Evaluation of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Executive Director (ED) is as important as evaluating your own board members and their performance as directors. The CEO/ED performance is key to achieving the goals of your association. As a board it is important to regularly evaluate your CEO/ED in a constructive [...]
Membership growth is top of mind for board members to ensure sustainability of an association. Is it always in the best interest of the association to grow? Does your board understand the reasons for growth, the implications of that growth and the resources necessary to sustain that growth? All [...]
“Try it, you’ll like it”[1] is reportedly the earliest reported word of mouth campaign slogan. Word of mouth (WOM) is an effective and the least expensive way to market association memberships and conference registrations and something your association should consider as part of your next membership planning session Traditional [...]
Talking at your members is a one-way communication—pushing a message. Technology makes talking at the members of your association easy, all it takes is a few clicks of your mouse. You can find literally dozens of association communications software solutions at http://www.capterra.com/association-management-software/. As well, MailChimp allows you to send [...]
Are you ready for your board meeting? Have you read the agenda and the supporting documents? Are there items that you want to discuss that don’t appear on the agenda? If not, then how do you get them on the agenda? All of the above are very good, and [...]
Your association can apply to delay the date of its Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (CNCA) requires that AGM’s must be held within six-months of the yearend. This is a challenge for federally incorporated associations whose yearend is December 31st and who have traditionally held [...]
It goes without saying that associations do not exist without members. Keeping membership numbers high and getting dues payments in on time is one of the most important aspects of association management. Member dues are a main income source for most associations, so perfecting the collection process by making [...]
The purpose of this article is to identify the five key notifications required when your association board members change, so that all those who should be notified are told on a timely basis. Adding or Removing an Association Board Member The requirements are the same if there is a [...]
Being a board member is a significant responsibility and with that must come a commitment to be present and participate in board meetings. Easy to say, hard to do for some. Board meetings can be intimidating for some and getting involved isn’t always easy. You might not be comfortable [...]
How easy or hard, how long or short, how much or how little your association’s audit/review engagement 1 will be is in up to your organization—not the external accountant. You can take control of the audit process by meeting with the audit partner/manager and person doing the fieldwork—before the [...]