Association Brain Food: 9.11.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

view of green mountains surrounding the town of Black Mountain, NC from the Two Sisters and a View trail in Montreat, NC

Good reads for the association community

“Day by day, your choices, your thoughts, your actions fashion the person you become. Your integrity determines your destiny.” ―Heraclitus

Growing a course catalog with a small team. Demand for online learning keeps climbing while head count stays flat. For association education, TopClass LMS suggests the corporate training approach: build a repeatable production system. Among their suggestions: create a course shell you reuse, bring in member volunteers to supply the content, let AI handle first drafts that a speaker then verifies, and retire courses nobody finishes.

Online community content is AI-invisible. Nicole Saunders (Higher Logic) shares highlights from her company’s internal AI study group about community content’s lack of discoverability. AI tools can’t reach it, so they don’t recommend it, even when members and prospects are asking questions. Community managers now have to connect the dots between business goals, tech staff, content plans, and AI readiness.

Before you buy an AI tool. Your board wants an AI strategy. Staff are trying to figure out which tools to use. Dennison & Associates’ guide for associations walks you through a methodical way to size up your options. It opens with a warning: associations tend to buy the tool before they’ve defined the problem. You also get a ten-question checklist for pressure-testing any AI tool purchase before you commit.

Association newsletter course. The Association Newsletter Success Certificate Course from Association Academy covers everything from strategy to delivery. You’ll work through goals and metrics, formatting that fits your audience, design and copy, AI-assisted production, and the technical work that keeps your email out of spam. You can earn up to six CAE credits in six live online classes starting October 22 with Chris Gloede (Ricochet) teaching. Save $50 on registration with the referral code BRAINFOOD.

Fresh thinking for chapters. Peggy Hoffman (Mariner Management), writing on Event Garde’s blog, says the standard toolkits-and-training approach to chapter support asks too much of leaders who are already stretched thin. Among her wise ideas: swap long board commitments for bite-sized volunteer tasks members can say yes to on the spot, then get ruthless about trimming legacy activities that drain energy and deliver little value.

Before the LMS demo. Moira Edwards (Ellipsis Partners) condenses her firm’s ASAE Demo Day webinar into ten practical tips for associations shopping for an LMS. She describes the mistakes she keeps seeing, poses a few questions to answer before you look at a single vendor, and breaks down the three levels of AMS-LMS integration.

Member magazine. If your board keeps asking about magazine costs, this m3Magazines guide hands you the ROI case to bring back to them. It explains how a well-designed publication builds member trust and loyalty, and pulls in non-dues revenue. It also includes a five-point checklist for spotting when your magazine needs a refresh and describes the kind of content that keeps members turning pages.

Exhibitor retention strategy. The fee for booth space is just the first expense for exhibitors. The real cost also includes shipping, travel, lodging, staffing, and client dinners. Back at the office, decision-makers want to know what that investment bought them. Beth Surmont (360 Live Media) describes how associations can help exhibitors get more out of the show. Her list includes a pre-show summit for booth staff, packages built around exhibitor goals, registration questions that reveal who will be in the room, and reports that justify their spend.

The loneliness numbers. Francesco Riganese (Makerstations) rounds up the latest depressing data on workplace isolation, including a 58% jump in the hours remote workers spend by themselves. Millennials report the highest rate of workplace loneliness. Lonely workers are also far more likely to be job hunting. If your members and prospects work remote or hybrid, this is a reason to highlight community and connection when you pitch membership.

Snacks

If you’re looking for an association job, keep an eye on my “likes” on LinkedIn. I “like” many of the association job postings in my stream, and the more I “like,” the more the algorithm sends my way.

The $100 experiment that slashed event no-show rates to just 10% | Andrea Doyle, Skift Meetings

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing efforts, I’d really appreciate you buying me a beer. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

We spent the long weekend in Black Mountain, NC, a lively little town where we hiked and visited breweries. I have only one homemade meal to report, but it’s a good one: Caribbean smothered chicken with coconut, lime, and chiles. The recipe comes from Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration. A few newspapers reprinted it when they reviewed the cookbook, so it’s easy to track down online. I served the chicken and sauce over brown rice, alongside broccoli roasted with curry powder and lime zest.

About CAE credits: Per ASAE, “any continuing professional education offered by any professional entity may be accepted toward the [CAE] professional development requirement as long as it is directly related to either association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline.”

Education providers: If you have a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled. I’m happy to feature it as long as it’s not product-centric.

Mon 9/14 at 8 a.m.* – Something on Membership (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Every week, Rogue Tulips brings the association community intriguing guests who discuss vital topics affecting associations around the world. Episodes are published Monday mornings in both audio and video format, available on YouTube and the usual podcast channels.

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Jim Thompson, Tying It All Together

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Tue 9/15 at 12 p.m. – Beyond Technology: The Human Side of Association Transformation

Find out how associations can navigate change more effectively across staff, boards, volunteers, and members. Explore why change initiatives often stall, how to build alignment across leadership, and what associations can do to future-proof their organizations while minimizing resistance and disruption. Learn how to communicate change with clarity, build momentum, and drive long-term organizational success. More info/register.

Host: .orgCommunity

Speakers: Bill Sheehan and Erin Robson from D2L

Tue 9/15 at 12 p.m. – Chasing the Next Threat Is a Losing Game – Here’s What Wins: The Questions That Actually Secure Your Test

Security strategies built around today’s technology will always be playing catch-up, because tactics change constantly while the attack vectors they exploit rarely do. Hear how to reframe the security conversation around four questions every program should be asking, and why assumptions must be challenged. Get a framework for evaluating your program’s resilience: one that treats AI not only as a threat to defend against, but as a security asset in its own right. More info/register.

Host: Institute for Credentialing Excellence

Speaker: Wallace Dalrymple, Chief Security Officer, ETS & PSI

Tue 9/15 at 12 p.m. – Strategic Planning: Create the Yellow Brick Road that Will Propel Chapter Success (CRVM Crunch and Munch)

Join us for an invigorating session on strategic planning, where you’ll actively collaborate to craft a visionary roadmap—your chapter’s Yellow Brick Road—that propels success. Through dynamic discussions, you’ll set SMART goals that drive member growth, enhance engagement, boost retention, and align with your organization’s mission and vibrant future. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Component Relations Volunteer Management Advisory Council

Tue 9/15 at 1 p.m. – Awareness to Acquisition: Structuring an AI-Ready Member Journey

Discover how to strengthen awareness and drive meaningful acquisition by building the foundations for intelligent member growth. Learn to understand the limits of traditional SEO and content strategy and where AI adds value, leverage connected data and behavioral signals to attract qualified prospects, build onboarding pathways that feed into long-term membership success, and assess your association’s AI readiness at the top of the funnel. More info/register.

Host: Causeis

Tue 9/15 at 1 p.m. – Effective Facilitation for Association Professionals

In the association environment, facilitation shows up in committees, strategic planning, chapter relations, discussions, staff meetings, webinars, and hybrid engagements. Yet many association professionals are never exposed to formal training or recognize the power of effective facilitation, particularly in member-driven environments where consensus, engagement, and focus are critical. Explore the art and science of facilitation, learn how to overcome friction points and obstacles, how to encourage real debate, and take-home critical tools that will move you from running meetings and facilitating results. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers: Brian Riggs, CEO, Lead Facilitator, and Brian Summers, CAE, VP Operations, Dialogue Shop

Tue 9/15 at 2 p.m. – What Not To Do When Working With an Agency

Event management agencies can be a valuable resource for lean teams, bring advanced strategies and resources and manage everything from marketing and logistics to production and reporting. But too many planners leave valuable contributions on the table because they don’t know what to ask. Learn when an agency is a good fit for a project and when it isn’t, what questions to ask to determine if an agency would work, and how to manage accountable roles and responsibilities. More info/register.

Host: Smart Meetings

Speakers:

David Caldwell, corporate sales, Maritz
Rudy Garza, president and CEO, Brightspot Incentives & Events
Nikole Fridenmaker, founder, Build Better Meetings and Business Events Academy

Wed 9/16 at 11 a.m. – A Tamagotchi Guide to Exhibitor Success

Most people remember the Tamagotchi, a tiny digital pet that needed steady attention, or it quietly wasted away. It ran on a simple principle: neglect compounds quietly. Ensuring your exhibitors’ success follow the same curve. Learn what that ongoing care looks like in practice and how to build it into how you work. More info/register.

Host: Swapcard

Speakers:

Sean Soth, Founder & Leadership Advisory Board Chair, PAR
Elizabeth Peters, Exhibit & Sponsorship Manager
Alex Martin, Customer Support Manager, Swapcard

Wed 9/16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT – Rethinking Your Association’s Growth Potential: The Next Steps (Rosemont, IL)

Session one surfaced the growth obstacles holding associations back. Now it’s time to tackle them. Over two hours, a panel of industry leaders will move the conversation forward: from understanding what’s holding associations back to the actionable steps and plans that actually drive growth. Come ready to work through what this means for your 2027 priorities. Location: Rosemont, IL. More info/register.

Hosts: Association Laboratory

Speakers:

Michael Moran, Executive, Business Development, American Society of Anesthesiologists
Ronny Kay, Senior Exhibits Manager, American Society of Nephrology
Rachel Bowers, CPA, MBA
Donna Malert, CAE, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Governance Officer, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Dean West, FASAE (moderator), President, Association Laboratory

Wed 9/16 at 12 p.m. – Scrappy to Scalable: Building the Tech Infrastructure Behind a New Event

Learn how to identify the technology you need and get a look at the specific tools that helped MOAA solve event, marketing, and project-management challenges; build workflows that connect people, processes, and platforms while keeping cross-functional teams moving together; and identify technology gaps, demonstrate organizational value, and build internal buy-in for the tools your team needs to succeed. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers: Leslie Janaros, Vice President, TotalForce+; Sarah Ferris, Vice President and Chief Information Officer; Elizabeth Limarzi, CAE, Senior Director of Marketing Strategy; Rachel Barth, CAE, Director, Creative & Visual Communications; and Kristen Stotz, Senior Director, TotalForce+ Operations, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)

Wed 9/16 at 1 p.m. – Why Now Is the Time to Change Your Pricing Strategy (and How to Do It)

Learn the five steps to creating a Pricing and Value Governance Model that your association can use to streamline who makes pricing decisions, what your processes are, and how often you will review your pricing and value by product. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Raffa Advisers

Speakers: Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, CPP, CAE, and Michelle Brien, Pricing for Associations

Wed 9/16 at 1 p.m. – From Fear to Flow: Navigating AI in Associations

AI is already changing how associations work, what employees expect, and how members engage. Get a practical roadmap for navigating what comes next: building workforce AI fluency, deciding what should remain human, be augmented or automated, reimagining member experiences, and establishing guardrails for responsible AI and agentic systems. Leave with practical frameworks to move their organizations from AI uncertainty to confident, purposeful action. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Susan Caesar, Director of Artificial Intelligence, International Coaching Federation

Wed 9/16 at 1 p.m. – Music Licensing for Meetings & Events: Are You Playing Their Song?

Not every musical performance requires a license fee, like playing music in your car or streaming songs in the privacy of your home. Yet, using that same source for music in a meeting setting will likely require a license fee from the Performing Rights Organizations. Learn why businesses and organizations need to be licensed to play music, and what happens if music is used without permission; how licenses work, and why a venue’s music license doesn’t necessarily mean your event is covered or protected; how to get licensed and what your license covers, as well as how much music licensing costs and where that money goes; and alternatives to music licensing and other ways to incorporate music into your events. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: Michael Owen, Managing Partner, EventGenuity®

Wed 9/16 at 1 p.m. – ASAE NextGen Social

Join fellow ASAE NextGen members for a virtual community gathering designed to bring emerging association professionals together for conversation, connection, and collaboration. NextGen Social is a welcoming space to meet peers, share ideas, discuss today’s challenges and opportunities, and strengthen your connection to the broader NextGen community. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Wed 9/16 at 2 p.m. – From Awareness to Purchase: Building a Content Strategy for the AI Search Customer

AI answer engines are changing how your customers research, evaluate, and discover brands. But most content teams are still building for a world where Google was the only destination that mattered. Learn why intent is the main driver that predicts how consistent AI search will be when it recommends brands; how different AI intent types—education, recommendations, pricing, comparison, and purchase—require different content formats and approaches; how to create content that ensures AI search visibility across all stages of the customer journey; and what content types to prioritize and what to include within that content to align with the primary search intent. More info/register.

Host: Content Marketing Institute

Speakers: Shannon Vize, Content Marketing Director, and Conor Baker, Content Marketing Manager, Conductor

Wed 9/16 at 3 p.m. – Building Legislative Relationships That Last

Learn how to become a trusted, credible resource on the Hill. Hear how to open doors, stay useful between asks, and navigate the difficult conversations that test a relationship. More info/register.

Host: VoterVoice

Speaker: Sathya Mandjiny, Senior Director at Penta and former Political Director for U.S. Senator Ed Markey

Wed 9/16 from 4 to 6 p.m. – Achurch Consulting and D2L Happy Hour (Washington DC)

More info/register.

Hosts: Achurch Consulting and D2L

Thu 9/17 at 11 a.m. – The New Vendor Shortlist: What Buyers See Before They Ever Talk to You

By the time a prospect in a mission-driven sector fills out a contact form or requests a demo, the majority of their purchasing evaluation is already complete. B2B buyers are turning to AI engines to evaluate market offerings, compare competitor capabilities, and generate vendor shortlists. Learn how generative AI crawlers process, evaluate, and cite your digital footprint to construct vendor recommendations; how to structure on-site and off-site brand-entity signals so LLMs can accurately represent your product capabilities to your target sector; how to set up your webpages to match what your buyers are looking for, reducing friction in your conversions; and other AI visibility best practices you can immediately apply. More info/register.

Host: Nexus Marketing

Speaker: Jenny Russ, Client Solutions Manager at Nexus Marketing

Thu 9/17 at 12 p.m. – Adapting to AI Search: Practical AEO/GEO Strategies for Digital Growth

Organizations are seeing competitors appear in ChatGPT recommendations, leadership wants answers about AI performance, and marketing teams are being asked to increase visibility across LLMs, AI Overviews, and traditional search. Learn why some brands appear in AI-generated answers while others don’t, how AI search is influencing organic visibility and traffic, where competitors may be gaining an advantage you can’t see, how to improve discoverability across search and AI platforms, and how to position your brand for the next generation of search. More info/register.

