The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
Corporate member training programs. WBT Systems explains how to become the corporate training partner for your member companies. The HR and training staff at your member companies are under duress right now. Many of them don’t have the capability or capacity to design the new training programs they need.
Chapter member virtual engagement. Billhighway describes how many associations are helping their chapters overcome technology challenges and pivot to the virtual model. They also touch on assisting chapters with their digital strategy.
The remote work IT bag. Tobin Conley, CAE revisits an old DelCor blog idea: the IT bag. He suggests some essentials for your home office gear and virtual meeting strategy.
Virtual event production. Aaron Wolowiec (Event Garde) and Chris Gloede (Ricochet Advice) recently published a helpful report, The Complete Guide to Virtual Event Creation. It describes the six phases of virtual event creation and includes an incredibly detailed 147-task checklist informed by over 100 successful virtual events.
Association disconnect. orgSource conducted a survey to assess the impact of the pandemic and discovered a disconnect between current association strategies and market realities. 73% of the participants agreed that “the pandemic is accelerating trends that will require fundamental changes in the role of associations, their underlying business model, and their strategic direction.” However, most don’t plan to make any significant changes. What the what?
The return to print. Heidi Brock at the American Forest & Paper Association is bullish on print, and who can blame her. She shares some interesting research findings about digital fatigue and the renewed desire for printed content. Count me in. I’m subscribing to magazines again after taking some years off.
Quick hits before we get to the list of next week’s free education:
- Association revenue resilience: build a foundation with content pillars. (Refactored Content via Protech Associates)
- B2B content marketing report: benchmarks, budgets, trends, and COVID-19 response. (Vahe Habeshian, MarketingProfs)
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.
- I hate wasting food so I sauté all kinds of greens, use broccoli stems (and leaves), and occasionally make pesto from carrot tops. My pesto recipe includes carrot tops, flat-leaf parsley, pepitas, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil—I freeze the pesto in ice cube trays, pop it out when frozen and store in freezer bags. Recently, I topped baked flounder with carrot-top pesto mixed with melted butter, parmesan cheese, additional lemon juice and panko bread crumbs.
- Shrimp is always the highlight of the week when it’s in the house. Last weekend, I made my delicious shrimp scampi It’s super duper on pasta, as you can imagine, but couscous works well too.
- I love a green chile pork stew—or green chili, which is what the Washington Post calls it. I pretty much stuck to their recipe except I used a pound of ground pork and added 7 chopped tomatillos to the mix.
- More green beans this week, this time sautéed with bacon, halved grape tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, and garlic.
- Delicata squash are at the farmers market now, along with other winter squash. I roasted slices with a chile-honey sauce—skipped the tofu and forgot about the sesame seeds, scallions and lime juice. Still, it’s a keeper.
- Sometimes I crave mushrooms. This mushroom rice hit the spot last week.
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.
Fri 10/23 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 Daylight Savings Time unless otherwise noted.
Fri 10/23 at 12 p.m. – How to Remain Relevant in the Marketplace
With nearly 1/3 of the US workforce self-employed and growing throughout the world, owning a business is the new norm. We will discuss the challenges and solutions to keeping your business alive and thriving, including wow to schedule a time to work on your business as well as in it, when to lead, follow or get out of the way of opportunities, and how focusing on strengths is the key to success. More info/register (fee for MPI non-members).
Host: MPI
Presenters:
- Tracy Judge, MS, CMP, Founder & Chief Connector, Soundings Connect, Soundings Connect
- Jessica Levin, President and Chief Connector, Seven Degrees LLC
Fri 10/23 at 1 p.m. – Ask the Association Veteran Anything
Possible topics include virtual events, converting an in-person to online, engagement in a virtual event setting, ideas around business model changes, repurposing content, decline in membership, engagement, or attendance, ideas on how to remain relevant, and staffing shifts to meet the changing needs of the organization. More info/register.
Host: Blue Sky eLearn
Presenter: Amanda Davis, CMP, Director of Learning & Development and Online Learning Manager
Fri 10/23 at 2 p.m. – Foresight Fridays with Jeff De Cagna
Discuss pre-selected foresight topics and questions. Enjoy compelling future-focused learning. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor for Foresight First LLC
Mon 10/26 at 10:30 a.m. – Content Curation 101: How to Elevate Your Brand and Connect with Your Audience
Learn how to find content that’s relevant to your audience and how to present it in a way that’s useful. Hear about tools, insights and actionable tips you can adopt to strengthen your content marketing efforts without investing a ton of time and money. More info/register.
