Members are the lifeblood of associations. Without members, an association would cease to exist. An association’s members are its most valuable asset and bring the life, the drive, and the mission to associations. An association depends on a strong membership to ensure its continued success; therefore, it is important [...]
I spent a large part of the last year leading a national trade association through a major management change. The year saw the departure of the long-time CEO, the appointment of an interim CEO, and finally the transition from a stand-alone association to one managed by an association management [...]
As mentioned in my last blog article, a strategic human resources plan is a process that identifies current and future human resources needs for an association to meet its vision and mission. To ensure your association is performing at its highest level, there should be a link between human [...]
People often struggle with change—change is hard and can force people away from what they are used to—but change happens. When there are big changes in association staffing or service providers, or even how an association is managed, it can be challenging for association members, board members and staff [...]
As an accountant working with associations, one question I’ve been asked is, “What is the difference between management accounting and financial accounting?” These are two distinctly different areas of accounting, and if you didn’t study accounting, this is probably something you were not aware of. Up until 2016, these [...]
Thinking of switching membership management systems for your association? Here are a few things to consider before making the change. There are a variety of Association Management Systems (AMS) available. These systems are used for many association services, including membership signup, membership renewal, event registration, sales, and marketing. They [...]
When two associations are similar but different, how can you leverage the similarities to offer dynamic educational opportunities? We offer association management services to two associations that have many similarities but can also be viewed as competitors (they compete for consumers’ recreational dollar spending). When the board of each [...]
Member engagement means nurturing and managing relationships to increase an association’s membership volume, value, and retention, and it is critical for an association to break down what engagement looks like for them. Associations should focus on driving those activities that provide value to members, as well as those that [...]
Most associations have a strategic plan that guides the association in the execution of the vision and mission of the association. Having a strategic plan helps to place the association in the category of being a high-performing association. Characteristics of a high performing association are: The vision and mission [...]
As an association management company, we deal with many associations. Having worked in the association management industry for nearly twenty years, I’ve realized that how an association conducts business comes down to what is written in the by-laws. By-laws are the written rules and regulations for an association directing [...]