Host: Americaneagle.com

Speakers: Harley Helmer and Matt Kirtley, SEO Team Leads, Americaneagle.com

Thu 9/17 at 1 p.m. – What Is Executive Presence, Really? Turning Cultura Into Your Leadership Brand

Learn how to become the person leaders turn to when the stakes are highest, the trusted advisor, instead of the reliable technical contributor everyone leans on but overlooks. Hear how to build the kind of executive presence that makes senior leaders, boards, and partners seek out your judgment, without pretending to be someone you’re not. More info/register.

Host: Association Latinos

Speakers:

Erick Prospero Torres (moderator), Chief Ninja, Ninja Tropic
Aquiles Damiron-Alcantara, Founder and Principal Consultant, Unlearning Solutions, LLC

Thu 9/17 at 1:30 p.m. – Making Your Association Essential: How AI Changes Things

Learn how AI is reshaping what it means for an association to be truly essential to members, sponsors, partners, and the broader profession—beyond the hype to strategic questions leaders must answer now. Explore critical “can-opener” questions—why must your organization exist, and for whom?—while sharing practical examples of when AI can amplify your mission and when it can unintentionally introduce new risk or competition. Get a clearer lens for balancing vision and execution, and for positioning their organizations not just to survive, but to lead in an AI-enabled future.

1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Insight Guide

Speakers:

Christine Saunders, President and Founder of Halmyre
Kim FitzSimmons, Chief Marketing Officer of the American Association of Endodontists
Barbara Armentrout, CAE (moderator), Founder, BJA Solutions for Associations
Teri Carden (hostess), COO, Insight Guide

Thu 9/17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. – Grow Different: Making Growth AI Your New Advantage (Washington DC)

Growth AI is a no-hype approach to using AI as an organizational sales and marketing growth engine, built on the framework Erica uses with executive clients to turn cutting-edge tech into visible results. Learn about a concrete starting point for applying Growth AI to whatever you’re responsible for growing: sales, marketing, and your organization’s potential. Location: Washington DC. More info/register.

Host: Erica Salm Rench, former COO, rasa.io

Thu 9/17 at 2 p.m. – Year-End Association Health Check: Strengthening Governance, Operations, and Member Value for 2027 Planning

Get a practical Year-End Association Health Check covering four areas: organizational foundations, governance and succession readiness, member value clarity, and systems and data readiness. Learn about potential risks across people, processes, data, and technology; assess whether board and staff decision rights are clearly understood; and work through a practical method for developing or refreshing an association value proposition. Hear about a foundational approach to automation and AI readiness, including data quality, system access, appropriate use cases, and areas requiring additional caution. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers: Kristy Cohen, Senior Vice President, Client Services, and Monica Evans-Lombe, CAE, Senior Vice President, Client Services Association Headquarters

Thu 9/17 at 3 p.m. – The Member Acquisition Toolkit: 3 Tactics That Work Now

Associations seeing consistent growth have built repeatable systems. Learn how to build landing pages that convert, lead magnets that attract your ideal member profile, email sequences that nurture without being pushy, and referral mechanisms that reward your existing members for spreading the word. Get a prioritized implementation checklist, real templates you can adapt to your association, and a clear picture of which tools will have the biggest impact based on where you are today. More info/register.

Host: Member Lounge

Speaker: Amanda Doimo, marketing specialist, Member Lounge

Thu 9/17 at 4 p.m. – Learning Programs That Work: Research Insights on Mission, Strategy, and Revenue

Many associations learning programs are running on momentum. They built something that worked, and they keep going, even as the environment around them shifts. Is your learning portfolio doing its job? Drawing on two Tagoras research initiatives—interviews with 27 association CEOs and a survey of 107 associations, hear what the data shows about where associations are focused, where they’re struggling, and what distinguishes the organizations that are getting it right. Get practical frameworks and real benchmarks you can apply to your own situation. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Reston Loudoun Swap

Speakers: Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders, Tagoras/Leading Learning

Fri 9/18 at 12 p.m. – AI Is the New Infrastructure: What the Hugging Face/OpenAI Incident Can Teach Associations About the Future

AI is not simply another application; it’s a new layer of technology infrastructure that needs to be intentionally engineered. Explore what happens when AI is given an objective, encounters an obstacle, and begins finding its own path to accomplish the goal Hear what association leaders and IT teams need to start thinking about now. What happens when AI can act, rather than just advise? How do existing user permissions change when AI can operate at machine speed? What happens when multiple AI agents can communicate and delegate work to one another? How do we teach AI not only how to succeed, but when to stop and ask for help? And what does IT need to start engineering and governing before read-only AI becomes autonomous AI? More info/register.

Host: Brian Scott, President / CTO / CISO, ClearTone Consulting

Fri 9/18 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

This monthly networking meeting is organized by consultants for full-time consultants who work with non-profits and associations. You don’t have to be an ASAE member to attend. This month’s agenda includes sharing good news and taking questions from the group. More info/register.

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Tue 9/22 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Take a pause from busyness and learn simple mindfulness practices to ease stress and reduce the feelings of burnout. These monthly sessions, designed to help you create space in your day, include: 5 minutes to arrive and settle in, 10 minutes of guided meditation practice, and 5 minutes for questions and reflection. Every month, we explore a new area of meditation and introduce a practical skill you can carry with you. Open to everyone, no prior meditation experience required. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 9/22 at 11:30 a.m. – Beyond Dues: Practitioner Insights on Building Non-Dues Revenue

Hear from practitioners who have built and scaled non-dues programs across industries. Explore positioning non-dues revenue as a mainstream business model and strategies for diversifying revenue streams. Learn how to structure programs to navigate compliance risks like unrelated business income tax. Leave with frameworks you can apply immediately, a clearer view of the compliance guardrails, and connections with peers solving the same problems. More info/register.

Host: iMIS by ASI

Speakers:

Laura Williamson (moderator), Chief Business Officer, Real Estate Business Services
Cheryl Post, Director, Eisner Advisory Group
Staff from ABC National, Tree Care Industry Association, and Upstate Alliance of REALTORS®

Tue 9/22 at 1 p.m. – Ethical Facilitation: From Principle to Practice

Every stage of facilitation, from stakeholder alignment to closing reflection, carries ethical responsibilities. Explore real-world dilemmas and apply a self-assessment framework to evaluate your own practice across eight domains. Learn about strategies to remain neutral, build inclusive environments, balance competing perspectives, and safeguard trust. By connecting facilitation ethics to professional competencies, you will leave with a practical roadmap for upholding integrity and modeling ethical leadership in association and nonprofit contexts. 1 CAE ethics credit. More info/register.

Host: Event Garde

Speakers:

Aaron Wolowiec, Founder & President, Event Garde
Lowell Aplebaum, CEO, Vista Cova

Tue 9/22 at 1 p.m. – Building a Culture of Inclusion Through Budgets, Financial Reporting and Communication

Learn how to better connect project managers and staff with budget planning and budget building processes including adding an annual budget process assessment, engaging staff with rolling projections and looking forward, budgeting for revenue and support, special tactics for budgeting for salaries, and how decentralizing the budget building process and documenting budget assumptions is key to success. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Paul Preziotti, CPA, Partner, Johnson Lambert LLP
A. Michael Gellman, CPA, CGMA, Co-Founder at Sustainability Education 4 Nonprofits

Tue 9/22 at 3 p.m. – Q3 ASAE Consultant Community Call

This free, members-only Zoom gathering is your hour to network, exchange ideas, and build relationships with peers who get what it’s like to run a consulting business. Don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and recharge with your consulting community. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Wed 9/23 at 12 p.m. – AI Critical Thinking for the 2030s

Let’s consider whether we are so caught up in labeling what’s happening with AI today, that we are not engaging in critical thinking about AI’s real-world implications for the 2030s and beyond. Hear about the serious questions that AI raises for our organizations, the country, and humanity, and how to embrace our responsibility for holistic dialogue about the range of consequences of AI adoption. More info/register.

Host: Association Xchange

Speaker: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor, Foresight First

Wed 9/23 at 12 p.m. – Levers for Growth: Practical Psychology for Mentors and Leaders

Explore how practical psychology can lead to better conversations, stronger mentoring outcomes, and growth that lasts. Drawing on research spanning more than 100 self-help books and 23 evidence-based therapies, hear about practical techniques that mentors, leaders, and professionals can use to improve communication, navigate challenges, strengthen relationships, and support meaningful personal and professional development. More info/register.

Host: Pollinate Networks

Speakers:

Dr. Spencer Greenberg PhD, founder of ClearerThinking.org, and co-author of The 12 Levers: The Complete Psychological Toolkit for Improving Your Life
Christy Pettit (moderator), CEO, Pollinate Networks Inc.

Thu 9/24 at 12 p.m. – Prompting Like a Pro: A Hands-On Guide to Getting Better Results from AI

Writing effective AI prompts is a skill, and like any skill, it gets better with practice. In this interactive session, you’ll learn by doing, experimenting with prompts, comparing results, and discussing what works with others. Develop a practical framework for thinking about prompting that you can apply across different tools and tasks. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speaker: Dr. Catherine A. “Cathy” Lada, D.Sc., CAE, AAiP, senior nonprofit brand and communications executive, Lada Consulting

Thu 9/24 at 3 p.m. – Agentic Advocacy: Building an AI-Powered Community

Learn how to improve the member experience by routing unanswered questions to the right experts, creating onboarding experiences that community teams can easily update, and engaging members through structured ambassador missions. Explore how thoughtful automation can reduce manual work, help members find value faster, and create clearer paths from participation to advocacy. Get tangible ideas you can adapt to make your own community more responsive, scalable, and connected. More info/register.

Host: Higher Logic

Speakers:

Mary Green, Director of Community Platforms, Infor and Founder, CMA Weekly
Marius Ciortea, Chief Community Officer, Higher Logic

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little more interesting, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

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Association Brain Food: 9.4.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

hummingbird hovering over an orange flower

Good reads for the association community

“When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves.” —Anthony J. D’Angelo

Turning courses into career paths. Association learning catalogs usually sort courses by topic, format, credit status, or credentialing program. But members want to know which program will get them the job they want. TopClass LMS explains how to build a skills-based catalog that maps existing courses to the competencies a role requires and gives learners something to show an employer when they ask for financial support.

Membership value AI can’t replicate. Kim Robinson (FrontlineCo) says associations built their value on being where members went for information. AI answers most of those questions now. She points to what technology can’t replicate: relationships and a sense of belonging, which matter more as our professional lives continue to move online and time for real connection gets scarce.

Before you buy awards software. If your awards program still runs on spreadsheets, this OpenWater guide adds up what the manual work costs you and describes what an upgrade should include. It lists the topics to address before signing with a vendor, including integration, real-time support, user experience, scalability, and how much to trust the testimonials they put in front of you.

The upside of being wrong. Cate Hall (Useful Fictions) argues that admitting a mistake brings relief once you do it, even though most people avoid being seen as wrong at all costs. She writes about her own years of needing to seem right about everything, and what happened when she loosened that grip. Research she cites shows that people who own their mistakes come across as more likable and competent.

Membership growth and marketing. Jana Darling (Marketing General Incorporated) came home from ASAE Annual with plenty on her mind. Fewer associations grew their membership this year, and value propositions don’t persuade the way they used to. Her advice: make member acquisition a priority with a budget behind it, market the full range of what membership delivers while leading with what each member cares about, and bring marketing into strategy conversations before anyone builds a campaign.

Non-dues revenue playbook. Your website, newsletter, and member directory can earn more than they do now. GrowthZone’s non-dues revenue guide describes how associations are making money from those channels with directory upgrades, sponsored podcast slots, tiered sponsorship packages, and more. The guide comes with eight tactics, sample pricing, and a 90-day starter plan that won’t overload a small team.

The third places we lost. Alicia M. Walker, writing in Psychology Today, traces our loneliness problem back to the loss of “third places”: the bars, clubhouses, churches, and hobby groups where people used to run into the same faces often enough to become friends. People who gather in person around a shared interest, again and again, build stronger networks and find real emotional and practical support. Can association membership fill some of that gap?

Bar stools and belonging. Dwight Furrow (Food & Wine Aesthetics) makes the case for the neighborhood bar as a necessary social activity. Public health officials go on about the harms of drinking while ignoring the social and psychological benefits of a regular seat at the bar. This is why I love talking with familiar faces at our local brewery, and why associations and chapters should host more social events.

Snacks

ASAE’s Key Consultants Committee Community Task Force compiled a reference guide with annual meeting dates and Call for Proposals deadlines for state, regional, and national societies of association executives.

How the ballroom lost its ball. | David Adler, Gathering Point News

How to bypass a paywall to read an article for free. | Joel Cunningham, Lifehacker

If you need CAE credits, check out Ed Rigsbee’s 42 workshops—nine of them are one-hour ethics workshops. Each one requires passing a test to earn a CAE credit.

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing efforts, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

I love spicy food on hot nights. This pressure cooker Jamaican jerk chicken hit the spot, though it wasn’t crazy hot. I added freshly squeezed orange juice and cut back on the lime juice and soy sauce. I skipped browning the chicken, figuring the skin would go soft anyway in the sauce. I served it over brown rice. On the side, a zucchini and yellow squash sauté with onion, poblano, red bell, and habanero peppers, broccoli stem, corn, tomatoes, and fresh basil.

It’s been a while since we enjoyed my Southwest skillet, so I started chopping. This time I used ground turkey and chorizo with onion, red bell, jalapeño, poblano, and habanero peppers, garlic, sweet potato, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, chile powder, chipotle en adobo, chicken broth, black beans, corn, spinach, cilantro, and cheddar cheese. One of our favorites!

Tue 9/8 at 12 p.m.* – Tech Tuesday: Time to Eat Your Broccoli: Tech Policies Every Association Should Have

Policies may not be the most exciting item on your to-do list, but they have a huge impact on security, operations, and user expectations. Hear about the technology policies associations can’t afford to ignore, where policy ownership belongs, and how organizations are adapting policies for emerging technologies like AI. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Facilitators:

Reggie Henry, former Chief Information and Performance Excellence Officer, ASAE
Dave Coriale, President, DelCor Technology Solutions

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Wed 9/9 at 12 p.m. – Non-Dues Revenue Is Not a Side Hustle: Building a Sustainable Revenue Strategy

Learn why non-dues revenue stalls when it’s treated as a side project; how to evaluate opportunities against member value, not just revenue potential; what distinguishes sustainable non-dues models from one-time wins; and practical first moves you can bring back to your organization. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Chris Vaughn, Chief Strategy Officer at Sequence Consulting

Wed 9/9 at 12 p.m. – ’26 State of MX: The Trust Advantage

AI is reshaping what members expect from their associations, but it’s also clarifying where associations create value AI can’t replace. Get a walkthrough of Forj’s 2026 State of Member Experience report, where we’ll unpack what over 1,000 association members told us about trust, technology, and engagement in the AI era—and what it means for your strategy going into 2027. More info/register.

