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.
Can an Event Planner or Meeting Planner Really Build “Wellness” Into A Conference?
One of the hot new topics for the modern meeting planner and event planner is how to build “wellness” into a [...]
Relationship Building with Association Stakeholders
Communication, communication and communication, is the key to creating strong ties with the stakeholders of your association. It may sound obvious [...]
Creating the Menu for Your Event
You may have seen a few of our earlier blogs, Breaking Down your Food and Beverage Budget and Satisfying Your Delegates [...]
Board Meeting Action Items – How to Effectively Manage the Never-Ending List
Association board meetings can happen virtually or in-person, they can be monthly, quarterly or annually, and they can have a specific [...]
Averting A Tight Flip Disaster
Sometimes venue sales people do not understand the challenges of a tight flip caused by back-to-back events in their venues. A [...]
On-site Communication at Your Event
You have worked tirelessly at organizing every last detail for your event and it all comes down to those few hours [...]
How Important are Association By-laws?
By-laws are a very important component of a not-for-profit association. All boards operate based on the member-approved by-laws of the organization. [...]
Connecting with Association Members Using Online Tools
Imagine if you had the resources at your fingertips to help you organize and connect with all of your members at [...]
Introducing Social Media to a Reluctant Association
The power of social media is undeniable. When used properly, social media is a great tool to increase awareness, promote membership, [...]
Preventing Groupthink within Association’s Boards
My last blog article entitled Diversity in the Association Boardroom focused on ways to assist an association in building an appropriately [...]
The Difference Between an Audit and a Review Engagement
Audits and Review Engagements are the typical year-end services offered by professional accountants to association and not-for-profit clients. For an association, [...]
Membership Renewal Calls
“Hi, you owe us money.” No one likes making membership renewal calls, in fact many people dread it, but here are [...]
How National Associations Can Benefit Their Provincial Counterparts
Does the voice of a national association make your provincial association stronger? If so, what are the benefits of being a [...]
Driving Change in Your Event
Many events that you plan are likely annual events, possibly reaching the point of running themselves. You already have a great [...]
Changing Member Management Systems
Changing member management systems? Here are a few things to consider before beginning the process. Whether you are moving your membership [...]
Information Sharing Tips for Associations
It is typical of an event and association management company to be managing several events and/or association events simultaneously. In such [...]
Supporting the Decision Maker
In my blog post Event Planning- Who’s the Boss, I discuss all of the different people who could be involved in the [...]
Strategic Planning for Associations: How Much and How Often?
Strategic Planning is an important exercise that most, if not all, associations go through. When, and how often can depend on [...]
How to Prepare for Your Annual Audit
Many people view an audit/review engagement as a negative process, however it should not be something that you have to fear. [...]
The Importance of Clear, Concise and Timely Communication
When working with committees or clients for national associations from various time zones, communication tends to be done through email. Have [...]