Host: rasa.io
Presenters:
- Erica Salm Rench, director of customer success, rasa.io
- Heather Nolan, marketing specialist, AssociationSuccess.org
Mon 10/26 from 1 to 5:30 p.m. – Association Component Exchange (CEX)
The only conference designed exclusively for component relations professionals (CRPs), CEX is a forum for association professionals who manage, nurture, and work with chapters to share successes, struggles, strategies, and innovations with your peers. We’ll leverage Zoom breakout rooms to bring small groups together to ideate, and share experiences and lessons learned so you can continue to connect with others in this component relations community. 8 CAE credits. More info/register (registration fee – I’m making an exception because I’m attending).
Hosts: Billhighway and Mariner Management
Mon 10/26 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
Tue 10/27 from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. – Live Review (LMS demos)
Live Review allows you to efficiently, effectively, and affordably (free is as affordable as it gets) see targeted demos of 16 learning management systems aligned to serving organizations that market and sell adult lifelong learning, continuing education, and professional development. More info/register.
Host: ReviewMyLMS/Tagoras
Tue 10/27 at 10:30 – How to Rock Your Next Virtual Event (Coffee & Connections)
Learn how to pump up the crowd and bring the fun factor to your next virtual event. Hear about ways to create an environment that makes people want to stay online with you; facilitate genuine social connections between your attendees; provide rewarding activities that are fun, not frivolous; switch up your conference schedule to avoid burnout; and encourage interaction with sponsors and solution providers. More info/register (looove this promo gif).
Host: Map Dynamics
Presenters:
- Teri Carden, co-founder, 100Reviews
- Alexis Simoneau, CAE, account manager, Map Dynamics
Tue 10/27 at 11 a.m. – Community-Building Event Strategies
Learn how to create bonds between your community members during and after your online events. Walk through creating engaging and memorable online events that bring your members closer together. Find out how to nurture those bonds after your events. More info/register.
Host: Community By Association
Presenter: Danielle Maveal, writer, entrepreneur, and consultant
Tue 10/27 at 12:30 p.m. – Meetings of Membership Minds
These impromptu, casual discussions about membership concepts, issues, and challenges are conducted live online and opened to other membership professionals to comment and offer other insights. More info/register.
Host: The Business of Membership
Presenters: Dan Ratner and Scott Oser
Tue 10/27 from 1 to 5:30 p.m. – Association Component Exchange (CEX)
The only conference designed exclusively for component relations professionals (CRPs), CEX is a forum for association professionals who manage, nurture, and work with chapters to share successes, struggles, strategies, and innovations with your peers. We’ll leverage Zoom breakout rooms to bring small groups together to ideate, and share experiences and lessons learned so you can continue to connect with others in this component relations community. 8 CAE credits. More info/register (registration fee – I’m making an exception because I’m attending).
Hosts: Billhighway and Mariner Management
Tue 10/27 at 2 p.m. – Association Advocacy in the Time of COVID-19 (Association Chat)
What can association advocacy experts tell us about the overview of the short- and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on associations and how the “association of associations” is engaging policy and advocacy to support the field at this critical time? We’ll discuss the current political landscape on Capitol Hill, the status of recent and future Congressional COVID-19 relief packages, and the future for association advocacy efforts as a whole. More info/reminder.
Host: KiKi L’Italien, senior consultant, Tecker International, LLC, and host, Association Chat
Guests: Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE, and Chris Vest, CAE, of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)
Tue 10/27 at 2 p.m. – UBIT: How US Tax Rules Impact Virtual Exhibits and Sponsorships
Learn about the tax complications when going from F2F events to digital, what qualifies as unrelated business income tax (UBIT), and how your virtual exhibit revenue and sponsorship revenue may be impacted. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenter: Paula Cozzi Goedert, partner, Corporate Department and Associations and Foundations Practice Group, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Tue 10/27 at 4 p.m. – Migrating to a New Community Platform (Connect 2020 Technology Track)
Learn best practices and what to avoid from community experts that have gone through a recent migration. More info/register.
Host: Community Roundtable
Tue 10/27 at 7 p.m. – Facilt8Me Grapes & Apps
The premise is two-fold: grab your favorite grape (in wine form, of course) or cocktail/mocktail of choice and spend an hour with us as we talk about your favorite must have apps. More info/register.