Host: Forj

Speakers: Kurt Heikkinen, CEO, and Andy Hicken, VP of Technology Solutions, Forj

Wed 9/9 from 1 to 4 p.m. – Education and Credentialing Trends (Washington, DC)

As workforce needs change and traditional educational pathways shift, professions must explore new ways to prepare and credential future practitioners. Hear about the relationship between educators and industry, micro-credentials, and alternative pathways to career entry in response to declining college enrollment and changing employer expectations. Learn about emerging trends shaping the future of education, certification, and professional development. Location: Washington, DC. More info/register.

Host: Certification Network Group

Speakers:

Dr. Debbie Crimmins, SVP, Global Client Advocacy & Marketing, Prometric
Dr. Jeff Strohl, Director, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
Bill West, Partner & Chief Strategy Officer, KaWest Partners
Michael Coley, President, ASE Education Foundation
Sandy Hogg (moderator), Director or Business Development, ITS

Thu 9/10 at 12 p.m. – AI-Powered Event Strategist

Get a high-level perspective of how Julius Solaris uses AI to create strategy for his clients, some of the largest tech, media, and events companies. Hear how he changed his approach to: data analysis, event strategy, event design, engagement, marketing, acquisition, and sponsorships. Find out what tools he uses daily. More info/register.

Hosts: Boldpush and FIRST

Speakers:

Julius Solaris, founder, Boldpush
Bob Bress, head of data and AI, FIRST

Thu 9/10 at 12 p.m. – ASAE Key Consultant Committee (KCC) Update

Get an update on the KCC’s work and the key emerging themes from the recent consultant community survey. Hear what your fellow consultants shared and learn how their feedback is helping shape the KCC’s priorities and work moving forward. More info/register.

Host: ASAE Key Consultant Committee (KCC)

Speaker: KCC Chair Dean West, Founder, Association Laboratory

Thu 9/10 at 1 p.m. – How to Grow Your Credentialing Business: Protect, Expand, Diversify

Learn about three core strategic actions that position your credentialing business for growth—protecting your base, expanding your base, and diversifying your offerings. Get practical tools and perspectives to help your learning business grow, whether credentials are a cornerstone of your portfolio or something you’re considering adding to your education mix. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Leading Learning/Tagoras

Speakers:

Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders of Tagoras and Leading Learning
Evan Burton, head of growth at BenchPrep

Thu 9/10 at 1 p.m. – How to Build a Custom AI Agent

Learn best practices to build a custom AI bot that is secure, effective, and useful. Hear about common missteps to avoid and strategic guidance on your approach to change management. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Heinan Landa, Founder & CEO, and Chris Abel, Manager of Consulting Services, Optimal Networks

Thu 9/10 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. – Fall Association Professionals Social (Alexandria VA)

At this social event exclusively for association professionals at the Providence, Tall Ship dock, converse with other industry leaders, and learn a little history about the ship while making new contacts in-person and connecting with old friends. Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.

Hosts: DMV Association Connect, Reston Loudoun Swap & AIOT

Sponsors: M & T Bank and D2L

Tue 9/15 at 12 p.m. – Beyond Technology: The Human Side of Association Transformation

Host: .orgCommunity

Speakers: Bill Sheehan and Erin Robson from D2L

Wed 9/16 at 12 p.m. – Scrappy to Scalable: Building the Tech Infrastructure Behind a New Event

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Wed 9/16 at 1 p.m. – Why Now Is the Time to Change Your Pricing Strategy (and How to Do It)

Host: Raffa Advisers

Speakers: Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, CPP, CAE, and Michelle Brien, Pricing for Associations

Thu 9/17 at 1 p.m. – What Is Executive Presence, Really? Turning Cultura Into Your Leadership Brand

Host: Association Latinos

Speakers:

Erick Prospero Torres (moderator), Chief Ninja, Ninja Tropic
Aquiles Damiron-Alcantara, Founder and Principal Consultant, Unlearning Solutions, LLC

Thu 9/17 at 1:30 p.m. – Making Your Association Essential: How AI Changes Things

Host: Insight Guide

Speakers:

Christine Saunders, President and Founder of Halmyre
Kim FitzSimmons, Chief Marketing Officer of the American Association of Endodontists
Barbara Armentrout, CAE (moderator), Founder, BJA Solutions for Associations
Teri Carden (hostess), COO, Insight Guide

Thu 9/17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. – Grow Different: Making Growth AI Your New Advantage (Washington DC)

Host: Erica Salm Rench, former COO, rasa.io

Thu 9/17 at 4 p.m. – Learning Programs That Work: Research Insights on Mission, Strategy, and Revenue

Host: ASAE Reston Loudoun Swap

Speakers: Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders, Tagoras/Leading Learning

Fri 9/18 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little more interesting, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Dulcey Lima via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 8.28.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

windy day at the beach with dune grass and wooden fence in the foreground

Good reads for the association community

“Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.” –David Bowie

Members drift before they leave. Renewal emails go out, but members made the decision to stay (or not) months earlier. TopClass LMS says an online education program keeps your association useful to members between renewal cycles. They describe how course activity signals who’s slipping away and which educational perks give members a reason to renew.

Website accessibility starts before you publish. Mark Wallach (Engagement Mobile Strategies) explains new Section508.gov guidance that treats accessibility as a publishing process with named owners and review steps. He lists questions to take back to your team, such as who identifies new issues, who decides what gets fixed first, who verifies a fix, and what keeps the same problem from coming back.

Making the case for a membership app. Clowder’s guide helps you make the case for a membership app. It breaks down the difference between event apps, mobile websites, web apps, and native platforms, with the pitfalls of each. You also get an evaluation checklist, cost comparison, feature list, and stories from associations whose members already use an app year-round.

Educational pathways. Ellen Maiara advises designing handoffs between your educational programs so conferences feed certification prep and continuing ed programs feed leadership development. She says professional growth stalls because certification lives with one team, conferences with another, and nobody owns the full educational journey.

Proving it’s AI (or not). Tori Miller Liu at AIIM explains what AI watermarks and provenance marks like C2PA do and where new regulations require them. That matters if your association worries about AI-generated content. Katharine English put Pangram, the AI detector now built into Substack, to the test on her own writing, with unsettling results. Even with these tools, spotting AI-generated writing is still hard.

Before you send a software RFP. ASI’s guide suggests pairing an RFP with a system preview so you can test a vendor’s software with your own data and processes before you commit. It also describes how an engagement management system differs from CRM software built for sales teams and how to assemble a tech stack around your core platform. You’ll find questions to ask your team before shopping, plus the attributes to look for in a system.

Rethinking mentoring opportunities. In Harvard Business Review, Marlo Lyons says AI is taking over the routine tasks that junior employees once cut their teeth on. Without it, they miss the work experience that builds judgment. She wants senior leaders to make their thinking visible in everyday work, like explaining decisions out loud. Done well, the habit grows leaders faster. Associations should offer informal mentoring that does the same.

When AI ignores your site. Sherry Budziak (.orgSource) says membership growth stalls when prospects can’t find you. Professionals increasingly ask AI their career questions instead of searching the web. Content behind a form or written only for members never turns up in those answers, so prospects don’t visit your site or learn your association exists. She suggests watching whether AI names your association in those results, then publishing plain answers in formats machines can read.

The same person, everywhere. Thiru Thangarathinam (KeenStack), writing for Entrepreneur, makes a personal case for carrying the same values into every room you enter, whether at work or home. People notice your values most in unscripted moments, like how you handle a board discussion or pushback from your teenager. He warns that presenting more than one version of yourself wears you down and affects how people see you.

Snacks

Warning: Compromised hotel Wi-Fi routers send users to phishing sites. | KnowBe4

Three questions your registration form doesn’t need. | David Beckett, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting

Entrepreneurship is booming in the U.S., and Gen Zers are leading the way. | Mary Cunningham, CBS News

This tool maps your road trip route and marks the roadside oddities, hidden curiosities, and worthwhile detours you would never have found otherwise. | Make My Drive Fun

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing efforts, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

Use any hot pepper in this simple sauce for pan-fried salmon. I went with habanero since we have so many ready to pick, though the jalapeños and cayennes are coming in too. I made the sauce with butter, minced garlic, minced habanero, honey, and lime juice. The fat must tame the heat, because the sauce wasn’t as hot as we expected. Or did all the rain make some of the older peppers less hot to begin with? I’ll keep adding more peppers until I find out.

For our sides, I made mashed sweet potatoes made with maple syrup, sour cream, milk, butter, cinnamon, and sweet smoked paprika, plus steamed asparagus, which was so good under a big spoonful of that habanero butter.

Friday night, we had fried flounder with cheesy grits and the leftover mashed sweet potatoes. For our veg, I made the usual roasted broccoli with red onion, sweet smoked paprika, and garlic powder.

For my birthday meal on Tuesday night, we stayed in for “beach pasta.” This time, my sort-of recipe included bacon, butter and olive oil, onion, cayenne and habanero peppers (still not hot enough!), garlic, tomatoes, corn, white wine, shrimp, lemon juice, and fresh basil and chives. Pasta water loosened the sauce, and parmesan went over the top.

Fri 8/28 at 12 p.m.* – The Volunteer Advantage: Secrets to Recruiting and Engaging Difference-Makers

Do you see a gap between what your volunteers bring to the table and what your organization draws out of them? And do you need clarity on whether they’re getting what they need in return? Hear real case studies on volunteer recruitment and engagement, and how to build a culture where they are engaged, contributing, and satisfied. More info/register.

Host: Zzeem Consulting

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 8/31 at 8 a.m. – Stewardship That Strengthens: Rethinking the Board’s Role in Talent and Stability (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Allison Wyatt, Founder & CEO of Edgility Talent Partners

Tue 9/1 at 1:30 p.m. – Why and What: LMS Data in Your AMS

Hear a candid, vendor-neutral conversation about what actually belongs in each system. Learn about the real line between an LMS and an AMS, and the credentialing misconception that costs associations a platform they never needed; why the 360-degree member view is the whole point, and the reports you cannot run until both halves of the member live in one place; where e-commerce should live and the middle path most people don’t know exists; the write-back “101” most associations already do, and the next-level data almost nobody sends; what your AMS needs to send back down; and why neither of us can yet name an association doing personalization well. More info/register.

Hosts: Sam Hirsch of 360Factor (OasisLMS) and Pat Newell of Wicket

Tue 9/1 at 2 p.m. – ASAE: Follow Up Strategies After Indy

Is your head buzzing with ideas about what to do next? Join a brief, 30-minute conversation about follow-up strategies. Meeting people is obviously important. Staying in touch is where you build the relationship. Learn how to save time, stress, and money. More info/register.

Host: Diane Darling, speaker at ASAE Annual on Effective Networking Strategies for Associations

Wed 9/2 at 11 a.m. – Putting Momentum Back in Your Membership Flywheel: Workflow Activation for Associations

Learn where the membership flywheel loses energy across the member journey and why the cause usually runs through how the pieces connect, so improving a single tactic rarely holds. Find out how to pick one workflow to activate first, whether onboarding, renewal, or event follow-up, and how a clearly defined workflow sets up the right, governed use of AI and automation on the AMS, CRM, and content systems you already own. Get a right-sized path you can start now and a simple checklist to run the first pass on your own. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Jim Thompson, CAE, IOM, Founder at Tying It Together Consulting
Walt Rolle, Founder & Principal Solutions Architect at Light 516

Wed 9/2 at 12 p.m. – Easy Ways to Multiply Your Sponsors’ & Exhibitors’ Success at Events

Many events unintentionally isolate sponsors and exhibitors from the very community they hope to reach. Discover practical techniques to create more conversations, stronger relationships, and greater value through better networking, room design, receptions, participation activities, strategic breaks, and other easy-to-implement engagement strategies. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Lee Gimpel, founder of Better Meetings

Wed 9/2 at 12 p.m. – Where Mission and Margin Meet: Insights on Learning Strategy for Association Leaders

Learn how to use the Mission-Margin Matrix to map your learning portfolio and identify what to protect, strengthen, and let go. See how your priorities compare against other associations on their strategic goals, biggest constraints, and areas of investment. Hear what 27 association CEOs said about what’s working with their learning programs and the forces putting pressure on old models. Get clear on why AI is an accelerant, not a strategy, and what that means given where most associations are with AI adoption. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speakers: Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders of Tagoras and co-hosts of the Leading Learning Podcast

Wed 9/2 at 1 p.m. – Align, Assess, Govern, Launch: Creating a Value-Driven AI Strategy

AI adoption is accelerating, but many organizations lack a clear strategy for turning experimentation into meaningful outcomes. Learn how to align AI initiatives with organizational goals, establish effective governance, and launch high-impact use cases. Get a practical framework, governance guidance, and a 90-day roadmap for responsible AI adoption. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Dan Hickey, Sr. Strategic Consultant, DelCor Technology Solutions
Ginger Ausloos, VP, Information Technology at AACSB International

Wed 9/2 at 2 p.m. – Collaborating With AI to Solve Event Challenges

Learn how to turn AI from a generic advice machine into a collaborative thinking partner for the hardest parts of the job. Working with a real planner scenario, we’ll build a custom GPT to solve a planner challenge and use voice AI to work through a crisis in real time. Hear why your experience and judgment are what can make AI genuinely useful; a repeatable way to think through your challenges with AI; and how to build your own GPT to tackle those challenges, with a short tutorial download you can refer to later. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Noah Cheyer, AI Thought Leader and Founder, Silicon Valley Speakers

Thu 9/3 at 1 p.m. – How to Become a Possibility Thinker

Learn about the concept of Possibility Thinking, a practical approach to expanding your options, reframing challenges, and making more intentional decisions. Get tools to generate new options, shift your perspective in high-stakes moments, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speaker: Irina Cozma, Ph.D., Irina Cozma Consulting

Thu 9/3 at 3 p.m. – Using Claude Cowork to Automate Member Operations

Learn how associations are using Claude Cowork to take repetitive member operations off their team’s plate, from drafting renewal sequences to organizing member data across systems. See how the AI handles multi-step tasks that used to eat up a whole afternoon, and how your team stays in control while it works. Get a clear picture of where to start: which tasks to automate first, how to set up your first workflow, and how to know it’s working. More info/register.

