The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
In many associations, chapters are seen as PITA groups to manage, not as opportunities to leverage. Billhighway provides advice for bringing the chapter conversation to your C-suite and convincing them that chapters are strategic assets that can help your association achieve its goals and fulfill its mission.
Jeffrey Cufaude harkens back to his high school waiter days to bring us a lesson about keeping our emotions in check around members. “The way we view the work in which we are engaged is very likely the way we will cause others to view our efforts. Act as if something is a big deal and it most certainly will become one.” Thinking back to my expediter days and squirming a bit here.
Wondering how to get the most out of your AMS’ member portal? MemberSuite describes several ways you can have members use the portal “to find opportunities for engagement and make your association a habit.”
Let’s stop talking about “soft” skills, says WBT Systems (and many others). These essential skills are human skills. They’ll become even more valuable in the future because AI and robots don’t have them. Your association can play a significant role in bridging your industry’s skills gap by providing training in human skills.
Rethink how your association works with vendor members by inviting them to become research partners, not just sponsors. It’s a win-win for both of you, says JP Moery of The Moery Company. You get relevant, fresh content and the member gets exposure to their target audiences.
Some quick hits before we get to the list of next week’s free webinars:
- Excellent advice on content marketing for associations—advice that works for any organization. (Ernie Smith, Associations Now)
- Google says a technically well-optimized website won’t rank without good content. (Matt Southern, Search Engine Journal)
- Three techniques to make you more creative. (Tom May, Creative Boom)
Now for the educational events scheduled for next week. If you have any free webinars or events coming up, please send me the link. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not product-centric.
Tue 2/19 at 1 p.m.* – How to Use Social Media to Raise Money Online
Learn how to leverage your social media accounts to raise money and strengthen relationships with donors so they give again. Hear about current trends in the social media landscape that nonprofits need to understand. Find out how to choose the correct social media platforms for your small nonprofit, and build up momentum on social media to launch a successful social media fundraising campaign. More info/register.
Host: Nonprofit Tech for Good
Presenter: Julia Campbell, Founder of J Campbell Social Marketing
*All times are Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Tue 2/19 at 2 p.m. – Live LinkedIn Makeovers (Association Chat)
Get a live LinkedIn makeover from Dave Delaney, keynote speaker on business networking and social media, a digital marketing consultant, and the author of New Business Networking, a book all about improving your professional networking online and offline. More info.
Host: KiKi L’Italien, founder, Amplified Growth
Tue 2/19 at 2 p.m. – Leveraging Chapters
Learn about different opportunities to make connections between national and state chapters, and the benefits of leveraging your chapters through existing technology channels. Find out how to create exposure and drive traffic to your association through chapters. More info/register.
Host: Association Adviser
Presenter: April Dunnett, Account Manager, Naylor Association Solutions
Tue 2/19 at 2 p.m. – How to Create an Analytics Strategy & Roadmap
Learn how to evaluate your association’s current analytics maturity using a scorecard for the key areas of Culture, Data, Technology and Process. Find out how to bring your systems together to create a “single version of the truth” and embrace a culture of analytics. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: enSYNC
Presenters: Julie Sciullo and Mark Lowry of Association Analytics
Tue 2/19 at 2 p.m. – Cybersecurity for Low-Risk Organizations: Understanding Your Risk and Making Practical Improvements
This webinar will guide resource-constrained organizations through understanding what qualifies as a low-risk organization, the basic tenets of cybersecurity, and a basic, risk-informed decision-making process to identify where they need to invest in digital security. This webinar is designed for public interest organizations whose work is not likely to generate targeted online attacks from motivated actors. More info/register.
Host: TechSoup
Presenter: Sean Brooks, Director of the Citizen Clinic, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at UC Berkeley
Tue 2/19 at 3 p.m. – Does Your Association Business Model Need to be Transformed? (Associations Catalyzing Entrepreneurship – online and Washington DC)
Is the business model of associations relevant in the face of growing competition? Will a dues-paying membership model go the way of the dinosaur? Do we struggle to get members to pay more for products and programs after they pay a membership fee? Join a discussion on how to keep the association business model relevant and competitive. Garth will tell us how’s he has been preparing HFMA to launch a “one price, all access” Netflix model of membership. Locations: online and Washington DC. More info/register.
Organizer: Meena Dayak, Associations Catalyzing Entrepreneurship
Presenter: Garth Jordan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy at the Healthcare Financial Management Association
Wed 2/20 at 2 p.m. – Attendee Education: Creating Value While Building Your Brand
Learn how to take control of your message, especially during general sessions; the importance of integrating education into your overall event strategy; and how AV and technology can best support your messages. Hear case studies of education that delivers for the audience. More info/register.