Host: Event Garde
Wed 10/28 from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. – Live Review (LMS demos)
Live Review allows you to efficiently, effectively, and affordably (free is as affordable as it gets) see targeted demos of 16 learning management systems aligned to serving organizations that market and sell adult lifelong learning, continuing education, and professional development. More info/register.
Host: ReviewMyLMS/Tagoras
Wed 10/28 at 10 a.m. – Rethinking Revenue
Learn how to evolve your sponsorship program to increase revenue. Hear about the four lifecycles of nonprofit corporate sponsorship programs, what sponsorship looks like and key activities in each cycle, what stops working and how you know when to evolve, how to smoothly move to the next level and get rapid results, and how these techniques worked for Destination Imagination. More info/register.
Hosts: Atigro, CRCFO, Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and Social Innovation Forum
Presenters:
- Gail Bower, sponsorship strategist, Bower & Co.
- Michele Tuck-Ponder, Executive Director of Destination Imagination
- Andrew Whitmire, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Advancement at Destination Imagination
Wed 10/28 at 11 a.m. – Producing Content for Virtual Events (Evolve Community Series)
Learn how to become a production expert for your virtual events. Hear about the steps to ensuring a smooth live stream, deciding on a production company (or not…), and what’s most important when it comes to virtual event content production. More info/register.
Host: Swapcard
Wed 10/28 at 11 a.m. – Safety & Success: A Roadmap to In-Person Events & Site Visits Today
Learn how to craft your event safety roadmap. Hear how we safely and successfully executed an in-person meeting for 150 attendees, how CVBs and hotels are approaching site visits with new protocols in place, and the latest hotel and venue sanitation and safety measures. More info/register.
Host: Meeting Expectations
Presenters:
- Lauren Andrews, Director of Site Selection, Meeting Expectations
- Kowana Ragland, CMP, Senior Director of Meetings, Meeting Expectations
- Joey Sirmons (moderator), Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Meeting Expectations
Wed 10/28 at 11:30 a.m. – The Big Reveal: 2020 Association Trends Report
Hear about the findings of the Association Trends 2020 study, the only industry research report with sentiments from both members and association professionals. Find out the latest trends impacting member value, loyalty, and engagement. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Community Brands
Presenters: Tara Pawlak and Tirrah Switzer, Community Brands
Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Straight from the Organizers: How They Managed Virtual Production (Evolve Community Series)
Learn how the panel managed the technical production side of their recent virtual events. Hear about their event’s outcomes, what they found easy and what they would do differently next time, not to mention their biggest challenges. More info/register.
Host: Swapcard
Wed 10/28 at 12 p.m. – Health Security in the Age of COVID
Learn proven, practical steps to consider when designing an effective and safe meeting in the wake of COVID-19. Gain clarity on the fundamental strategies for ensuring your attendees’ health. Learn the protocols for dealing with an ill attendee, and how to best respond. Understand how to minimize attendee health risks via health screenings before, and during your conference. 1 CMP credit. More info/register (fee for MPI non-members).
Host: MPI
Presenter: Dr. Jonathan Spero, CEO, InHouse Physicians
Wed 10/28 at 1 p.m. – Duty of Care: A New Reality
Hear the expertise of 3 industry pros who have developed comprehensive duty of care strategies and protocols to keep attendees safe. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Prevue Meetings
Presenters:
- Melinda L. Burdette, CMP, CMM, HMCC, Director of Events at Meeting Professionals International
- Pierre Stone, Director of Conference and Catering, The Broadmoor
- Mark Yuska, CEO at Alliance Nationwide Exposition
Wed 10/28 at 1 p.m. – What’s The Half-Life of Skills?
Hear how organizations edit or evaluate training to ensure that the skills it’s teaching are up-to-date, relevant, and timely, and how organizations gather feedback from learners (and in some cases, digital badge earners) to know whether or not the skills they’re learning help them in their day-to-day. More info/register.
Host: Credly
Wed 10/28 at 1 p.m. – #ExpoChat on Twitter
ExpoChat is a Twitter-based conversation on topics related to the trade show industry. More info.
Wed 10/28 at 2 p.m. – Backstage Pass to Producing Your Virtual Conference
Hear the battle scars, lessons learned and much more in this candid conversation on what it takes to produce a virtual event. We will provide you with a realistic picture of the skills and resources you’ll need to launch with special emphasis on uncovering hazards that you might not be aware of until they trip you up in real-time. More info/register.