Host: Farhad Khan, CEO Member Lounge

Wed 9/9 from 1 to 4 p.m. – Education and Credentialing Trends (Washington, DC)

Host: Certification Network Group

Speakers:

Dr. Debbie Crimmins, SVP, Global Client Advocacy & Marketing, Prometric
Dr. Jeff Strohl, Director, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
Bill West, Partner & Chief Strategy Officer, KaWest Partners
Michael Coley, President, ASE Education Foundation
Sandy Hogg (moderator), Director or Business Development, ITS

Thu 9/10 at 1 p.m. – How to Grow Your Credentialing Business: Protect, Expand, Diversify

Host: Leading Learning/Tagoras

Speakers:

Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders of Tagoras and Leading Learning
Evan Burton, head of growth at BenchPrep

Thu 9/10 at 1 p.m. – How to Build a Custom AI Agent

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Heinan Landa, Founder & CEO, and Chris Abel, Manager of Consulting Services, Optimal Networks

Thu 9/10 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. – Fall Association Professionals Social (Alexandria VA)

Hosts: DMV Association Connect, Reston Loudoun Swap & AIOT

Sponsors: M & T Bank and D2L

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little more interesting, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Kaya Arro via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 8.14.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

looking up at a panorama of green-leaved trees with the sky barely visible

I’m away most of next week so this edition covers the events I know about for the weeks of August 17 and August 24. The next Association Brain Food will hit your inboxes on Friday, August 28.

Good reads for the association community

Where session proposals go wrong. You get weak proposals because you never showed speakers what a strong one looks like. OpenWater explains where things go awry and describes how to fix your submission form, such as putting a word cap on descriptions and providing a sentence starter that steers speakers toward outcomes, not just topics. They use examples from ASAE and EDUCAUSE to show how to put these fixes into practice.

Make the budget case for online courses. Apti describes how to pitch online courses to a board that’s watching every dollar. They suggest explaining the value of education in terms a board understands. They also explain how to frame new courses as a way to diversify revenue beyond dues and conference income, and what data to have ready before walking into that meeting.

Siloed teams, missed revenue. One of the most downloaded resources I’ve shared recently, Intuto’s 2026 Non-Dues Revenue Playbook pulls from discussions at RevUP 2025 Summit and Future Forward webinars. They aim their advice at associations where sponsorship, events, and education teams operate separately, each with their own goals and metrics. The report covers moving from transactional sponsorships to multi-year pathway models, putting your LMS to work as a revenue source, running small-format events, and creating board alignment, and it includes a revenue readiness audit.

Sharpen your SEO skills. In the Association Academy’s Association Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Certificate Course, learn how to improve your association’s search rankings and bring more people to your site. This on-demand program offers five CAE credits and covers keyword research, content optimization, site authority, technical performance, and more. Save $50 by using the referral code BRAINFOOD.

Why conference ideas go nowhere. Sheri Jacobs (Avenue M Group) polled association execs and found that conference ideas rarely survive the trip home. The top culprits: no one defines a next step or takes ownership. Monday’s workload makes the problem worse. She suggests picking one priority during sessions, building accountability, and protecting time to debrief right after the event. Hey, ASAE speakers, consider using one of these ideas in your session.

Make your CE programs findable. Joshua Goldman (CredUp Hub), writing for International Accreditors for Continuing Education & Training, explains why continuing education and credentialing programs need to be readable by more than just website visitors. He describes how structured data, CTDL-aligned metadata, and digital credentials help hiring systems, funders, and credential registries confirm what a program delivers, and how to audit and update the way your programs show up online.

Board admin challenges. Association boards don’t operate alone. Behind each one sits a network of committees and other groups, each with its own calendar and charge. Their work is usually managed through email chains, shared drives, and PDF attachments. OnBoard describes the consequences of this approach: laborious meeting prep, unprepared directors, fragmented records, and disappearing institutional memory after leadership transitions. They describe the criteria to evaluate when looking for board management software.

The case for cohorts. Jackson Boyar (RallyBoard) describes why membership growth often comes with a side effect: people start to feel like a face in a crowd. He draws on research and association examples to make a case for cohorts, mentoring groups, and committees as structures that build member engagement. He closes with a short list of ways to put this idea into practice.

Membership as a relationship. Answers for Associations traces engagement struggles back to an emotional anchor: whether members feel like they belong to a community. Citing Harvard Business Review and McKinsey research, the post links stronger renewal to participating throughout the year via mentoring, contributing ideas, and showing up for conversations. Renewal isn’t the result of a single decision but of twelve months of member experience.

Snacks

Here’s your pre-flight reading: How I survive ASAE Annual as an introvert. | Ben Rome

If you’re looking for an association job, schedule a regular check of my “likes” on LinkedIn. I like most association jobs that come into my stream, and because of that habit, I’m seeing more and more job postings.

Why mentoring matters more in the AI era—here’s an opportunity for associations. | Marlo Lyons, Harvard Business Review

A scholar explains the surprising benefits of small talk with strangers and offers tips on how to do it better. Elizabeth Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal (gift link)

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing efforts, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

A one-pot meal that includes your vegetable: fish with coconut green curry sauce over brown rice. I made it with some kind of bass one of us caught in a nearby lake, along with collard greens, cubes of steamed sweet potato, and a garnish of chopped peanuts.

We’re in the middle of a huge habanero harvest, so chiles will be on the menu for the next few months. A couple of them went into this wonderful bacon jam that I served over pan-fried pork chops. Oink oink. I didn’t detect the wallop of heat I expected. It probably dissipated in the bacon fat. On the side, roasted Brussels sprouts with red onion, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

We enjoyed an old standby, blackened salmon made with smoked paprika, salt, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, ancho pepper, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. A great excuse to make cheesy (cheddar) grits for a side, plus roasted (nuked, really) sweet potatoes and leftover roasted broccoli—same prep as the Brussels sprouts above.

Sat 8/15 at 4 p.m.* – AWTC @ ASAE Annual Happy Hour (Indianapolis, IN)

Join the Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC) community for an evening of great conversations, new connections, and a well-earned drink. Whether you’re a longtime AWTC member, attending your first ASAE Annual Meeting, or simply looking to meet fellow association professionals passionate about technology, you’re invited. Come solo or bring your colleagues—we’ll make sure you leave with new connections. Location: Indianapolis, IN. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Sun 8/16 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. – Success Crew Happy Hour (Indianapolis, IN)

After a full-throttle day at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Expo, join us for the Success “Pit” Crew Victory Lane Happy Hour. Expect great drinks and appetizers, interactive experiences, plenty of laughs, and the chance to connect with some fantastic people from across the association community. Race-day flair is encouraged, and don’t forget your conference badge for entry. Location: Indianapolis, IN. More info/register.

Hosts: 31 generous association industry partners

Sun 8/16 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. – Noche Latina (Indianapolis, IN)

Join us during ASAE Annual for Association Latinos’ signature Noche Latina—an unforgettable evening where la cultura, la música, and community come together! Connect with association professionals from across the country while enjoying vibrant musica Latina, dancing, delicious food, and meaningful networking. Whether you’re ready to hit the dance floor or simply conectar y celebrar, there’s a place for you at the table. Location: Indianapolis, IN. More info/register.

Host: Association Latinos

Mon 8/24 at 8 a.m. – Radical Visibility and the Soul of the Nonprofit Sector (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Peter Murphy, President of the Miami County Community Foundation

Tue 8/18 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Virtual Co-Working Session

Virtual co-working is an online gathering where participants spend dedicated time working alongside one another. In the first five minutes, brief introductions: your name, organization, and the project, task, idea, or decision you hope to make progress on or complete during the session. This is not a webinar or presentation; it’s protected time to work alongside your AWTC champions. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Tue 8/18 at 1 p.m. – Enough with “Just”: Owning Your Role as a Volunteer Engagement Professional

“Just” ends here. This conversation challenges volunteer engagement professionals to stop minimizing their role and start owning it. Through the lens of professional self-advocacy, we’ll explore how to speak to your impact, claim your expertise, and lead with the authority your work deserves. More info/register.

Host: Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration

Speaker: Severina Ware, CVA, Director of Volunteer Services at National Breast Cancer Foundation

Wed 8/19 at 12 p.m. – Ask Better, Lead Better: Illuminating Financial Insights

Explore how better questions can become a practical communication tool for strengthening financial conversations, surfacing key insights, and building trust between finance and non-finance leaders. Learn how to ask more intentional financial questions, recognize what strong answers should include, and communicate financial insights in ways that lead to more informed decisions, stronger collaboration, and greater alignment between resources, strategy, and mission. More info/register.

Host: Your Part-Time Controller

Wed 8/19 at 1 p.m. – How Planners Can Use AI Effectively and What it Can and Can’t Do

Learn to use AI to streamline workflows, enhance creativity, and improve event outcomes. Hear how to integrate AI tools into your daily planning workflow, what AI can and can’t replace in human creativity and decision-making, how to use AI ethically and efficiently, and examples from planners already leveraging AI successfully. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Prevue Meetings

Speakers:

James D. Feldman, CSP, CITE, CPIM, CPT, PCS, keynote speaker, AI implementation strategist, and author of Shift Happens!
Nick Borelli, Director of Marketing, Zenus

Wed 8/19 at 2 p.m. – Evolving Rules of Site Selection: Where Planners Are Winning Today

Hear about some of the shifts happening in the market and the smart moves planners are making in response. From tapping into second‑ and third‑tier cities to rethinking timelines, expectations and negotiation tactics, learn what’s working right now, how alternative destinations are changing the sourcing landscape, what planners are doing differently in their search and selection process, and how to stretch budgets without compromising quality. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speaker: Debbie Garcia, entrepreneur, event-technology innovator, and founder of Virsitour

Wed 8/19 at 3 p.m. – Event Contracts Exposed!

Unexpected charges rarely come from “hidden” fees. They stem from incomplete disclosure by the supplier and missed contracting opportunities by the client. Learn how to identify potential fees, ask the right questions, negotiate transparency, and strengthen contract language to reduce financial surprises and protect your event budget. More info/register.

Host: Heather Reid, Planner Protect

Thu 8/20 at 11 a.m. – Putting Momentum Back Into Your Membership Flywheel

Most membership organizations don’t have a growth problem, they have a momentum problem and it often shows up at renewal. Learn where the flywheel leaks and a right-sized way to fix it. No rip-and-replace required. More info/register.

Hosts: Jim Thompson, Tying It Together Consulting, and Walt Rolle, Light 516

Thu 8/20 at 3 p.m. – Unlock Viral Engagement: How to Turn Passive Members Into Your Best Marketing Channel

Your best marketing channel isn’t LinkedIn, email, or paid ads. It’s the members who already love what you do. Learn about the psychology and mechanics behind member advocacy: what motivates professionals to endorse their association publicly, and what kills that impulse. Explore real examples of associations that turned engaged members into vocal advocates through referral programs, user-generated content, peer recognition, and community-driven events. Hear about the common mistakes that make advocacy feel forced or transactional. More info/register.

Host: Member Lounge

Speaker: Amanda Doimo, Marketing Specialist, Member Lounge

Thu 8/20 from 5 to 7 p.m. CDT – The Alliance Chicagoland Networking Event (Schaumburg, IL)

Building on the energy of our previous gatherings, this event creates space for women across the association and nonprofit space to share experiences and build relationships that support both personal and professional growth. Whether you’re reconnecting with familiar faces or making new friends, this is an opportunity to expand your network and engage with a community that is welcoming, engaging, and supportive. Location: Schaumburg, IL. More info/register.

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Fri 8/21 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Tue 8/25 at 11 a.m. – AWTC Open Doors

Open Doors is a monthly online gathering for AWTC members—45 minutes designed for genuine connection, discussion, and problem solving. With rotating hosts from the AWTC community, volunteers, board, and other leaders in the field, it’s a space to meet new members, deepen existing relationships, and tap into the collective expertise of the community. Each session opens with an ice breaker, moves into a featured topic or AMA, and includes a “Situation Room” where members can bring a real challenge and gather insight from peers. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Tue 8/25 at 12 p.m. – Managing Burnout: Practical Strategies for Women

Explore the unique stressors women face and how burnout affects well-being, team dynamics and performance. Learn to recognize early signs of burnout and walk away with practical strategies to prevent, manage and recover from it. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Speaker: Maureen Dingus, CAE, Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Society of CPAs

Tue 8/25 at 12 p.m. – Training for the Trades: Workforce Development in Action

Hear about one trade association’s award-winning initiative to develop cradle-to-grave training for a critical role in their industry. Learn about the high-level discussions that led to the initiative’s first phase, targeting frontline workers in their first 90 days on the job, and explore samples from the finished course. Walk through the framework used to identify the business drivers that shaped this initiative. Get prepared to have conversations with key stakeholders and to design initiatives that do more than just teach—that have the potential to transform a workforce. More info/register.

Host: Training Magazine Network

Speakers:

Diane Elkins, Co-Founder, Artisan Learning
Jill Marshall, Instructional Designer

Tue 8/25 at 12 p.m. – Beyond Membership: A Revenue Shift Associations Can’t Afford to Ignore

Dues-dependent funding models leave organizations exposed to market shifts and membership volatility. Learn how associations can think less like traditional membership organizations and more like media companies—strategically monetizing content, education, and engagement to build durable non-dues revenue. Walk away with practical strategies across sponsorships, advertising, certification, educational programs, sponsored content, and partnerships. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Bill Sheehan, Global Head of Association Strategy, D2L

Tue 8/25 from 12 to 3 p.m. – Webinar Fest

Learn exactly what best-in-class webinars look like in 2026. Over three days you’ll build AI event workflows hands-on, earn a Certified AI Webinar Specialist badge, and see the benchmark data that tells you where your program really ranks. See a live demonstration of the tactics you’re learning, so you don’t just hear what great looks like, you spend three days inside it. If webinars are part of your job, this is the one event that makes you the expert on your team. More info/register.

Hosts: Goldcast, Cvent, and ON24

Tue 8/25 at 1 p.m. – How Nonprofits Can Turn Their Audience Into Community

Learn why so many nonprofit communities are overfed with content but undernourished in connection; the basics of community building—trust, belonging, repetition, member-to-member connection, and clear participation pathways; how to design simple 1:1 or small-group connection programs without adding another login, app, or forum to manage; lessons from The Nonprofit Hive, including 3,100+ members, 40%+ email open rates, 130+ weeks active, and strong 1:1 match retention; and practical ways nonprofits, associations, and communities of practice can use connection tech to deepen engagement. More info/register.

