
In todays rapidly evolving landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a future conceptits a present-day game changer. But while headlines scream about revolutionary AI tools and the promise of automation, theres a critical element that often gets overlooked: AI success isnt about the technology itselfits about how well your organization is prepared to use it.
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Struggling to get members to open or engage with your emails? You're not alone. Our free Best Practices for Email Marketing guide offers practical tips to strengthen your email strategy and improve engagement. Inside, you'll learn how to: Write subject lines that increase open rates Build scannable, mobile-friendly designs Choose send times that fit your audience Personalize content with Smart Newsletter Use Message Report data to refine strategy This guide helps associations and chambers create
Associations Now
MAY 20, 2025
If members are an associations lifeblood, then data is its pulsea vital health indicator revealing well-being, needs, and potential. As a pulse guides a doctor in treating a patient, data helps associations understand their members, events, and engagement to make informed decisions. In this article, well break down how clean data enables actionable insights and foresight across these three essential categories.
Association Universe brings together the best content for association members and organizers from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
.orgSource
MAY 13, 2025
The conversation around AI has shifted from speculation to reality almost overnight. What was once seen as a distant innovation is now reshaping the way we work, connect, and create. For associations organizations built on trust, expertise, and community the rise of AI isn’t just a question of adaptation. It’s a challenge of relevance.
Sequence Consulting
MAY 21, 2025
Author: Debbie Willis Gen Z is more connected, tech-savvy, and driven by purpose than generations before theirs. As they enter the workforce, theyre looking for organizations that reflect their values, offer flexibility, and create opportunities for growth. These individuals have high expectations for their memberships. They want meaningful engagement opportunities and a sense of belonging within the communities they join.
Sequence Consulting
MAY 21, 2025
Author: Kristen Wall Between funding member benefits, new programs, and various marketing initiatives, it takes a significant investment to further your associations offerings. You can only hope this investment will yield higher member engagement but how can you know for sure? Your associations return on investment (ROI) demonstrates the value derived from each of its expenses.
ISAE
MAY 14, 2025
Youve noticed it attendance at events is dwindling, member feedback is scarce, and the once-vibrant conversations in your community are fading. What if we told you the problem isnt your members but the way you engage with them? In this age of constant digital innovation, its easy for associations to fall behind by using tools and strategies that no longer resonate with todays members.
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.
Reid All About it
MAY 9, 2025
The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community Association Brain Food wont be in your inbox next Friday (May 16) because next week Im in New Mexico and Texas for a family hiking vacation. Youll get the next edition on Friday , May 23. In the meantime, brace yourself, its a long one today. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
Spark Consulting
MAY 21, 2025
When I say “brand,” what do you think of? Your colors, logo, font, use of images? Your style guide (hopefully your association has one)? Nope. Those things are your brand IMAGE, but they aren’t your brand. Your brand is an idea…a feeling…an experience. To quote David Ogilvy : brand is “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.” Think about that: inta
Mary Byers
MAY 12, 2025
Is it fair to say were living in uncertain times? I definitely think it is. And when times are uncertain, I believe the best advice is: Follow Your North Star. The North Star (also known as Polaris if youre a trivia junkie), is a star located in the Northern Hemisphere that is almost directly aligned with Earths rotational axis. This makes it appear stationary in the sky while other stars appear to rotate around it.
The Big Picture
MAY 29, 2025
Sometimes, the data is so overwhelming that little commentary is needed. From SPIVA , here is the data on large-cap fund performance in the United States, showing the percentage of all large-cap funds that over and underperformed the S&P 500 over various time frames: 1 Year: 65.24% of funds underperformed the S&P 500; 34.76% outperformed the S&P 500 3 Years: 84.96% underperformed; 15.04% outperformed 5 Years: 76.26% underperformed; 23.74% outperformed 10 Years: 84.34% underperformed;
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
Associations Now
MAY 13, 2025
The report from Fuse, JDC Events, and Bear Analytics finds events professionals looking beyond conference mainstays in favor of deeper engagement. Meeting attendees are looking to engage and build communities with peers in ways that may prompt associations to rethink how they structure their events portfolio, according to a new report. Future-Ready Events: A Blueprint for Connection, Growth, and Innovation , was produced by Fuse, JDC Events, and Bear Analytics, and released May 6.
Bruce Rosenthal Associates
MAY 26, 2025
Corporate sponsors often tell me they feel like they are taken for granted by associations. But, when I check in with the associations staff, they say, Really? We LOVE our sponsors! This disconnect often comes down to communications and engagement. Here are a few common frustrations I hear from sponsors: The association doesnt make a point of understanding the companys business objectives and marketing goals The association changed the companys booth location and didnt inform the company in adva
Event Industry News
MAY 20, 2025
Glownet, a global leader in event technology and cashless payments solutions, has announced an extraordinary622% revenue growth over the past two years, largely fueled by launches of innovative products and features. This milestone reflects Glownets ongoing success in revolutionizing ticketing, payments, and operations for festivals, attractions, and venues worldwide.
Ungated
MAY 27, 2025
Dawn M. Bauman, CAE, has been named the next chief executive officer of Community Associations Institute, the leading international authority on the community association housing model that includes condominium associations, homeowners associations, and housing cooperatives. Bauman begins her new role on July 1. She succeeds Tom Skiba, who is retiring after 23 years of service.
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Is your current AMS is creating more problems than it solves? You can lead the change. This eBook shares a customizable letter designed to help you clearly communicate your organization’s challenges, highlight the benefits of a modern system, and make a strong case for exploring a new AMS. Whether it’s outdated reporting, clunky workflows, or member frustration, this resource will help you start the conversation with clarity and position yourself as the advocate your organization needs.
Candid
MAY 19, 2025
Across the country, food security organizations are facing a perfect storm of rising demand, plummeting donations, and cascading cuts to federal nutrition programs. Food banks, pantries, and community food networks have long been overextended but are now navigating a new era of scarcity. At the same time, their role as lifelines for communities has never been more critical.
Achurch
MAY 7, 2025
Its a question weve heard more than once: Why do we need a partner if the vendor says theyll handle the implementation ? Its a fair question, and one worth unpacking, especially when leadership is watching every dollar. Heres the truth: Most AMS vendors (and similar platforms) focus solely on their part of the build. For example, if the vendor provides only a minimal setup (like configuring one membership type) and hands over the rest, your team is responsible for completing the remaining tasks
Associations Now
MAY 7, 2025
AI helps people save time and find information more quickly, and its changing the way we use the internet. Now, seeking information can be more like having a conversation with an expert. Instead of Googling something, you can ask ChatGPT a question, get an answer, and ask follow-up questions to drill down deeper. While its exciting that this technology allows us to conversationally get answers without sorting through search results, it also presents a problem for associations.
Bruce Rosenthal Associates
MAY 31, 2025
I received an interesting response to my LinkedIn post suggesting that when associations are considering changes to their annual conference, they should get input from conference sponsors and year-long corporate partners An association executive messaged me, We are working on a robust conference survey, and I didnt consider asking our partners. That would have been a huge mistake since they are one of our largest (most valuable) stakeholders.
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Unlock the Power of Historical Data A Data Revolution: Why Your AMS/CRM Needs a Native Data Warehouse Today’s association leaders need more than real-time snapshots—they need the full story. MemberSuite: A Data Revolution reveals how a native data warehouse transforms your AMS into a strategic decision-making engine. In this free eBook, you’ll discover: The difference between a database and a data warehouse—and why it matters How to gain historical visibility into membership, engagement, events,
SBI
MAY 16, 2025
Recruiting volunteers is not just about filling a signup sheet. It is about building a passionate, engaged community around your mission. Whether you are planning a major conference, running a membership drive, or launching a new initiative, having the right volunteers in place can make all the difference. But where do you find them, and more importantly, how do you keep them?
.orgSource
MAY 20, 2025
Do we have an AI policy yet? If that question sparked a flurry of emailsor worse, got added to someones already overflowing to-do listyoure not alone. Across the association landscape, leaders are feeling the pressure to keep up with AI. Draft a policy. Hold a quick training. Show the board youre on it. Check the box. But lets be clear: treating AI like a compliance task instead of a strategic priority is a recipe for confusion, risk, and missed opportunity.
Candid
MAY 29, 2025
According to a survey conducted in March by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about three-quarters of the 1,229 respondents gave at least $1 to charity in the past year. The largest share, 23%, donated between $101 and $500 total. The survey goes beyond what causes the support to explore who they think should receive charitable assistance and who is responsible for helping those in need.
Event Industry News
MAY 14, 2025
A new study has revealed that two-thirds (65%) of event industry suppliers say international and overseas markets are the biggest growth opportunity for their business.
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.
Achurch
MAY 7, 2025
The push to do more with data leads many organizations to re-examine their key systems. An AMS implementation is an associations largest change management project/disruptor. Your organization should budget accordingly by thinking outside the traditional earmarked funds. To help, weve listed some other costs to include when budgeting for your AMS. Time : Dont lowball the cost of your time in your budget.
Bruce Rosenthal Associates
MAY 31, 2025
A Facebook post suggested eliminating sponsor recognition at conference general sessions to reduce session length. I agree that traditional, transactional recognition like Thanks to our Gold Partner Acme Widgets for their Supportcan be cut; neither sponsors or members will notice the missing recognition. There are better ways to recognize sponsors at conferences especially top-tier and year-long sponsors that add value for the companies AND provide members with valuable insights.
AMR Management Services
MAY 13, 2025
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 15, 2025) AMR Management Services, a Kentucky-based association management firm, is pleased to welcome the Womens Dermatologic Society (WDS) as its newest client. WDS joins a growing roster of more than 25 national and international associations that have chosen AMR as their trusted management partner. Founded in 1973, WDS empowers women… The post AMR Management Services Welcomes the Womens Dermatologic Society as a New Client first appeared on AMR Management Services.
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