Host: orgCommunity
Presenters:
- Joanna Pineda, Founder, CEO and Chief Trouble Maker, Matrix Group, Inc.
- Arianna Rehak, CEO, Matchbox Virtual Media
- Dan Stevens, President, Workerbee.TV
Wed 10/28 at 2 p.m. – Grow Sponsorship Revenue In Pandemic Times
Learn how to use both creativity and data to establish exclusive online sponsorship packages. Discover how to identify sponsors’ new goals and exceed their expectations with virtual meetings, how to create compelling virtual sponsorship packages, and how to drive sponsorship value with a digital strategy. More info/register.
Host: Brightfind
Presenters:
- Bruce Rosenthal, corporate partnerships strategic advisor, Bruce Rosenthal Associates
- Frank Klassen, CEO, Brightfind
Thu 10/29 at 10 a.m. – The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Creating a relevant, engaging online experience in 2020 is harder than ever, Zoom fatigue is real, yet more than ever we seek true connections. More info/register.
Host: Community Roundtable
Presenter: Priya Parker, author, The Art of Gathering
Thu 10/29 at 11:30 a.m. – Creating Unique and Engaging Experiences for Your Online Conference Community
Simply running an event online is no longer enough to draw attention and keep your attendees hooked. So how can you create unique memories and engaging experiences online? Hear tips on designing a virtual event full of memorable moments – one that will keep your community talking long after your live stages have closed their curtains. More info/register.
Host: Ex Ordo
Thu 10/29 at 12 p.m. – Zoom 2.0: Flexing Your Communications for Increased Remote Work Productivity (DC Idea Swap)
How we communicate in a remote world has become critical to our success. Learn how to identify your virtual communications style and explore how that style can be leveraged effectively — or sometimes misunderstood. Walk away with tips on how to adapt your preferred communications style to improve relationships, increase productivity, and be successful in 2020 and beyond. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE
Presenter: Carol Vernon, president of Communications Matters
Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Membership Lifecycle Part III: Engagement — Events, Programs & Non-Dues Revenue
Learn how membership management technology supports an association’s ability to leverage existing programs or launch targeted member initiatives to diversify and identify new revenue opportunities. More info/register.
Host: Impexium
Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Marketing Automation: Technology & Strategies to Power Your Success
When marketing automation tools are paired with effective strategies, nonprofits are raising more funds, streamlining program operations, and deeply connecting with donors in a personalized way. Learn how to evaluate marketing automation tools and the strategies nonprofits use to be successful with them. More info/register.
Host: Heller Consulting
Presenters:
- Jett Winders, Director of Business Development, Heller Consulting
- Taylor Shanklin, Vice President, Growth, Firefly Partners
Thu 10/29 at 1 p.m. – Event Hack Hybrid Games
Back in April 2020, we came together to hack the future of virtual events in the OG EventHack event. We’ve invited the best minds in events to work together and produce the industry’s largest playbook on hybrid events. Join us in this ten-week series, where the Virtual and In Person teams will square off and compete to produce the best hybrid crossover ideas. More info/register.
Host: Socio
Thu 10/29 at 2 p.m. – Turning Non-Traditional Sales Teams into Sales Machines
Discover common myths about sales in associations as well as insights and strategies to power-up your sales capabilities. Learn the meaning of sales enablement, deal boards, pipeline management and how these concepts can be used by association marketers; how CRM functionality can support revenue and growth initiatives in marketing automation platforms; and practical ways to transform key stakeholders—such as chapters and member services teams—into collaborative sales engines. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE
Presenter: Aimee Pagano, HighRoad Solutions
Thu 10/29 at 2 p.m. – More Than Hype: Delivering Value That Exceeds Expectations
A strong mission, good benefits, and quality offerings are important, but it takes more to prove to someone your association is worth buying into. Learn what potential members want from you, how to expand your member benefits virtually and attract new members, important guidelines for conducting an organizational SWOT analysis, and what other associations are doing to increase their value and membership. More info/register.
Host: MultiView
Presenters: Chris Mazzon, VP, Association Partnerships, and Jessica Richardson, Director, Partner Relations, MultiView
Thu 10/29 at 3 p.m. – Spooktacular Costume Party
This is how we’re celebrating with our last Non Dues-a-Palooza event of the year and you’re invited. It’s free and just for funsies. So grab your favorite beverage, dig out your wacky hat, scary mask, or full-on cosplay outfit. Prizes for costumes, some mad libs fun, and loads of laughs. More info/register.
