Articles, Publications, Reports, Links
Resources for Association ManagementNew
From (new CSAE member!) BlueSkyeLearn
Spoiler Alert: Your Members Want Continuing Education
If you aren’t sure your members want continuing education or professional development options, you may want to reconsider. The results of GrowthZone AMS’s 9th annual association survey among Association professionals across the U.S. and Canada show that continuing education and professional certifications are among the top reasons members join their organizations . . . Read more >>
New
From .orgCommunity
Are Associations Losing Their Members’ Trust?—The Leadership ColLAB Explores This Critical Question
If your membership numbers are down or your event attendance is sagging, the problem might be different than what you normally expect. Could the issue be trust? Is it possible that your community has doubts about the organization’s credibility? The March 2 Leadership ColLAB conference brought professionals together to explore this critical question. This conference report covers many of the discussions at the conference . . . Read more >>
New
From ASAE
Tips for a Low-Cost, Award-Winning Website Redesign
A website redesign doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Find out how one association successfully overhauled its website saving money and increasing effectiveness while winning an award in the process . . . Read more >>
From Association TRENDS:
How to Attract New Members: 8 Steps to Take Right Now
With so many choices for education and community for younger professionals, associations must find ways to stand out from the crowd. New membership recruitment strategies can help you reach a new audience. Discover 8 steps to take right now to recruit new members. Click here to download the eBook.
From ASAE
A Holistic Approach to Association Volunteer Management
Data from a ASAE Research Foundation study offers a view of association volunteering on the verge of modernization and shows that modest shifts in association practices and volunteering are occurring . . . Download the report.
Articles, Publications
Management and Governance
Governance Efficiencies by Bob Harris, CAE (March 2021)
20 alternative ideas for board efficiency when facing the response of “We’ve always done it this way.”
Instilling Governance Practices and Principles by Bob Harris, CAE (January 2021)
In his Board Orientation Workbook, Bob Harris, CAE, outlines the distinct roles that officers, directors and committees play in any association.
Parthenon Model Strategic Plan by Bob Harris, CAE (January 2021)
Addressing the quandary of whether and how to include infrastructure in the strategic plan.
Governance: Plain and Simple by Bob Harris, CAE (January 2021)
Clear-cut language for defining association governance makes things simple.
Committee Linkage to the Strategic Plan by Bob Harris, CAE (November 2020)
Bob Harris, CAE, presents and discusses a flowchart depicting the relationships and lines of authority between committees, board of directors, mission, and strategic plan.
Governance in a Pandemic by Bob Harris, CAE, (October 2020)
Governance in a Pandemic is a management guide and a compilation of articles to assist associations in getting their organizations through the pandemic.
Policy Revisions in a Pandemic by Bob Harris, CAE (October 2020)
Suggestions for revisions in association policies as a result of COVID-19
Making Lemonade With Pandemic Lemons by Bob Harris, CAE (August 2020)
You can use time during the pandemic to turn lemons into lemonade.
Adjusting Budgets Impacted by Crisis by Bill Pawlucy, CAE and Bob Harris, CAE (April 2020)
Suggestions and works of wisdom for association executive panicked by the pandemic’s financial havoc.
Plan to Recovery—Association Strong by Bill Pawlucy, CAE and Bob Harris, CAE (April 2020)
A recovery grid to help associations to a planned recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and economic disruption.
The Groundhog Effect by Bob Harris, CAE & Sarah Gustafson, ABR®, SRES®, CRS
Adequate documentation avoids reinventing the wheel
How Nonprofits Can Avoid the Legal Pitfalls of Telecommuting Employees by Jeff Tenenbaum, David Warner, Kristine Sova and Nick Reiter, Venable LLP
How to deal with potential legal issues of telecommuting employees.
Meetings and Events
NEW
Drowning in Data from .orgCommunity
Focus on These 5 Key Event Data Points That Affect Your Whole Association
Analysis Paralysis by Bob Harris, Quinn Green (June 2021)
Learn to recognize the symptoms and take corrective action.