Host: Nonprofit-Apps

Speaker: Tasha Van Vlack, Co-Director and Community Lead of The Nonprofit Hive and founder of Community Hives

Tue 8/25 at 3 p.m. – What Will Your Members Actually Buy? Using Learner Market Intelligence to Build Programs That Sell

When a catalog of learning programs underperforms, the problem isn’t necessarily the content quality; it’s a misalignment between what the organization decides to build and what the target audience is willing to pay for. Learn the difference between needs assessment and market analysis; data points that inform learner buying behavior; a simplified market analysis framework to evaluate a current or planned program; and integrating learner market intelligence into the program development workflow to reduce the risk of low-enrollment offerings. More info/register.

Host: Cadmium

Speaker: Tracy King, MA, CAE, Chief Learning Strategist & CEO, InspirEd

Wed 8/26 at 11 a.m. – Should You Stay or Should You Go? The AMS Edition

Before you start shopping for a new system, it’s worth determining whether your challenges stem from internal processes, data, adoption, governance, changing organizational needs, or the technology itself. Explore the key questions and considerations that can help you decide whether to stay the course and optimize what you have or move on to a new solution. Get a framework for making a confident, strategic AMS decision. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Gretchen Steenstra, Vice President, Client Strategy, and Kelly Gardner, Sr. Technology Consultant, DelCor Technology Solutions

Wed 8/26 at 11 a.m. – Meeting Engineering: How AI-Powered Connections Are Rewriting Event outcomes

51% of attendees cite networking as a primary reason to attend events, so organizers are applying more scientific methods to connect their participants: leveraging data and AI to ensure the right meetings happen at their events. Learn how leading organizers are becoming “Meeting Engineers” where they design, build and automate the AI systems that connect the right people at events. More info/register.

Host: Grip

Speakers:

Rhiannon James, Group President, Pharma, Healthcare, Technology & Wellness, Questex
Alex Anikeev, Head of Technology, HumanX

Wed 8/26 at 12 p.m. – Inbox Reality Check: What’s Actually Working in Email Marketing Now

Email is still one of the most effective channels associations have. But the rules have changed. Inbox algorithms are smarter. Engagement signals matter more, and familiar tactics don’t deliver the same results they once did. From engagement-based signals and list strategy to content, cadence, and the role of AI, learn what’s working now (and what’s quietly hurting you). Get practical insights to improve deliverability, earn attention, and make email a stronger part of your overall member engagement strategy. More info/register.

Host: HighRoad Solutions

Speakers: Morgan Mulgrew, Strategic Account Manager, and Maneesha Manges, CXO, HighRoad Solutions

Wed 8/26 from 12 to 2:30 p.m. – Webinar Fest

Hosts: Goldcast, Cvent, and ON24

Wed 8/26 at 1 p.m. – Event AV & Production: Delivering Impact While Staying on Budget

Learn about the technology elements that will deliver great experiences without blowing the budget, potential pitfalls to be aware of in all stages of the process, red flags that could threaten to blow up your budget, and some of the latest AV and production features that will make your event stand out. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: Scott Frankel, president of Animatic Media and founder of the Meeting Professionals Audiovisual Certificate (MPAC) program

Thu 8/27 at 12 p.m. – Clarity Before the Conference: Building the Case for a New AMS

You already know your AMS needs to change. Getting everyone else on the same page is the harder part. Join Moira Edwards and Rhoni Rakos for a practical conversation on how to build internal alignment, make the case to leadership, and walk into AMS Fest ready to move forward. More info/register.

Host: Ellipsis Partners

Speakers: Moira Edwards and Rhoni Rakos, Ellipsis Partners

Thu 8/27 from 12 to 2 p.m. – Webinar Fest

Hosts: Goldcast, Cvent, and ON24

Thu 8/27 at 1 p.m. – Association Playbook for New Non-Dues Revenue: What Capabilities Are Required to Scale New Revenue Streams?

Explore emerging non-dues revenue opportunities for associations. Learn how digital engagement supports long-term sustainability and growth; how associations are monetizing content, communities, events, and digital services; and how to improve member value while generating new revenue streams. More info/register.

Host: Causeis

Thu 8/27 at 2 p.m. – Your Association Website: Should It Stay or Should It Go?

Learn what makes a high-performing website and how to determine the level of change needed to achieve your goals. Find out about the six technical questions you need to answer to prevent common pitfalls for your website project, and the key to aligning multiple departments and stakeholders to prevent missteps—ensuring a successful outcome focused on your audiences and results. More info/register.

Host: Mighty Citizen

Speakers: Nicole Araujo, Senior Director of Client Engagement, and Stephen Tidmore, Chief Technology Officer, Mighty Citizen

Thu 8/27 at 2 p.m. – Beyond the Send: What the 2026 VoterVoice Benchmark Report Means for Your Advocacy Program

The takeaway from VoterVoice’s 2026 Benchmark Advocacy Report is clear: your messages are being delivered, but your audiences aren’t giving them as much attention. When deliverability improves but engagement doesn’t, the problem isn’t technical—it’s strategic. Learn why 2025 played out this way, and what advocacy teams can do differently to finish 2026 strong. More info/register.

Host: VoterVoice

Speakers: Anna van Erven, Content Manager, and Paul Ellender, Senior Product Manager, VoterVoice

Fri 8/28 at 12 p.m. – The Volunteer Advantage: Secrets to Recruiting and Engaging Difference-Makers

Host: Zzeem Consulting

Wed 9/2 at 12 p.m. – Easy Ways to Multiply Your Sponsors’ & Exhibitors’ Success at Events

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Lee Gimpel, founder of Better Meetings

Wed 9/2 at 12 p.m. – Where Mission and Margin Meet: Insights on Learning Strategy for Association Leaders

Host: GrowthZone

Speakers: Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders of Tagoras and co-hosts of the Leading Learning Podcast

Wed 9/2 at 1 p.m. – Align, Assess, Govern, Launch: Creating a Value-Driven AI Strategy

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Dan Hickey, Sr. Strategic Consultant, DelCor Technology Solutions
Ginger Ausloos, VP, Information Technology at AACSB International

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little more interesting, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Zoltan Tukacs via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 8.7.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

view from the rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado

Good reads for the association community

Microvolunteering with your app. Clowder describes how a mobile app turns microvolunteering tasks, like welcoming new members or reviewing a session proposal, into an easy yes for busy young professionals. The post shares eight ideas your association can try right away and makes the case for microvolunteering as an entry point to your association’s leadership pipeline.

Introverts at ASAE Annual. If big industry events leave you exhausted by the close of the day, you’ll love Aaron Wolowiec’s (Event Garde) strategies for managing your “social battery” at events like the ASAE Annual Meeting. He shares 25 tips for protecting your energy, ranging from expo hall game plans to scheduling recovery time once you’re back home.

Change management. Employee resistance and shaky management support are what typically sink change projects. D2L’s guide to change management for associations walks through a six-step process, from building your vision to making new practices stick. The guide gives extra attention to the human side: how staff experience change, why resistance happens, and how to use early adopters to move the skeptics.

Governance built for yesterday. In Association Laboratory’s 2026 CEO research, CEOs cite one governance challenge more than any other: getting volunteer leaders to spend more time on future risks than day-to-day operations. CEOs also said building a strategic board and engaging younger members in volunteer leadership are top of mind. The post describes the causes of these problems and suggests questions for your next board meeting.

Proving membership ROI. William Pawlucy and Bob Harris tell the story of a company that sent a membership RFP to four trade associations. Two never responded, one took three weeks to send a generic brochure, and one called to ask about the company’s needs and sent back a customized ROI one-pager. They describe the seven criteria used by membership prospects to score you like they would a vendor, from response speed to governance, plus they provide a Value Audit checklist that puts a dollar figure on your association’s membership benefits.

Improving website redesign RFPs. Most website redesigns go sideways during the RFP process, before the project even starts. Steward’s guide walks through ten mistakes associations make when sending out a website redesign RFP. A well-run RFP process leads to sharper proposals and a smoother selection decision.

Closing the prospect awareness gap. Olena Lima (MemberBoat) suggests doing searches for the questions membership prospects ask, leaving your association’s name out of it, and seeing who answers instead of you. She says most associations already have the content needed to close the awareness gap, but it’s often buried in PDFs instead of living on web pages that answer real prospect questions.

Worrying for nothing. Adam Singer (Hot Takes) points to research that 91% of people’s worries never came true. For most participants, the accuracy rate of their worries over the 30-day study was zero. He ties this to phones and nonstop news cycles keeping us anxious even when most things turn out just fine. Like Tom Petty said, “Most things I worry ’bout never happen anyway.”

Snacks

Being an involved grandparent is good for you: it’s linked to a stronger sense of purpose and better physical and mental health. | Marc Agronin, The Wall Street Journal (gift link)

Carl Martin breaks down the Gen Alpha melody, the same four-note tune that’s been in dozens of songs released since 2010. You know it!

Whether playing the harp on Instagram or taking up the trumpet to spite an ex, young people are yearning for timeless crafts and a functioning attention span. | Laura Pitcher, Dazed

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

Here’s a dish that’s been part of my summer rotation: baked salmon with green onion and lemon garlic butter sauce. In addition to the green onion, lemon zest and juice, garlic, and butter, the sauce includes white wine and Italian parsley.

On the side, another summer favorite: zucchini and summer squash sauté with red bell pepper, broccoli stem, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato, and lots of basil.

I avoid using the oven on steamy hot days by putting my pressure cooker to work. On Sunday, I made butter chicken, a recipe from Urvashi Pitre’s cookbook, Indian Instant Pot: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy & Fast. I added chickpeas to the recipe. I also made brown rice in the pressure cooker to soak up that yummy sauce. We had roasted broccoli with red onion, garlic powder, and sweet smoked paprika on the side, along with leftover mashed sweet potato. What a delicious feast!

Fri 8/7 at 1 p.m.* – Engaging Members Through Events

Your event is one of your most popular offerings, which makes it a natural reason to reach out during the year between renewals. Learn how to turn event registration into a two-way conversation instead of a one-way invite; what “no” responses can tell you that “yes” responses can’t; how to support members who can’t attend without losing the engagement opportunity; and how event data feeds into the year-two engagement picture. More info/register.

Host: PropFuel

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 8/10 at 8 a.m. – Trade Show Health Check (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Dana Freker Doody, Inktide Solutions

Mon 8/10 at 2 p.m. – ASAE Public Policy Webinar: Navigating Federal Grants Restrictions — Review of OMB’s Uniform Guidance Overhaul

Changes to the OMB’s rules governing how federal grant dollars flow to and are managed by grant recipients could reshape how nonprofits apply for, administer, and account for federal funding, with implications for the grant-funded work that many associations and their members rely on. Learn about the proposed changes, ongoing ASAE advocacy activities, and steps you can take to help support continued access to federal grants for nonprofits. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Margarita Valdez Martínez, Chief Advocacy Officer, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy
Daniel Zimmerman, Senior Director of Government Relations and Policy, Governors Highway Safety Association
Kyle Hayes (Moderator), Senior Director of Public Policy, ASAE

Tue 8/11 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 8/11 at 2 p.m. – AI Adoption for Associations: How to Move from Personal Productivity to Mission Impact

Most associations are already somewhere on the AI adoption curve. But the organizations pulling ahead use AI to reimagine how they deliver on their mission entirely, with AI securely embedded in their systems and people firmly driving the work. Learn what it takes to move from experimentation to organization-wide strategy. Get a 30/60/90-day implementation framework that helps you assess where your organization stands and identify the gaps most likely to slow you down. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers: Greg Starling, Head of Innovation & Growth; Kevin Fassanella, Director of Security and Compliance; and Rob Shelton, Director of Sales & Marketing | designDATA

Tue 8/11 at 2 p.m. – How Not to Blow Your Budget

From F&B to AV, the event bottom line is often determined by the small print. Learn how to avoid surprise line items in your final bill and putting your dollars where your attendees will see the value. More info/register.

Host: Smart Meetings

Speakers:

Scott Frankel, president, Animatic Media
Bre Maxim, CMP, account director, Bishop-McCann

Wed 8/12 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. CDT – Future-Ready Credentials: Assessing the Skills that Matter (Chicago, IL)

Translating durable (soft) skills into scalable assessment formats remains a persistent challenge within the credentialing space. Learn how credentialing bodies can effectively target the core constructs of durable skills using assessment methods that are both psychometrically sound and operationally feasible. Hear what balance can be struck between authenticity and scalability and how programs can implement approaches that are both economically viable and adaptable across diverse certification contexts. Location: Chicago, IL. More info/register.

Host: Certification Network Group

Speakers:

Kirk Becker, Senior Research Scientist, Pearson Vue
Andre Allen, Chief Business Officer, HRCI

Wed 8/12 at 11 a.m. – How LMS Pricing Really Works

LMS pricing is often confusing by design. Learn the most common pricing models, including active users, registered users, portals, implementation fees, support tiers and overage charges. Get practical strategies for negotiating smarter agreements. More info/register.

Host: Talented Learning

Speaker: John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning

Wed 8/12 at 12 p.m. – Loyalty by Design: Build a Community People Never Want to Leave

Get a practical framework for designing loyalty into your member journey from the ground up. Learn about the key behavioral and emotional drivers that turn members into long-term advocates; common loyalty pitfalls and how to avoid designing experiences that unintentionally erode trust; and actionable strategies you can apply across your team, product, and brand. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: customer loyalty expert Jason Milen

Wed 8/12 at 1 p.m. – Reggie Henry: A Conversation

Hear lessons from a career spent at the center of associations, including what Reggie has learned about leadership and how he has adapted over the years, how technology professionals need to position themselves in member-centric organizations, and where associations should be thinking differently about and planning for the future. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Fonteva

Guest: Reggie Henry, CAE, Chief Information & Performance Excellence Officer, ASAE

Wed 8/12 at ???? – Backstage Briefing: Power, Planning, and the Glass Ceiling: Female Leaders in Meetings

According to the PCMA Foundation’s Advancing Women in Business Events report, women account for 86% of meeting and event planners in the U.S. but hold just 16% of senior leadership positions globally. Hear why that gap persists and what needs to change. Learn about the structural barriers that continue to limit advancement and how organizations can build stronger leadership pipelines. Hear from women who have navigated their way into executive leadership while opening doors for others. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Skift

Speakers:

Elaine Lou Cartas, Business & Executive Coach
Monique Ruff-Bell, Chief Program and Strategy Officer, TED Conferences

Thu 8/13 at 12 p.m. – Stop Running to Stand Still: What Healthcare Association Executives Actually Need Right Now

Hear healthcare association leader discuss GrowthZone’s 2026 Healthcare Association Executive Survey and what healthcare association executives told us about their biggest challenges. Get a clear picture of where your peers stand on member value, AI adoption, community platforms, and AMS satisfaction. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Sat 8/15 at 4 p.m. – AWTC @ ASAE Annual Happy Hour (Indianapolis, IN)

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Sun 8/16 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. – Noche Latina

Host: Association Latinos

Tue 8/18 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Virtual Co-Working Session

Host: Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC)

Thu 8/20 at 11 a.m. – Putting Momentum Back Into Your Membership Flywheel

Hosts: Jim Thompson, Tying It Together Consulting, and Walt Rolle, Light 516

Thu 8/20 from 5 to 7 p.m. CDT – The Alliance Chicagoland Networking Event (Schaumburg, IL)

Host: The Alliance for Women in Associations

Fri 8/21 at 3 p.m. – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little better, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 7.31.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

view of a calm sea from a sandy path through the dunes

Good reads for the association community

Influence loss. Members are finding conversations and connections where they can, and for a growing number of them, that’s no longer your association. Apti explains why members who never miss a renewal might still be getting their professional growth elsewhere and shows how online courses can help you remain an important part of members’ careers.

