What have I learned during March and April amidst the global economic pause and stay at home orders? I’ve learned that despite legislated closures, jobs lost, and event cancellations, association members are engaging with their associations more than ever! They want to be engaged and connected; they want to [...]
I recently spoke with an association member that was trapped on a cruise ship during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She shared with me some ideas that helped her keep in touch with her staff and clients while stuck on board. You can see her interview on The Big Story [...]
Annual General Meeting (AGM) season is underway for associations with a fiscal year end of December 31. The purpose of these mandatory meetings is for the board of directors and management to share reports, financials and updates and to allow members of the association to ask questions and share [...]
A board of directors' Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics are valuable tools in board related issues. Recent events spurred me to write this article to emphasize the importance of incorporating these two documents into an association’s board member orientations, ensuring that they are signed annually and ensuring [...]
We live in a fast-paced world where things change at a rate that our brains struggle to keep up with. Technology is the big driver behind the speed at which society is changing. How does your association deal with the rate of change and how do you incorporate innovative [...]
Do you have a rewards card in your wallet? How about a mileage plus credit card for your favorite airline? A points system at the local grocery store? The world is full of rewards programs, and everyone is part of at least one of them. Association memberships are similar [...]
In today’s day and age, having a strong presence on social media for your organization is crucial to staying relevant in your industry; this is no exception to associations. Associations must create and maintain a social media presence in order to capture their current and potential association members. Considering [...]
Scenario: It’s late afternoon on Friday, you go to check your computer as you are expecting replies from fellow association board members regarding copies of financials that you sent out the day before. You login to your account, and you see that you have received an email from a [...]
Managing a major national association event like a convention, symposium or annual conference can be a challenge for any event manager. Usually such events are the largest an association can offer to its members, and they provide opportunities for new business connections, professional development, networking and more. It takes [...]
Every industry has trends that affect the future of the industry and its stakeholders. In association management it is very important to stay on top of trends and to implement change to the association while having little disruption. How do trends positively influence associations and why is it so [...]
