The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
ASAE Annual exhibitors. Association exec Christopher Ware writes about the onslaught of self-centered, irrelevant, and pointless emails he’s getting from ASAE Annual exhibitors. His complaint reminded me of two posts (pre-Annual and post-Annual) I wrote about the same topic back in the summer of 2015. Same old, same old. If you’re worried we’re talking about your company, then read our advice.
Association competitive analysis. How do you attract sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers, and maintain their engagement and loyalty when you’re up against a wide range of competing alternatives? A new white paper from Fonteva and Protech featuring the advice of Bruce Rosenthal and Mary Byers describes a step-by-step approach for conducting a competitive analysis as a path to financial sustainability and mission success.
Membership. GrowthZone’s latest association survey report reveals a few common challenges: associations have a hard time proving the value of membership and persuading members to make time for association engagement. Many of them admit to not having documented plans for member engagement, young professional recruitment, and lapsed member reengagement—that’s a good place to start.
Association boards. Jeff De Cagna of Foresight First and Patrick Dorsey of Impexium invite association professionals to The Future of Association Boards (FAB) Community Dialogue, a multi-month exploration of the future of association boards hosted on LinkedIn. In the announcement video, Jeff makes a point of calling for the participation of young professionals, so please join the conversation.
Association marketing maturity. In its Marketing Benchmarks for Associations report, Mighty Citizen assesses the marketing maturity of associations in six categories: research/analytics, branding/strategy, marketing/SEO, UX design/content, technology, and team dynamics. They share trends, benchmarks, need-to-know best practices, and next steps for increasing your association’s marketing effectiveness.
Sponsorship strategy. In this comprehensive guide to tiered and à la carte sponsorship models for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, EventMobi offers advice for pricing, selling, and delivering sponsorships, measuring ROI, and crafting post-event reports for corporate revenue partners.
Website content. Most blog posts are marketing dead ends. Mark Schaefer says the biggest mistake marketing and communication teams make today is not treating each post and web page like a mini-landing page for your organization. As part of your marketing ecosystem, blog posts must do their part in keeping people on your site and encouraging them to subscribe, follow you, or explore within.
Respecting your staff. Elizabeth Engel, CAE, of Spark Consulting brings up a frustrating scenario I bet many of you have experienced: your boss listens to a consultant saying what you’ve been telling them for months or years. She asks whom your leadership (paid and volunteer) actually listens to and who’s allowed to be honest?
Extra credit
Five habits for CEOs (and others) who want to become better active learners. | by David Novak, Chief Executive (hat tip to Don Dea)
The power of feeling lucky: only people who believe in luck have it. | by Nir Eyal
The loneliness epidemic is still a problem for remote workers. I wonder how associations and employers can work together to tackle this issue. | by Cloey Callahan, WorkLife
Today, knowledge work is less about creating new things than it is about talking about those things. Yikes. Thankfully, that’s not what knowledge work is like for me. | by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic (free archive link)
Six great hiking apps for adventurous travelers. | by Kayla Matthews, Afar
You never grow old at the table
Every year during our July beach trip, I make North Carolina shrimp scampi with pasta. We finish dinner with key lime pie from Bill’s Seafood Market in Sunset Beach. The same lady has been making their pies and soups for 27 years! My scampi includes onion, red bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, white wine, lemon juice, shrimp, butter, pasta water, linguine, and fresh basil. So good.
I had half a jar of Herdez chipotle salsa cremosa so I used it as a sauce for big eye tuna with sautéed red jalapeños, garlic chives, and cilantro.
Since we had a cool spell of 80-degree weather this past weekend, I decided to do something with three packages of short ribs in the freezer. But I pulled them out too late for a low-and-slow recipe. Instead, I found an America’s Test Kitchen recipe for the Instant Pot: rustic Italian braised beef short ribs. On the side, roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, red onion, garlic powder, and cayenne.
We enjoyed the short ribs over polenta. I never make polenta the traditional way. I know, mamma mia! Instead, I follow this quick microwave method. Not a purist. And yes, yellow cornmeal grits will do—as long as they’re not instant. Grits, polenta, not much of a difference in my opinion.
If you’d like to subscribe, please complete the form in the sidebar or at the bottom of this post. I won’t share or sell your email address.
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 too product-centric.
Fri 8/2 at 4 p.m. – Building a Purpose-Driven Brand for Nonprofits and Associations
Drawing on the 3-I Framework of Influence, Income, and Impact, hear about a holistic approach to brand development that aligns with the unique needs and goals of mission-driven organizations. Find out why a clear and authentic purpose is essential for an organization’s success and brand strength. Discover strategies to ensure all branding elements and communications consistently reflect their core purpose. Learn how to identify, engage, and nurture a community that shares and supports organizational purpose, assess how well activities and communications align with stated purpose, and measure the resulting impact. More info/register.
Host: Fridays@4
Speaker: Elona Washington
*All events are online at Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Mon 8/5 at 8 a.m. – The Role of the Woman in Transforming the World (Radio Free 501c, the podcast of Rogue Tulips Consulting)
Every week Rogue Tulips brings the nonprofit community intriguing guests discussing vital topics affecting nonprofit organizations around the world—and we have fun doing it! Episodes are published Monday mornings in both audio and video format, available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcast, and Google Podcast (to name a few!).
Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, CNP, principal and founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting
Guest: Lesedi Lesetedi, Botswana Open University
Mon 8/5 at 3 p.m. – Why You Need a Ghostwriter on the Content Team
Hear advice for brands about effectively partnering with ghostwriters for content marketing. We’ll clear up a few misconceptions about ghostwriting and share proven tips for empowering ghostwriters to deliver great brand content. More info/register.
