Strauss Articles
Knowledge, Insight, and Experience
Every Thursday, our experts provide insights into industry trends and issues that readers can leverage to improve their associations and signature events.
Managing Cash Flow During Crisis
Cash flow is an important concept for association staff, volunteers, and leaders to understand especially for small or medium sized associations. [...]
Making Impressions and Building Association Relationships with LinkedIn
As an association leader, you are interconnected with other leader and members in your industry. LinkedIn is a great way to [...]
Hosting an Association Meeting in Quebec? You Must Collect Québec Sales Tax!
This article will summarize what a non-profit association should know when registering for Québec Sales Tax (QST) after hosting events in [...]
The Virtual Conference—Is This the Future of Events?
In August, I attended my first virtual conference. This two-day conference had keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and a trade show floor. [...]
The Pandemic Presents Opportunities for Partnership
Pandemic planning was NOT part of my vocabulary at the beginning of 2020. Earlier this year, an association we manage had [...]
Association Membership Surveys, Satisfaction, and Retention
Membership associations exist to serve their members. Ensuring members are satisfied and engaged should be a key priority for every association. [...]
Case Study: Leading a Long-Time Client into a Virtual World
A long-time client who holds an annual educational conference for its professional members did not want to lose a year of [...]
The “Dreaded” AGM: How to Attract Association Members
I recently received an invitation to an annual general meeting (AGM) for an association of which I am a member. My [...]
How to Make New Association Members Feel Welcomed
New members should feel welcomed and receive guidance to connect with other members when joining an association. Making an association a [...]
Maximizing the Potential Benefit of Attending an Association’s Virtual Conference
In a world where the show must go on, a new and increasingly popular avenue is virtual conferences. We are seeing [...]
Is It Time Your Association Hosts an Indigenous Sharing Circle?
Our society is currently adapting to the restrictions and guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic while confronting the systematic oppression of Black, [...]
Association Ethics for Staff and Volunteers
Ethical behaviour means acting in ways that are consistent with behaviours that society, individuals, and businesses have deemed to be “proper” [...]
How Association Leaders Can Boost Morale During a Pandemic
As we continue to live and work through the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for association leaders to [...]
Six Points to Remember When Redesigning Your Association’s Website
Redesigning a website takes a lot of planning and forethought. There are a lot of small details that can distract you [...]
Hosting Association Events Amidst a Global Pandemic: Adapting to New Health and Safety Standards
2020 has seen association events cancelled left, right, and centre due to physical distancing protocols. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social [...]
Finding New Association Board Directors
An association’s annual general meeting (AGM) is for the membership to approve the financial statements of the previous year, elect or [...]
GST/HST and QST on Registration Fees for Virtual Meetings and Trade Shows
Many associations have been forced to cancel in-person professional development meetings and/or trade shows because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as described [...]
Association Trade Shows Gone Virtual
Face-to-face events continue to take a back seat due to the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving associations to find unique alternatives for members [...]
Hosting Association Golf Tournaments in a COVID-19 World
Association members are missing their face-to-face networking opportunities used to catch up with fellow members or to have those deep conversations [...]
“Zoom Fatigue”: Is it affecting your Association? Tips on How to Manage it.
With so many of us working from home, video conferencing through Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms has increased. The demand [...]