Host: Teri Carden, founder, 100 Reviews/Non-Dues-a-Palooza
Thu 10/29 at 3 p.m. – Ideas You Can Use: Delivering Session Content at Your Virtual or Hybrid Event
Most of us are still searching for the best way to turn a live conference into a valuable virtual or hybrid experience that meets the expectations of attendees and sponsors. The challenge is that there is no one “right” way to go virtual. Walk through several examples of how our customers have made a successful transition to virtual—both in how they delivered session content and sponsor and exhibitor value. Use these ideas as a starting point for your own virtual or hybrid event strategy. More info/register.
Host: Omnipress
Thu 10/29 at 3 p.m. – The Return to Face-to-Face: What Will You Do?
Hear about current industry challenges, examine crowd-sourced best practices for approaching COVID-era meeting planning, learn how to critically evaluate what options are best for your meeting, and understand when you’re increasing your risk rather than reducing it. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: PCMA
Presenters:
- Heather Mason, CEO of Caspian Agency
- Ed Salvato, LGBTQ Tourism & Hospitality Marketing Expert
Fri 10/30 at 10 a.m. – NYSAE Engagement Lounge: Planning for the Future – Association Meetings – PART TWO
Join a discussion about planning post-COVID-19 association conferences, meetings and trade shows, including hybrid events, team dynamics and engagement during the pandemic, maximizing sponsor ROI, and getting back to “normal.” 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Hosts: New York Society of Association Executives and NYPCMA
Facilitators:
- Donna Kelley, US Account Sales Leader for Marriott International
- Jimmy Le, Senior Conference Planner for the IEEE Communications Society
Fri 10/30 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
Fri 10/30 at 12 p.m. – 5 Keys to Association Website Success in 2020 (and Beyond)
Association websites compete with for-profits, media, and other associations for eyeballs, mindshare and even revenue. Does your association have a plan to compete in this crowded, modern online environment? At the same time, new technologies and trends continue to reshape the way we use the web, transforming members’ expectations and what to attract and retain them. Learn the five key web strategies that beat out your competition, engage members and prospects, grow revenue, and build a plan for 2020 and beyond. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.
Host: U.S. Transactions Corporation
Presenter: Ray van Hilst, Director of Client Results, Yoko Co.
Fri 10/30 at 12 p.m. – The Paradox of Potential: Navigating the Gap Between Potential and Performance
While many believe they are doing all they can, a huge number of professionals are frustrated because they are coming up short of their personal expectations (and the expectations of others). Find out how people can accomplish more and enjoy their work and how leaders can help their teams succeed. Discover the possibilities of goal setting, teamwork, successful human engagement, cross-selling, and other skills to help everyone reach their highest potential. 1 CMP credit. More info/register (fee for MPI non-members).
Host: MPI
Presenter: Thom Singer, Davis Hill Solutions
Fri 10/30 at 2 p.m. – Foresight Fridays with Jeff De Cagna
Discuss pre-selected foresight topics and questions. Enjoy compelling future-focused learning. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor for Foresight First LLC
Wed 11/4 at 1 p.m. – Building Data-Driven Member and Customer Experiences
Join us to hear insights from our recent Data and Analytics Report, including common technology tools and specific steps you can take to build a more data-driven approach across your organization. Learn how effective data use is helping associations serve their members and customers in smarter and more efficient ways. Gain insight that will help you avoid the common challenges of taking a more data-driven approach to serving members and customers. Understand how data and analytics is being adapted within the association community to respond more rapidly to members and customers during the COVID-19 crisis. More info/register.
Host: Association Analytics
Presenters: NCARB and McKinley Advisors
Wed 11/4 at 2 p.m. – Sponsorship Strategies During COVID-19: A Need for Change
For those of you hosting on-line events, you are well aware that your go-to sponsors are hesitant to sign-up for virtual sponsorships. New directions and approaches are now code-red priorities. This session will review key questions you are asking about how to develop and implement a new sponsorship approach. You’ll gain insights gleaned from what’s working and how you can position your association for success. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE
Presenters:
- Lewis Flax, Flax Associates LLC
- Maren Colon, Consumer Bankers Association
Thu 11/5 at 2 p.m. – The Polls Have Closed…Now What?
This session seeks to bring valuable insights into the recent election, the current health crisis, and the prognosis for the economy going forward. We will also explore what that could mean for association investment reserves. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE
Presenter: Ahmed Farruk, CIMA, AIF, DiMeo Schneider & Associates
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