Host: Erika Heald
Speaker: Mindi Zissman, ghostwriter for risk, insurance, and compliance organizations
<Note from Deirdre: I ghostwrite for clients in the association community. Please let me know if you need help.>
Tue 8/6 at 12 p.m. – Large Language Models for Associations (Data Analytics Network)
Engage in association peer-led discussions on topics related to data and analytics on the first Tuesday of each month. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Data Analytics Network
Tue 8/6 at 1 p.m. – The Simplest of Terms: Translating Tech Talk for the Non-IT Audience
Learn how to convey complex and abstract concepts to non-technology audiences to keep the lines of communication open and clear between the business and technology teams. Hear how evaluate the target audience to determine communication needs and make the intangible tangible. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Olivia Wilkins, Business Analyst/Project Manager, PerByte
Tue 8/6 at 1:10 p.m. – Lessons in Learning: How Can We Make Learning Neuroinclusive?
Expand your understanding of inclusion to address neurotype differences. Learn about the high rate of nondisclosure due to discrimination and why it’s vital to design inclusive environments regardless of disclosure. Discover practical strategies for creating neuroinclusive learning spaces, both place-based and online, with recommended resources. More info/register.
Host: InspirEd
Speakers:
- Carolyn B. Thompson, president, Training Systems
- Tracy King, CAE, CEO, InspirEd
Wed 8/7 at 12 p.m. – Are Your Nonprofit Employees Still Exempt? A Review of the DOL’s 2024 Final FLSA Overtime Regulation
In April 2024, the U. S. Department of Labor issued a Final Rule substantially raising the salary threshold for salaried exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The first change took effect July 1, 2024, and more changes are coming over the next three years. Learn about the most common exemptions under the FLSA, DOL’s increased salary thresholds, common FLSA pitfalls, how the FLSA applies to nonprofit organizations and how it differs from the for-profit sector, best practices for managing the Rule change, and the interplay between state labor laws and the FLSA. More info/register.
Host: Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP
Moderator: Eileen Johnson, Co-chair of Whiteford’s Associations & Nonprofit Organizations Section
Speakers: Whiteford’s Labor and Employment Law Partners Lisa Brauner and David Stevens
Wed 8/7 at 12 p.m. – Achieving Work-Life Balance for Leaders and Their Teams
If you’re tired of work-life balance training that only deals with stress and time management at the personal level, and ignores issues of leadership or productivity, hear action-oriented guidance on how you can define a balance that powers your career, yet still gives you a life. Learn how to develop a clear understanding of the seven dimensions of balance, define your own desired balance, using the Personal Balance Sheet framework, broaden your focus and still perform, avoid burnout, and balance work vs life issues when leading a team. More info/register.
Host: Braintrust Professional Institute
Speakers: Randall Craig and Ronja Francoeur, Braintrust Professional Institute
Wed 8/7 at 2 p.m. – Finding and Welcoming New Participants
Growing your event audience can not only help boost your bottom line, but also can enhance the on-site experience with new and diverse voices. What are the best channels for finding and engaging new participants? How can you accelerate the registration process and make sure they feel welcome at the meeting? Industry experts will share strategies for thoughtfully increasing your attendee base—and ensuring new participants will want to come back year after year. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: Northstar Meetings Group
Speakers:
- Valerie Bihet, Founder, VIBE
- Wendy Porter, Founder and Chief Event Strategist, Wendy Porter Events LLC
- Connie Samuels, Director of Events & Education, NAPEO
- Elise Schoening (moderator), Editor, Meeting News; Senior Editor, Northstar Meetings Group
Thu 8/8 at 2 p.m. – Managing Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes in Association Projects
Discover how to better manage organizational change by empowering you and your staff with needed change competencies—the ability to react to and manage change repeatedly. Hear how a technology consulting firm developed a successful change process platform to help their association clients with technology adoption, which can also be used to help manage change in other key areas of your association. More info/register.
Host: 501 Works
Speakers:
- Joe Plasterer, principal, Starkweather Association Services and co-founder, Cirrus Change Readiness
- Melinda Starkweather, CMP, co-founder, Starkweather Association Services and Cirrus Change Readiness
- James Marquis, CIO, 501Works
Thu 8/8 at 2 p.m. – Privacy Compliance for Nonprofits: Protect Your Donors & Members
Learn how to do impactful outreach while also protecting the privacy of your supporters and avoiding legal pitfalls. Hear about the regulatory frameworks that potentially impact you, how compliance is woven into your marketing and advertising, and how a cookie-lite world may change things. More info/register.
Host: Feathr
Speaker: Aleksander Levental, co-founder and CEO, Feathr
Fri 8/9 at 1 p.m. – Talk with CAEs
An online space for CAE candidates to ask questions about the CAE (e.g., exam preparations, eligibility, exam content outline, study strategies, practice questions, tips and advice, etc.) and current CAEs to share their knowledge and experience with the exam. More info/register.
Facilitators:
- Aaron Grau, CAE, President, Global Association Partners
- DeeJay Hastings, CAE, Executive Consultant, LEWIS, LLC
Sat 8/10 at 4 p.m. – 2024 ASAE Annual Welcome Happy Hour (Cleveland OH)
Catch up with AWTC community members, expand your network, and find your people before navigating the next few days. This IRL opportunity, to socialize and network with your industry peers, is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsors. Location: Cleveland OH. More info/register.
Host: Association Women Technology Champions
Fri 8/16 at 3 p.m. – The Informal Consultants Networking Extravaganza
This monthly networking meeting is for full-time consultants who work with non-profits and associations. Because it’s not an official ASAE event (and is organized by consultants, not by ASAE staff), you don’t have to be an ASAE member to attend. August’s main topic is ASAE24 Post Con: The Good, the Bad, and the Questionable. More info.
Organizer: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting
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