Two questions before strategy. Jeanne Eury (Association in Balance) borrows a framework built for corporate sustainability compliance and turns it into two blunt questions for associations: what impact can you prove you have on your profession, and what is your profession’s future already doing to your organization? She describes three patterns—silent majority members, exhibit floor churn, and renewing members who don’t evangelize—that emerge when boards skip this step.

Enhance your SEO skills. In the Association Academy’s Association Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Certificate Course, learn how to improve your association’s search rankings and bring more people to your site. This on-demand program offers five CAE credits and covers keyword research, content optimization, building site authority, mastering technical performance, and more. Save $50 by using the referral code BRAINFOOD.

Membership metrics. Association math was never my favorite subject, but if you’re in charge of membership, you need to get these numbers right. MGI’s guide covers seven essential membership formulas—including renewal rate, lifetime value, maximum acquisition cost, and steady state analysis—with plain-language explanations of what each one tells you.

Sponsorship myths. Lori Zoss Kraska (Growth Owl) and Bruce Rosenthal call out seven sponsorship assumptions that work against you, including the old standby that a bigger membership number means more sponsor appeal, when a well-matched audience is often the stronger pitch. Their advice starts with building every pitch around what the sponsor is trying to accomplish.

Curriculum architecture. James Young (Product Community) separates a body of knowledge—what competence looks like—from curriculum architecture—how learners acquire that competence. He describes what that structure needs: competency framework, pathways, progression, credentialing, and more. He says most associations have plenty of courses but no path connecting them, so members have no way to figure out what to learn next or in what order.

AI tool evaluation. Your board wants an AI strategy and staff are trying to figure out which tools to use. Dennison & Associates’ guide for associations offers a methodical evaluation process. It opens with a warning that the biggest mistake associations make with AI is buying a tool before defining the problem. It also includes a ten-question checklist for pressure-testing any AI tool purchase before you commit.

The original leadership school. In Palladium Magazine, Tanner Greer’s history of 19th-century American membership organizations, from Civil War relief societies to Gilded Age fraternal orders, describes three virtues that built civic strength: public oaths of loyalty, procedural discipline, and hierarchies that gave local leaders autonomy. He says associations today still run on this same foundation.

Trouble at ASA. Sociology has long tackled society’s most pressing challenges. But right now, as Pamela Paul describes in The Wall Street Journal, sociologists at the American Sociological Association are fighting themselves: one faction is boycotting the conference and membership has dropped by more than a third since 1972.

Snacks

This week’s notes from the Association Career Corner. | Helen Mosher

AI data integration: turn disconnected data into better decisions. | ShuffleInsight

“Information scales. Relationships don’t.” Michelle Mason (ASAE) on leadership, belonging, and the economics of the association world. | David Adler, Gathering Point News

Some people want no part of the melting pot. Europe spins another Islamist attack. The suspect in Berlin’s recent rampage was known to authorities. He slipped through the cracks because leaders minimize the threat of radical Islam. | Douglas Murray, The Free Press

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

Meals are looking more promising as I transition to food with a bit more heft after my periodontal surgery. Claude (the AI tool) gave me a few ideas for meals that my husband and I would both enjoy. I put freshly harvested basil to work in a pesto parmesan cream sauce (fortified with ricotta and egg yolk) with salmon and pasta.

Another night, we had Salisbury steak over mashed broccoli and potatoes. I’m hoping to get back to normal eating soon after seeing my periodontist at the two-week follow-up appointment. Please floss regularly, my friends, and make sure your kids (both young and old) have developed the habit too.

Tue 8/4 at 2 p.m.* – Prove Exhibitor and Sponsor Value with A Real-Time Calculator

Exhibitor and sponsor goals are shifting, their ROI expectations are shifting, and the way we show impact has to shift with them. Learn about a practical, flexible “Universal Event ROI Framework” built for associations of any size. Hear how to identify and measure eight key outcomes vendors look for—such as leads, customer engagement, brand visibility, thought leadership, competitive insights, partnerships, and content opportunities. Learn how to turn these outcomes into usable ROI through simple formulas, scoring models, and an interactive calculator you can bring back to your team. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Lisa Moore, CAE, Executive Director, Raybourn Group International
Teri Carden, Chief Operating Officer, Insight Guide

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Wed 8/5 at 1 p.m. – How Associations Can Connect Content, Marketing and Data to Drive Membership Engagement

Explore a new model for association engagement, one where content, marketing, and data work together as a connected system rather than disconnected functions. Learn how to better align content strategy with audience behavior, reduce duplication across channels, and create more intentional member experiences that build trust and drive action. Hear how associations can shift from siloed communications to a more connected ecosystem designed for modern audience engagement. See how AI and association technology platforms can support smarter content planning, personalization, measurement, and cross-channel coordination. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Joe Stella, Chief Executive Officer at BackPocket Agency
Susan Welter, Vice President of Marketing at PCMA

Wed 8/5 at 12 p.m. – Everyday Ethics in Every Situation

Many believe that ethics only apply to specific, high-stakes situations; but the truth is, ethics shape everything we do. Ethics are not a separate category of life; they continuously inform our behavior, our actions, and how we present ourselves to the world. Explore how creating and nurturing a deeply rooted ethical mindset guides us through daily life and empowers us to set a powerful example for others. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Cecilia Sepp, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Wed 8/5 at 1 p.m. – How Event Teams Use AI to Rethink Their Event Programs

Hear how event and marketing leaders are building a practical framework for transforming workflows with AI, from identifying gaps and mapping use cases to preparing data, defining KPIs, assessing maturity, and securing executive support. Get a sharper path to AI adoption, a stronger foundation for AI-ready data and measurement, and tangible next steps they can put to work right away. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Thu 8/6 at 2 p.m. – Vendor Ready: How to Work the Floor at ASAE Annual (Before You Even Get There)

ASAE Annual in Indianapolis is quickly approaching, which means your team is about to have more vendor conversations in three days than you’ll have all year. Learn how to prep your “must-ask” list before you hit the floor, how to separate a strong vendor pitch from a strong vendor partner, how to have candid conversations with current vendors face-to-face (better than any support ticket), what to listen for in a demo that tells you how a partnership will really go, how to use in-person time to negotiate or revisit existing contracts, and how to follow up after Annual so those conversations don’t go cold. More info/register.

Host: 501C Works

Speakers:

Chip Flater, Director of Information Technology and IT Security, National Science Teaching Association
James Marquis, CIO, 501Works
Olivia Wilkins, Business Analyst/Project Manager, PerByte
Sean Miriashtiani, Sales Executive, Element AMS

Wed 8/5 at 2 p.m. – Aligning Destination Selection With Event Objectives

Learn how to establish a framework for selecting destinations that takes into account event purpose, audience profile and the desired attendee experience—as well as budget—to evaluate your options better. Hear how factors like venue layout, local culture, climate and accessibility shape the agenda and attendee behavior. Learn how to sell the results to your stakeholders, making the case for the decision by connecting the destination to the business objectives and outcome. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Moderator: Michael J. Shapiro, Director of Content Strategy, Northstar Meetings Group U.S.

Thu 8/6 at 12 p.m. – The Trust Gap: Connecting Assessment Integrity to Credential Defensibility

Hear about the Credential Security Trifecta: a practical framework for connecting identity verification, assessment integrity, and digital credential issuance into one auditable, defensible workflow. Learn where credential trust breaks down across disconnected systems, what a connected workflow looks like when it’s working, and why a credential that’s earned legitimately can still fail learners, expose programs to audit risk, and lose employer trust if the chain of custody behind it was never built to hold. More info/register.

Host: Accredible

Speakers:

Brandon Smith, CEO, Integrity Advocate
Dan Theckston, Chief Customer Officer, Accredible

Tue 8/11 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Wed 8/12 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. CDT – Future-Ready Credentials: Assessing the Skills that Matter (Chicago, IL)

Host: Certification Network Group

Wed 8/12 at 11 a.m. – How LMS Pricing Really Works

Host: Talented Learning

Speaker: John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst, Talented Learning

Sat 8/15 at 4 p.m. – AWTC @ ASAE Annual Happy Hour (Indianapolis, IN)

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Sun 8/16 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. – Noche Latina

Host: Association Latinos

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little better, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Creative Commons licensed photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 7.24.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

alpine view from the Ouray Perimeter trail in Ouray, CO

Good reads for the association community

Sunsetting online courses. Nobody wants to be the one who says “let’s 86 this course,” especially when nearly two years of volunteer and staff time went into building it. TopClass explains why association courses linger in catalogs long past their expiration date. They describe the sunsetting process: which criteria to check, who needs a seat at the table, and how to archive a course instead of deleting it so completion records and CE documentation stay intact.

Abstract submission standards. First-time abstract submitters bail more often over confusing guidelines than doubts about their own research. OpenWater identifies the submission standards that protect quality and describes how to frame them so newcomers don’t mistake evaluation criteria for automatic disqualifiers.

Member magazine. If your board keeps asking why the magazine costs so much, this m3Magazines guide hands you the counterargument. It explains how a well-designed publication builds trust, supports member retention, and pulls in non-dues revenue. It also includes a five-point checklist for spotting when your magazine needs a refresh and describes the kind of content that keeps subscribers turning pages.

Committee review. Aaron Wolowiec (Event Garde) has been fielding the same question across several different associations lately: Do we still need all these committees? He lays out the questions boards and staff should ask about each one, such as the problem it was created to solve, whether it’s doing the work or just advising on it, and what it costs to keep running.

The decline of search-driven website traffic. AI search engines are now answering questions before anyone clicks through to your website. Sidecar explains how much that’s already diverting traffic for associations. They say the fix is protecting your proprietary content behind your own walls and building on-site search grounded in your own trusted material.

Non-dues revenue. Your website, newsletter, and member directory can earn more than they currently do. GrowthZone’s non-dues revenue guide describes how associations are making money from those channels with enhanced directory listings, sponsored podcast slots, tiered sponsorship packages, and more. The guide includes eight tactics, sample pricing, tiered sponsorship ideas, and a 90-day starter plan most small teams could handle.

Controlling bosses. See if you recognize yourself in this Entrepreneur article. Michel Koopman (CxO Coaching) says most accountability problems trace back to leaders with control issues who won’t let go of the “how.” To encourage staff to take on more ownership, he recommends defining three to five non-negotiables per initiative, then letting your team own the rest.

Imagination and AI. David Brooks recently wrote in The Atlantic that AI could split us into two groups: those who use it to think harder and those who let it think for them. Henry Oliver (The Common Reader) says imagination is the real differentiator. He argues that motivation depends on being able to imagine who you might become, and that centuries of novels built that skill in readers long before AI came along.

Snacks

The false promise of Madonna’s eternal youth: Never trust an old person without wrinkles. | Stephen G. Adubato, Cracks in Postmodernity (His main message is in the unlocked portion of this post.)

The sabbath is a chance to read again. Going offline and unplugging each week reconnects us with something ancient. | David Bashevkin, The Wall Street Journal (gift link)

If you need CAE credits, check out Ed Rigsbee’s 41 workshops—nine of them are one-hour ethics workshops. You’ll need to pass a test to earn the credit.

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

Nothing to share this week because I had periodontal surgery (bone grafting) last Thursday and have been on a soft food diet since. The highlight is breakfast: scrambled eggs made with sour cream (Bourdain-style) served over mashed avocado. I like my chocolate-banana-peanut butter protein shakes for lunch. For dinner, I choose from mashed sweet potatoes, mashed broccoli/potatoes with mushroom gravy (puréed, of course), a salmon/yogurt puree that looked like my cat’s canned Friskies salmon pâté, and puréed soups from the supermarket’s deli section. My immersion blender has been getting a workout.

Why do I even bother sharing all this? Because here’s my PSA for all of you who haven’t developed a flossing habit: you better get on it. I was a slacker for decades and now I’m paying the price. Cavities? Only a few. But gum disease? Different story. Hopefully, last Thursday’s surgery (not my first) will save two molars with significant bone loss. Please pray or send good energy for bone regeneration, which I hope is going on right now.

When you don’t floss regularly, bacteria eat away at your gums and supporting bone. If your dentist probes between your teeth and calls out numbers that are 4 or higher, your gum pockets are getting too deep.

So, no excuses. I don’t care if you’re tired or busy. If you don’t floss every day, eventually your slackness will catch up with you. Then, you’ll be out thousands of dollars and maybe some teeth too. My oral hygiene PSA (for today) is over.

Fri 7/24 at 1 p.m.* – Do You Even Know Who’s In the Room?

Members don’t lapse because of price. They lapse because nothing about membership was noticeable in between renewals. Learn why engagement starts with data you don’t have to nag people for and how to collect it as a byproduct of everyday conversations, not a portal nobody logs into. More info/register.