Score Your Meetings by Kelly Hall, Longview (TX), Chamber of Commerce, and Bob Harris, CAE (June 2021)
Using Entrepreneurial Operating System concepts to evaluate your meetings.
Props at the Board Meeting by Bob Harris, CAE (September 2020)
Liven up your board meetings with props and help keep conversations on track
Ban The Yearly Planning Meeting by Bob Harris, CAE (January 2020)
It might be heresy, but maybe we should “scrub the annual planning meeting.”
Membership
NEW
How Many Contacts to Turn a Prospect into a Buyer? by Tony Rossell, Senior Vice President, Marketing General
Understand the decision process involved in joining an association allows for a more nuanced strategy to be put in place.
NEW
How to Attract New Members From Association TRENDS:
Ebook highlights 8 steps to take right now to recruit new members.
5 Ways to Gauge Membership Success by Bob Harris, CAE (October 2021)
Membership Dues Grants by Bob Harris, CAE (November 2020)
Volunteers and Committees
Extending the Life of Committees by Bob Harris, CAE (March 2021)
Boards of Directors
Online Planning and Orientation by Bob Harris, CAE (October 2020)
Tips for moving your strategic planning and orientation sessions online.
When the Board Wants Help by Bob Harris, CAE (April 2020)
Ten questions to be included in a board self-evaluation.
Planning
Execution After the Retreat by Bob Harris, CAE (March 2021)
Article by Bob Harris, CAE, clarifies responsibilities for executing the strategic plan.
Online Planning and Orientation by Bob Harris, CAE (October 2020)
Tips for moving your strategic planning and orientation sessions online.
New
From .orgCommunity
Challenging Conversations—Tackling Risk
If your association is lucky enough to have an investment portfolio, a discussion about risk has probably been on the board’s agenda. Financial managers make understanding the group’s risk tolerance a defining component of their strategy. These conversations are limited to bottom-line issues. But risk doesn’t always come with a dollar sign attached. There are multiple reasons to make both the upside and the downside of risk management a broader topic of board discussion . . . Read more >>
New
From (Gold Partner) AMG
Fed Risks Recession When Cleaning Up Sticky Inflation
Want to gain important insight about inflation? Read and view a recent Insights seminar from AMG. Here’s an excerpt: “Inflation is waning, but it’s proving a sticky problem for the Federal Reserve (Fed), which seems determined to wipe it out—even if it means a recession, AMG Chairman Earl Wright told clients March’s Insights seminar. The U.S. central bank keeps hammering away at inflation with almost monthly interest rate hikes, including this week’s 0.25 percentage point increase in the Fed’s target range for the federal funds rate, which now stands at 4.75-5%. Last March, the range was 0.25-0.50%.” Read and View More
From .orgCommunity
Drowning in Data – Focus on These 5 Key Event Data Points That Affect Your Whole Association
We are all drowning in data! Data is pouring in from every platform ranging from an AMS to community platforms. With the gaining popularity of virtual events, associations now have a new layer of data that they’ve never collected before. No, event data is not new. Yes, there seems to be a lot more of . . . Read more >>
From Marketing General:
By Tony Rossell, Senior Vice President
How Many Contacts to Turn a Prospect into a Buyer?
We often hear the question, “Why does it take so many contacts to convince an individual or company to join our association?” The pat answer from marketers is that it takes seven contacts to turn a prospect into a buyer . . . establishing an understanding of the decision process involved in joining an association allows for a more nuanced strategy to be put in place . . . Read more >>
Research, Reports
A Holistic Approach to Association Volunteer Management, ASAE
Study offers a view of association volunteering on the verge of modernization and shows that modest shifts in association practices and volunteering are occurring.
Gabriel Eckert’s Committee Management Workbook, Bob Harris, CAE, 2021
White Paper – Associations 2024: The Next Generation of Associations & Leaders –
Reprinted with permission from the FSAE Foundation – excerpt from 2015 report
Looking Forward 2020, An Environmental Scanning Survey, Association Laboratory, Inc.