Host: BizBash
Presenter: Jeff Youngs, Executive Producer at GES Events
Wed 2/20 at 2 p.m. – Leading Your Team to Success
If you’ve been promoted and are managing people for the first time but have not been trained on how to lead your new team successfully, you are not alone. The responsibility and pressure, coupled with the time it takes to effectively handle direct reports can be daunting. Take the first step to gaining the confidence needed to effectively lead, not manage your team. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenter: Christy Lamagna, CMP, CMM, CTSM, founder of Strategic Meetings & Events
Wed 2/20 at 4 p.m. – Improving Nonprofit CRM Data Management in 2019
Learn how to take your donor data management to the next level in 2019. More info/register.
Host: Community IT
Presenters: Kyle Haines, Partner at Build Consulting, Jo Butler, Nonprofit CRM Manager at Build Consulting, and Sarah Lewis, client Database Administrator at Build Consulting
Thu 2/21 at 11 a.m. – 5 Essential Questions to Ask When Partnering for Added Member Value
Effective membership development relies on out-of-the-box thinking. Developing appropriate strategic partnerships to improve the membership value proposition will attract more members and increase member retention. Learn the five essential questions you must ask as you pursue these partnerships, as well as the steps you’ll need to take in developing a successful strategic partnership plan to ensure success. 0.5 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: The Next Steps, LLC
Presenters:
- Cynthia Simpson, M.Ed, CAE, Chief Business Development Officer, Association for Women in Science
- Dan Ratner, Membership & Business Development Strategist, The Next Steps, LLC
Thu 2/21 at 11:30 a.m. – Key Ways to Govern Your Association Data (Alexandria VA Brown Bag)
Your data landscape and demands on your data are constantly changing. To keep up, you need a data strategy that can be flexible, responsive, repeatable, and finds immediate ROI. Learn how to achieve greater governance of your data, gain buy-in and adoption of new procedures, and improve productivity and efficiency at your association. 1 CAE credit. Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.
Organizer: Talisa Thomas-Hall, ACS ALB, VC4, THE ASSOCIATION WHISPERER
Presenter: Rebecca Duff, Director of Client Success at Gravitate Solutions
Thu 2/21 at 1 p.m. – Top Ways to Skyrocket Revenue in 2019 and Beyond
Learn about the top 5 ways to generate non-dues revenue, pitfalls to avoid when executing these strategies, and how to increase membership while meeting modern member expectations. More info/register.
Host: Community Brands
Presenter: Tristan Jordan, Dan Gaertner and Erin Shy, Executive Vice Presidents, Association & Nonprofit Solutions division, Community Brands
Thu 2/21 at 1 p.m. – How Digital Credentials Will Help Your Association Attract & Retain Members
Learn how leading associations are using digital credentials to attract and retain members, and how digital credentials promote networking and may aid in a job search. More info/register.
Host: Credly
Presenters:
- Joe McClary, CEO at the International Association for Continuing Education & Training
- Debbie Amini from the American Occupational Therapy Association
- Susan Manning, Chief Success Strategist from Credly
Thu 2/21 at 2:30 p.m. – How Podcasting Grew Our Business
In 2015, JP Moery launched his Association Playbook podcast, and it was the best business decision he ever made. The podcast has allowed him to reach a global audience on a weekly basis—showcasing thought leadership content on sales, business development, and association trends; and it’s propelled The Moery Company brand within the nonprofit community. Hear about the acceleration of business growth and the overall impact podcasting has had on The Moery Company. More info/register.
Host: The Moery Company
Presenter: JP Moery, founder, The Moery Company
Wed 2/27 at 12 p.m. – How to Get Organized Internally to Ensure Corporate Partnership Program Revenue Growth (Alexandria VA)
Location: Alexandria VA. RSVP.
Organizer: Partnerships Professional Network Idea Exchange
Thu 2/28 at 1 p.m. – Technology vs. Innovation: Association Learning Strategies in Practice
AI. AR. VR. Digital breakthroughs like these are capturing headlines every day. Clearly, these innovations are promising. But many associations are focused on making the most of learning technologies already in place. Learn about the push/pull relationship between technology and change, how to develop an innovation roadmap that works for your organization, and how to avoid missteps when expanding your learning technology stack. Hear about tips for creating a business case your board will support, and guidelines for measuring results. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Talented Learning
Presenters:
- John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning
- Linda Bowers, Chief Technology Officer, WBT Systems
Thu 2/28 at 2:30 p.m. – Does Your Data Hoard Spark Joy? (Alexandria VA)
In this day and age, data should be used for more than “Welcome to the website, [YOUR NAME]!” This workshop will help you identify and streamline critical information that’s squirreled away in your AMS, email marketing system, event registration and LMS systems so you can create an efficient, personalized website experience for your members and identify questions that you should answer when asking “What is personalization?” Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.
Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)
That’s it for now. If you can’t attend a live webinar, go ahead and register if the topic interests you. Most webinar hosts send registrants a link to the recording.
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.
Creative Commons image by Soul devOcean via Unsplash
Association Brain Food 