Host: PropFuel

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 7/27 at 8 a.m. – The Benefits of Being Proactive for Associations (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: Pamela Murphy, Founder and CEO, Minerva Insight Strategies

Mon 7/27 at 11 a.m. – The Career Playbook Senior Leaders Don’t Tell You About

Explore how to take ownership of your personal and professional journey by thinking like a CEO—of yourself. Get a clear framework for building your own personal board of directors; practical know-how to identify and recruit the mentors, sponsors, allies, and coaches who can actually move the needle on your growth; clarity on your leadership brand; tools to spot and break through the “broken rung” that’s quietly holding you back from your next opportunity; renewed confidence to advocate for yourself in rooms where decisions about your career get made; and one concrete promise to yourself—and a strategy to actually keep it. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Nealy Wheat, CAE, SPHR, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), and Interim Executive Director, ASNT Foundation
Lauren Nachstein, Vice President of Customer Experience, Construction Financial Management Association
Terri Herrmann, CMO, Forj

Mon 7/27 at 12:30 p.m. – How Event Teams Can Deliver Better Sponsor ROI

Learn how sponsor expectations are evolving beyond lead retrieval, and what event teams need to deliver in order to demonstrate stronger business impact and event ROI. Explore how event, sponsorship, and revenue teams can work together more effectively to streamline workflows, improve communication, and create better sponsor experiences. Discover creative sponsorship ideas and engagement strategies that go beyond traditional booth scans to create more meaningful interactions and measurable outcomes. More info/register.

Host: Bizzabo

Speakers:

Tammy L. Harvey, Senior Manager, Sponsorships and Events, Blue Cross Blue Shield
Victoria Rasmussen, Marketing Director, BW

Tue 7/28 at 11 a.m. – Association Women Technology Champions Open Doors

Open Doors is a monthly online gathering for AWTC members—45 minutes designed for genuine connection, discussion, and problem solving. With rotating hosts from the AWTC community and other leaders in the field, it’s a space to meet new members, deepen existing relationships, and tap into the collective expertise. Each session opens with an ice breaker, moves into a featured topic or AMA, and includes a “Situation Room” where members can bring a real challenge and gather insight from peers. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Tue 7/28 at 12 p.m. – You Can’t “Just Do It Yourself” Forever: Using AI to Make Delegation Easier

‘I’ll just do it myself’ is understandable, but it isn’t sustainable. And AI agents only offer relief once they’re trained. So we built an AI agent that builds AI agents. Yes, really. It interviews you about a real task and hands back instructions your AI tool of choice can build from. Get your own agent instructions, plus a sense of what this could mean for your organization down the road. More info/register.

Host: fusionSpan

Speaker: Himali Shah, VP of Innovation, fusionSpan

Tue 7/28 at 1 p.m. – Top 10 Mistakes NFP Finance Teams Make in Reporting and Planning

Nonprofit finance teams are expected to deliver faster insights, support strategic decisions, and do more with limited resources. Learn about the ten most common reporting and planning mistakes organizations make—from disconnected data and spreadsheet dependency to ineffective board reporting and static budgets—and hear proven best practices that help finance teams improve accuracy, efficiency, and decision-making. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Corey Barak, Sr Sales Rep—Industry Solutions (NFP), and Rose Shah, Sr. Sales Rep—Industry Solutions, Solver

Tue 7/28 at 1 p.m. – How to Innovate Your Association’s Business Model

Discover how to approach business model innovation in a way that is structured, data-informed and grounded in the realities of today’s association landscape. Explore the business model challenges reshaping associations and the opportunities for innovation. Learn how the five dimensions of an association business model work together. Understand how to build a repeatable approach to business model innovation that supports long-term organizational growth. More info/register.

Host: McKinley Advisors

Speakers: Patrick Glaser, M.A., MPA, Chief Practice Officer, and Meena Dayak, M.A., Practice Director, McKinley Advisors

Tue 7/28 at 1 p.m. – The Human Side of Safety: Creating a Culture of Care in Events

Creating a safe event environment goes beyond policies and procedures. It starts with the decisions, communication, and leadership shown every day on the show floor. Learn what duty of care looks like throughout the event lifecycle, from move-in to show days and move-out. Hear how managers and rising leaders can support their teams, navigate operational pressures, strengthen communication, and help build a culture where safety is everyone’s responsibility. More info/register.

Host: ESCA’s Rising Leaders Committee

Speakers:

Michael Kaack, Sr. Director of GES North American Safety, GES
Allie Gramlich, Director of Business Development, CSI Worldwide
Geb Walter, Vice President, Safety Field Operations, Freeman

Tue 7/28 at 3 p.m. – Meetings, Membership, and Margin: A Practical Approach to Non-Dues Revenue for Associations

Learn about the three most common non-dues revenue gaps in association meetings and events programs, and pinpoint which ones apply to your organization. Hear how to repackage existing event content into year-round revenue streams without adding significant staff time or budget. Find out how AI-powered tools are helping associations extend the shelf life of event content and increase discoverability for members searching for continuing education and programming. More info/register.

Host: Cadmium

Speakers:

Brooke Passy, CMP, DES, Senior Meeting Manager, Association Headquarters
Jessie Reyes, Vice President, Marketing, Cadmium

Wed 7/29 at 11 a.m. – Revenue Unplugged: Ask Us Anything About Non-Dues Revenue

This “Ask Us Anything” session brings together more than a century of combined experience helping associations design, diversify, and grow their revenue streams. Bring your toughest challenges and most curious “what ifs.” This is your chance to explore solutions that make sense for your members, mission, and market, such as creative twists on traditional sponsorships and partnerships; the value of aligning revenue goals with mission, member value, and sponsor value; current trends in pricing packaging, and corporate engagement; and strategies to move from one-off ideas or events to sustainable revenue programs. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Barbara Armentrout, Founder & Key Principal at BJA Solutions for Associations
Bruce Rosenthal, Principal at Bruce Rosenthal Associates, LLC
Dan Kowitz, Founder & CEO at JSB Partnership Consultants
Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, Founder, Pricing Strategist at Pricing for Associations

Wed 7/29 at 11 a.m. – The AI Toolkit for Event Organizers: The Tools You Need and How to Use Them

Hear about the AI tools event teams are using right now to grow audiences, protect market share and cut the hours lost to manual work. Learn how AI is already delivering for organizers: audience growth and matchmaking, sponsor and exhibitor value, and the operational grind that eats your team’s week. Find out about tools most organizers have not even thought about yet: the AI “second brain” that turns your scattered notes, transcripts and reports into an always-on knowledge engine, and the agentic systems that do not wait for instructions but act on your goals. More info/register.

Host: Grip

Speakers:

Robyn Duda, Co-Founder & CEO, RacquetX
Ellen McCormack, Head of EMEA Sales, Clay
Ana Williams, Founder, The Hook Studio

Wed 7/29 at 12 p.m. – Practical AI for Sponsorship Sales: Real Tools, Real Workflows, Real Results

Explore practical ways association professionals use AI to streamline their business development workflows without losing the personal side of relationship building. See examples of how AI tools help turn meeting transcriptions into actionable follow-up, draft personalized sponsor proposals in minutes instead of hours, simplify post-event communication across multiple sponsors, and create more consistency and efficiency in day-to-day workflows. More info/register.

Host: Up10 Solutions

Speaker: Amy Michalski, Chief Business Development Officer, AIIM International

Wed 7/29 at 1 p.m. – Membership Innovation: Flipping the Script on Engagement

Learn how to uncover hidden assumptions that may be limiting the effectiveness of current membership and volunteer engagement strategies. Through reframing techniques, explore new ways to approach recruitment, retention, volunteer involvement, and member value creation. Explore belonging-centered engagement models designed to foster stronger connections, deeper participation, and long-term loyalty. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Justin Burniske, MBA, Principal Consultant, Co-Owner at Volunteer Me by Meta-Dao

Wed 7/29 at 1 p.m. – The State of Associations

Hear a panel of association executives discuss leadership development and minimizing volunteer burnout for associations; how associations can best support members at the local level through chapters; the ways associations can engage with and appeal to various generations; and the leadership role associations play in addressing major challenges for staff, members, and their professions. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Fonteva

Speakers:

Howie Berman, MA, CAE, Executive Director, National PTA
Tonja Eagan, MPA, AAiP, CAE, CFRE, MXC, CEO and Executive Director, Kappa Delta Pi
Honna George, CAE, Chief Financial & Operating Officer, Computer Science Teachers Association

Wed 7/29 at 1 p.m. – Meetings Contract Clauses You Need to Know

Learn about the latest twists in meeting contracting, and the critical clauses that can make or break a meeting’s success. Topics will include price increases, AI innovations, staffing shortages, force majeure clauses, security issues and dealing with unpredictable government policies. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: Joshua Grimes, Esq., Grimes Law Offices, LLC

Thu 7/30 at 12 p.m. – From Slides to Stories: Using AI to Repurpose Content

Hear how association marketing professionals (not AI experts!) are using AI to turn project recap notes into case studies, session slides into blog posts, and podcast transcripts into show notes. Get ideas, prompt templates, and new ways to make your content work harder for you and your organization. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Marketing Professionals Advisory Council

Thu 7/30 at 2:30 p.m. – The State of Associations Report: What It Found and What to Do With It

If retention or non-dues revenue is on your plate this year, ASAE’s State of Associations report put numbers to exactly what you’re feeling. Amy Hissrich compiled it from a year of pulse polls, and she joins Dan Stevens live to get into the findings, what they mean in practice, and where to focus first. Bring a question—there’s live Q&A at the end. More info/register.

Host: Dan Stevens, President, TaleWind Digital

Guest: Amy Hissrich, MA, CAE, VP of International Affairs, ASAE

Thu 7/30 from 3 to 6 p.m. – Toast to Tech (Arlington VA)

Sip curated wines while exploring the latest technology trends shaping associations. Location: Arlington VA. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Jill Treby, AWTC Board Member, Past Chair
Gretchen Steenstra, Delcor, Vice President, Client Strategy

Wed 8/5 at 11 a.m. – The Mindset Shift: Migrating from Legacy “AMS Thinking” to AI-Ready “CRM Thinking”

Learn about the operational and architectural differences between legacy “AMS thinking” and a relationship-centric, AI-ready “CRM thinking” approach. Hear about implementation partners, the right configuration of Salesforce tools to meet your association’s specific operational needs, and a structured vetting process to select a qualified implementation partner who understands association workflows. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Jason Bailey, CTO at Bosma Enterprises IT Consulting

Wed 8/5 at 12 p.m. – Everyday Ethics in Every Situation

Host: AIOT

Speaker: Cecilia Sepp, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

If Association Brain Food has ever sent you to information you used, helped you earn CAE credits, or made Friday a little better, buying me a beer is a nice way to thank me.

Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If you offer free professional development to the association community, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon.

Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, and Association Academy links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!

Association Brain Food: 7.17.26

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

view of the creek between mountains at the end of the Curecanti Creek Trail, Gunnison, CO

Good reads for the association community

Agile online course development. This TopClass LMS post describes an agile approach to online course development. With short sprints, you can launch a minimum viable course in six to eight weeks, versus six to twelve months, then refine it based on learner feedback. For skills-based topics in high demand, this quicker timeline means you can offer what your members and customers need while the topic’s still hot.

Making a case for a membership app. Clowder’s latest post explains how to pitch a membership app to your board or boss. Their advice centers on tying your case to the board’s strategic priorities, then having answers ready for the four objections that usually come up: cost, adoption, existing tools, and staff workload.

Non-dues revenue. One of the most downloaded resources I’ve shared recently, Intuto’s 2026 Non-Dues Revenue Playbook pulls from discussions at RevUP 2025 Summit and Future Forward webinars. Their advice is aimed at associations where sponsorship, events, and education teams operate separately, each with their own goals and metrics. The report covers moving from transactional sponsorships to multi-year pathway models, putting your LMS to work as a revenue source, small-format events, and board alignment, plus a revenue readiness audit.

Advanced AI course for associations. Go beyond the basics with Association Academy’s Association AI Accelerator Certificate Course, a ten-week program designed for association professionals. Learn everything from advanced prompting for text and images to building custom GPTs and navigating AI ethics. In live weekly classes led by Chris Gloede, CAE, you’ll build advanced AI skills to use right away, plus earn up to ten CAE credits (including one ethics credit). Save $50 by using the referral code BRAINFOOD.

Mobile engagement. Mark Wallach (Engagement Mobile Strategies) describes where SMS (text messaging) fits into a member engagement strategy, whether you have a mobile app or not. He covers membership renewals, profile updates, events, and non-dues revenue tactics, then compares three SMS platforms.

Networking at events. Lowell Aplebaum (Vista Cova) flips the networking-reception question around, just in time for the ASAE Annual Meeting next month. Instead of asking whom you need to meet, ask who might benefit from meeting you—a reframe that changes what a room full of strangers feels like. He also makes the case for deciding what success looks like before you walk in the door, having a ‘home base’ person to recharge with during the event, and noticing the people standing alone at the edges.

Website redesign RFPs. Most website redesigns go sideways during the RFP process, not the project itself. Steward describes ten mistakes associations make before they ever get a proposal back. A well-run RFP process leads to sharper proposals and a smoother selection decision process.

Adult friendships. Pranav Jain opens his essay for The Times of India by describing how adult friendships dissolve without the rituals or grieving rites that follow romantic breakups. Adulthood removes the proximity and regularity of close relationships formed at school or college. Now he’s constantly aware of his friends online while growing more distant from them.

Event redesign. Bill Zimmer (360 Live Media) builds his event redesign framework around one question: “What is this event here to help people do?” From there he gets specific: What’s the real purpose of a luncheon versus a general session? Does a first-time attendee need the same experience as someone who’s been coming for years? His ‘neighborhooding’ idea for exhibit halls could be an easy first experiment for your own show.

Association Brain Food is a labor of love and always will be. If it’s been useful to you, your team, or your webinar marketing, buying me a beer is much appreciated. Thanks!

You never grow old at the table

I came up with a loose recipe for salmon with poblano and chipotle corn cream sauce a few summers ago. After making it again last week, I added a note to the recipe to double the sauce because it’s amazingly delicious on fried eggs too. The ingredients are: poblano pepper, red and orange bell pepper, jalapeño, onion, garlic, corn kernels, evaporated milk, chipotle en adobo, and cilantro.

A neighbor brought us some tomatoes, so I took advantage of my basil abundance to make white beans with tomato and basil. It’s another flexible recipe that includes onion, garlic, canned cannellini beans, Aleppo pepper flakes, any type of fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, Parmesan, Romano, and lemon juice. On the side, the old faithful: roasted broccoli with red onion, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

Pork Milanese is an easy recipe to make once you set up your dredging station. I served it with mushroom gravy out of the freezer. I had a lot of the gravy left over after making jagerschnitzel earlier this year. Beans and broccoli on the side.

Bananas are ripening faster than I can eat them, so I made two loaves of banana bread this past weekend. This time, I adapted the Bon Appétit recipe by using all whole wheat flour, sour cream, and sliced almonds.

Fri 7/17 at 3 p.m.* – Nonprofit Consultants Collaborative Monthly Networking Meeting

This monthly networking meeting is organized by consultants for full-time consultants who work with non-profits and associations. You don’t have to be an ASAE member to attend. This month’s topic is Revisiting Collaboration, plus we’ll share good news and take questions from the group. More info/register.

Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.

Mon 7/20 at 8 a.m. – Don’t Compete with A.I. – Build a Moat (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting

Guest: AJ Sallis, CEO, Intuto

Tue 7/21 at 10:30 a.m. – Meditation Skills for Busy Lives

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Meditation leader: Moira Edwards, Owner & President, Ellipsis Partners

Tue 7/21 at 12 p.m. – CRVM Crunch and Munch

Join us for an interactive discussion regarding best practices, challenges, and wins in component relations and volunteer management. These meetings are open to all ASAE members—insights and questions welcomed. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Component Relations Volunteer Management Advisory Council

Tue 7/21 at 1 p.m. – Beyond the Plan: Navigating Common Strategic Planning Pain Points

Explore the most common pain points that prevent strategic plans from turning into meaningful action, from early-stage readiness and stakeholder engagement to implementation and lasting impact. Learn how to design a more intentional, inclusive, and action-oriented process that supports real follow-through beyond the planning phase. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Event Garde

Speakers: Dilhara Muthukuda, Director, Facilitation Services, and Lindsay Thomas, Director, Client Engagement, Event Garde

Tue 7/21 at 2 p.m. – Growing Chapters That Attract Members: Turning Experience into Results

Explore how association staff can better support chapters in creating environments that members want to join—and stay part of. Connect the dots between internal chapter culture, member engagement, and outward perception, showing how positive experiences inside the chapter naturally translate into stronger growth. Learn about a simple set of metrics that can help you and your chapter leaders better understand how they’re doing—from engagement to participation trends—and how to use those insights to have more effective conversations and guide smarter decisions. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: re:Members

Tue 7/21 at 2 p.m. – AI Is Moving Fast. Are Your People Moving With It?

Your staff want to adapt, and research shows they’re actively asking for AI education. The gap isn’t apathy; it’s that most organizations haven’t built the structures or culture to meet that demand. Learn what AI change management actually looks like for mission-driven organizations and executives leading the strategy. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Mary Connor, CAE, AAiP, Chief Strategy Officer, Stringfellow Management Group
Dustin Radtke, Chief AI Officer, Momentive Software
Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP, Sr. Director of Industry Strategy, Momentive Software

Wed 7/22 at 11 a.m. – From “What We Do” to “Why Members Care”: Building a Stronger Association Value Proposition

Learn about a practical brand strategy framework to clarify who your association serves, what you offer, why it matters, and how you deliver value differently. Using the same approach Mercury Creative Group uses when building brand guides with clients, find out how to write a value proposition and strategy statement that support stronger messaging, better internal alignment, and more meaningful member engagement. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Cheri Quinn, Director of Brand Strategy, and Emily Youngblood, Client Services Director at Mercury Creative Group

Wed 7/22 at 12 p.m. – Making the Leap: Transitioning from Association Professional to Consultant

Are you thinking about turning your association experience into a consulting business? Hear former association staff members who made the leap and built successful consulting practices talk about lessons learned, common challenges, pricing considerations, client acquisition strategies, and building a successful consulting business. More info/register.

Hosts: Association Latinos and the ASAE Consultant Content Task Force

Speakers:

Amber Worthen, Email Maven
Michael Carr-Tatonetti, CPP, CAE, Pricing for Associations
Ana María Rivera-Pramuk, Associate Creative
Michael Pereira, CAE (moderator), School Nutrition Association

Wed 7/22 at 12 p.m. – Redefining Personal Brand: Beyond the Red Glasses

All of us deserve to be seen in 3D—with our personality, knowledge, expertise, and skills, we are all multidimensional. This discussion will explore our public facing selves, the question of perception, personal branding, and the dilemma of how we judge so often based on the surface, not what is inside. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speaker: Cecilia Sepp, Principal, Rogue Tulips

Wed 7/22 at 12 p.m. – The Event Signal Stack: Using Event Data to Power Smarter Marketing

Events produce powerful behavioral signals that can inform segmentation, personalization, lead and member scoring, and long-term engagement strategies. Explore how to identify, capture, and activate the right event data to fuel smarter marketing decisions. Learn how to move beyond basic metrics and use event interactions to trigger more relevant outreach, improve reporting, and connect events to broader lifecycle and revenue goals. More info/register.

Host: HighRoad Solutions

Speakers: Garra Swayne, Strategic Account Manager, and Maneesha Manges, CXO, HighRoad Solutions

Wed 7/22 at 12 p.m. – The Trust Economy: Why Donor Trust Is Harder to Earn—and How to Win It Back

89% of nonprofit executives say donor trust is harder to earn today than three years ago, and it now ranks as the #1 organizational priority for the year ahead. Drawing on new research from 500 U.S. nonprofit executives, hear where trust is breaking down and what the organizations earning it are doing differently. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Patrick Gotham, Senior Vice President, CCS Fundraising
Tirrah Switzer, CAE, Vice President, Product Marketing, Momentive Software

Wed 7/22 at 12 p.m. – Mind the Gap: Succession Planning for Nonprofits

When a longtime accountant, finance leader, or other key staff member leaves, nonprofit organizations, especially lean ones, can face significant disruption without a clear plan in place. Explore practical succession planning strategies, including how to assess your current financial structure, identify vulnerabilities, and evaluate staffing, outsourcing, and technology options to support continuity. More info/register.

Host: Your Part-Time Controller

Wed 7/22 at 1 p.m. – The Strength of Associations: Volunteering Around the World

Explore how associations can harness volunteering as a strategic asset to drive engagement, strengthen member value, and expand global impact. Learn how volunteering practices vary around the world, what motivates individuals in different cultural contexts, and how expectations of volunteer roles can differ significantly across geographies. Hear practical strategies to help you recruit, engage, and support volunteers effectively—no matter where they are. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Pietro Macchiarella, Senior Director of Data and Insights at YPO
Jim Piechowski, CAE, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Holmes Corporation

Wed 7/22 at 1 p.m. – Grow Your Leadership Presence: Next Gen’s Desire for Confident Communication

Learn how to communicate your value without feeling like you’re bragging, initiate conversations that build trust with senior leaders and peers, and strengthen your confident communication and leadership presence. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Meetings Today

Speaker: speaker, coach, and consultant Christy Renee Stehle

Wed 7/22 at 2 p.m. – The Revenue Playbook: 3 Strategies Associations Are Using to Turn Learning Into Their Growth Engine

Hear firsthand from learning leaders at three associations who are rewriting the online learning playbook by driving six- and seven-figure revenue gains across three distinct strategies. Get actionable insights on B2B distribution models, exam prep as a revenue engine, and microcredentials as market expansion. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: ASAE

Speakers:

Andrea Anderson, RDN, CD, Director, Online Clinical Content, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Dave Meginley, aPHR, GPHR, HR Certification Institute
Morgean Hirt, Director of Credentialing, Association for Talent Development
Ashish Rangnekar, CEO and Co-Founder, BenchPrep

Wed 7/22 at 2 p.m. – MasterTHIS: Discoverability & Distribution

As audiences turn to AI platforms for answers, traditional metrics are giving way to citations and share of voice in AI-driven discovery. Meanwhile, zero-click behaviors hide your best marketing, with buyers discovering brands through podcasts, social feeds, and AI answers before appearing in analytics as anonymous “Direct” traffic. Learn which owned and earned content formats most influence AI visibility and citations; how to shape and control your brand narrative for AI-driven discovery; and how to improve authority and earn citations in AI search. More info/register.

Host: Content Marketing Institute

Speakers:

Erik Carlson, CEO, Notified
Amanda Natividad, Chief Evangelist, SparkToro

Wed 7/22 at 2 p.m. – Secrets to a Smooth Run of Show

Hear strategies for preparing teams to handle any issues that might arise with calm and confidence. Learn how to optimize the event agenda for better flow and engagement; keep speakers, vendors and staff in sync throughout the event; ensure emergency preparedness; and establish a crisis communication plan. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: Northstar Meetings Group

Speakers:

Tonisha Landry, Chief Event Strategist, KAK & CO
Elise Schoening (moderator), Editor, Meeting News; Senior Editor, Northstar Meetings Group

Thu 7/23 at 11 a.m. – Designing Events That Help Audiences Make Sense of Uncertainty and Change

Audiences don’t come for sessions and slide decks. What people really want is to make sense of what is happening in their industry, understand where things are headed, and see their role in what comes next. Hear how the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) designs their events to help their audiences make sense of how their industry is growing and changing. With foresight summits, experiential learning formats, and curation for career stage, ICE is advancing both credentialing and the community, while growing their events. More info/register.

Host: Smithbucklin

Thu 7/23 at 12 p.m. – Beyond the Hype: Practical AI Strategies in Learning & Development

AI tools are everywhere, but adopting them without a strategy creates more problems than it solves. Explore what AI actually does well in learning and development, where human expertise remains essential, and what this shift means for your role. Get a clear framework for thinking about AI in your own workflows and a free resource to take back to your organization. More info/register.

Host: Forj

Speakers:

Tracy King, Chief Executive Officer, InspirEd
Terri Herrmann, Chief Marketing Officer, Forj

Thu 7/23 at 12 p.m. – When Dues Aren’t Enough: Revenue Strategies for Associations Facing a Changing Membership

62% of members now pay their own dues, and cost remains the #1 reason they leave. A growing gap between what associations offer and what members value is putting long-term revenue at risk, but this moment also presents a real opportunity for organizations willing to adapt their model. Hear about research and strategies that will help you reinvigorate member loyalty. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers: Chris Capistran, Vice President, Industry Strategy, and Chelsey Wilson, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Momentive Software

Thu 7/23 at 1 p.m. – Assessing Your Association’s Technical Debt

Explore how associations can identify, assess, and prioritize technical debt across their digital ecosystem. Learn about the hidden operational and financial costs of technical debt, common warning signs, and practical approaches to modernizing systems without unnecessary disruption. Get a practical framework to assess your current digital environment and the Causeis Technical Debt Assessment Blueprint to support future planning and digital transformation initiatives. More info/register.

Host: Causeis

Thu 7/23 at 2 p.m. – Stop Guessing: How AI Is Changing the Way Associations Get Found Online

Learn what AI-driven search actually rewards in 2026 and walk through a simple content engine that turns one thing you already create: an event recap, a member story, even a webinar like this, into five pieces of content that get surfaced and cited by AI. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Amber Farrell

Thu 7/23 at 2 p.m. – Fill the Pipeline: What Gen Z and Millennials Actually Need From Your Event

By the end of 2026, Millennials and Gen Z will make up nearly three-quarters of the workforce—yet most associations struggle to convert younger attendees into long-term members. Learn what works, what doesn’t, and how to apply it before your next event. More info/register.

Host: Momentive Software

Speakers:

Michelle Baughman, Manager, Exhibits and Sponsorship, America Society of Landscape Architects
Daniel Martin, Managing Director, Development, American Society of Landscape Architects
Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP, Sr. Director of Industry Strategy, Momentive Software

Thu 7/23 at 3 p.m. – What Smart Associations Are Doing Now? AI Trends for Associations

Learn what early adopters have learned since the start of the year: which AI tools delivered on their promise, which ones didn’t, and what the next wave of practical applications looks like for associations heading into Q3 and Q4. Hear real implementation stories: the wins, the surprises, and the lessons learned. Get an updated view of where AI is delivering measurable value in the association space, a set of low-risk use cases you can test immediately, and a framework for building your own AI adoption roadmap. More info/register.

Host: Member Lounge

Speaker: Amanda Doimo, Marketing Specialist, Member Lounge

Thu 7/23 at 4:30 p.m. – Learning Happens Everywhere: Are You Designing for It? (Alexandria VA)

Join us for an evening of learning, conversation, and connection with fellow event professionals in a relaxed, friendly setting. Come ready to think outside of the box, share ideas, and leave with insights you can implement right away. The session is grounded in Part 2 of the upcoming Freeman Trends Report on Learning, which builds on the foundational framework introduced in Part 1. Dig into the research and talk through what it means for how you design your events. Location: Alexandria VA. More info/register.

Host: Freeman

Mon 7/27 at 11 a.m. – The Career Playbook Senior Leaders Don’t Tell You About

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Speakers:

Nealy Wheat, CAE, SPHR, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), and Interim Executive Director, ASNT Foundation
Lauren Nachstein, Vice President of Customer Experience, Construction Financial Management Association
Terri Herrmann, CMO, Forj

Tue 7/28 at 11 a.m. – Association Women Technology Champions Open Doors

Open Doors is a monthly online gathering for AWTC members—45 minutes designed for genuine connection, discussion, and problem solving. With rotating hosts from the AWTC community and other leaders in the field, it’s a space to meet new members, deepen existing relationships, and tap into the collective expertise. Each session opens with an ice breaker, moves into a featured topic or AMA, and includes a “Situation Room” where members can bring a real challenge and gather insight from peers. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

Tue 7/28 at 1 p.m. – Top 10 Mistakes NFP Finance Teams Make in Reporting and Planning

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Corey Barak, Sr Sales Rep—Industry Solutions (NFP), and Rose Shah, Sr. Sales Rep—Industry Solutions, Solver

Wed 7/29 at 11 a.m. – Revenue Unplugged: Ask Us Anything About Non-Dues Revenue

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

Barbara Armentrout, Founder & Key Principal at BJA Solutions for Associations
Bruce Rosenthal, Principal at Bruce Rosenthal Associates, LLC
Dan Kowitz, Founder & CEO at JSB Partnership Consultants
Dr. Michael Carr-Tatonetti, Founder, Pricing Strategist at Pricing for Associations

Wed 7/29 at 12 p.m. – Practical AI for Sponsorship Sales: Real Tools, Real Workflows, Real Results

Host: Up10 Solutions

Speaker: Amy Michalski, Chief Business Development Officer, AIIM International

Wed 7/29 at 1 p.m. – Membership Innovation: Flipping the Script on Engagement

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Justin Burniske, MBA, Principal Consultant, Co-Owner at Volunteer Me by Meta-Dao

Thu 7/30 at 2 p.m. – What Board Members Think (WBMT) Report Launch

The briefing will include a sixty-minute period of presentation/question & response and a 30-minute open discussion with Jeff. More info/register.

Host: Jeff De Cagna, Executive Adviser, Foresight First

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The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

Snacks

You never grow old at the table

Share this:

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community

Good reads for the association community

You never grow old at the table

Share this: