Association Brain Food: 8.16.24

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

“The most important decision you will ever make is to be in a good mood.” —Voltaire

Chapter ambassadors. Billhighway shares everything you need to know about launching a chapter ambassador program. Ambassadors help boost member engagement, expand your association’s and chapters’ reach, and ensure consistent brand messaging while offering meaningful volunteer opportunities and career-building experiences.

Virtual conferences. Fíonta reminds us of the advantages virtual conferences have over in-person events. They describe tactics for delivering a memorable and enjoyable online conference experience, including how to hold on to attendees’ attention, minimize virtual fatigue, facilitate connections, and please sponsors.

Membership. Aptify shares 50 ways to boost member recruitment and retention. I bet a craft beer you haven’t given all of these solid ideas a shot.

Association reading. When I first started reading association blogs back in the 2000s, it was a life-transforming experience. I kid you not. Blogs gave me the inspiration and education I needed at that point in my career. Lead Marvels shares their list of must-read association blogs. Yes, mine’s one of them, but so are many others that deserve a place on your regular reading list.

Awards programs. How often does a magazine like The Economist share something about associations? Hardly ever, which is why my eyes opened up when I saw the headline, “What is the point of industry awards?” Don’t worry. At first, they paint a painfully comical and accurate portrayal of awards galas. But hang on for the rest of the article about the positive impact awards make.

AI for associations. Need to catch up on AI? In Nimble’s AI success kit, you get four useful resources: two 30-minute webinar recordings about AI for associations and two white papers—an introduction to AI for associations and a guide to developing an AI strategy.

Website hosting. A few months ago, a website firm serving the association market went out of business and left their association clients adrift. Rene Shonerd of Half Moon Consulting explains how to prevent this nightmare from happening to your association by mitigating risks in your web hosting agreements.

Board’s AI stewardship. In a series of articles for Naylor, Jeff De Cagna advises associations to take a thoughtful approach to AI stewardship by helping your board understand AI’s capabilities and limitations, create AI governance measures, and anticipate AI’s evolution and impact. Boards should build their capacity for ethical decision-making, understand the stakes, and steward their associations toward ethical, purposeful, and responsible AI adoption.

Extra credit

A long but fascinating article about a VR genius who’s shaking up military tech (and avoiding the government’s moribund procurement practices) and who’s thriving despite a history of lockstep lies about him from the press. | Jeremy Stern, Tablet

Americans want businesses to stay quiet on public policy. Just 38% said companies should take a political stance—a fall of ten points in two years. | Zach Hrynowski, Gallup

AI is confusing—here’s your cheat sheet. | Jay Peters, The Verge

Beware: Phishing attacks are using URL shorteners to hide malicious links. | Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4

You never grow old at the table

Like many of you, I was at ASAE Annual earlier this week, so I never had the opportunity to cook. Back home, when it was my turn to make dinner, pasta seemed like the right choice since I was still pretty tired. Pasta is my soul food. I settled on fettuccine in a white clam sauce, but zhuzhed it up with zucchini, summer squash, red bell pepper, onion, tomato, garlic, white wine, lemon, canned clams, pasta water, butter, and fresh oregano and basil. It hit the spot and I have leftovers for today’s lunch!

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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.

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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 topics are a post-conference discussion of the good, bad, and questionable at ASAE Annual and getting the most out of your ASAE membership. More info.

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

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

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Fri 8/16 at 4 p.m. – Online Communities Series: How to Revive a Dying Online Community

Don’t shut down an unengaged community. There’s still hope! Learn how to identify key issues that are affecting your community’s performance, craft strategies to get things back on track, and measure the impact of your approach. More info/register.

Host: Fridays@4

Speaker: Catherine Hackney, founder, Confident Communities Consulting

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Mon 8/19 at 8 a.m. – Risk/Audit for Emerging Technologies (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: Sanja Kecic, Cyber Security Expert

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Mon 8/19 at 12 p.m. – Lunch and Learn: Marketing AI Show & Tell

Join us for a little show and tell about Marketing AI tools. More info/register (ASAE members only).

Host: ASAE Marketing Professionals Community.

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Tue 8/20 from 11 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. – Event Marketers Week: Resilience & Wellness

The only virtual gathering for top B2B event and experiential marketers, focused on your growth, wellness and overall betterment. We’ll tackle the unique challenges of one of America’s most stressful professions in a community setting that’s focused on you, while offering a platform for sharing insights to help you thrive both personally and professionally. Learn from experts in resilience and wellness, creativity and design thinking, and event leadership—all from the comfort of your desk. More info/register.

Host: Zuddl

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Tue 8/20 at 12 p.m. – Intro to AI Webinar for Associations and Nonprofits

Learn the basics and importance of generative AI and Large Language Models. Witness the power of AI tools through live demonstrations, showcasing their impact on real-world scenarios. Learn to create targeted personas in ChatGPT for personalized content and interactions. Find out which settings to adjust for privacy and security, and understand what information is safe to input into AI tools. More info/register.

Host: Sidecar

Speaker: Thomas Altman, Co-Founder, Tasio

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Tue 8/20 at 12:30 p.m. – Why Good Ideas Die: The High Cost of Poor Change Management

Explore the challenges of driving a high-performing change outcome. Hear about the human factors involved in business change and transformation. More info/register.

Host: Staaterman Strategic Advisory

Speaker: Mark Vincent, Founder of Applied Change Ltd.

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Tue 8/20 at 1 p.m. – Amplify Your Learning Business: Strategies for Success

Hear proven and practical strategies for turning stale learning programs into stellar learning experiences. Learn how to develop a comprehensive strategy to guide your growth, govern technology and set a clear vision for your learning initiatives. More info/register.

Host: D2L

Speakers:

• Kevin MacLeod, Learning Experience Architect, D2L
• Margot Miller, Program Manager, IRCP, National Society of High School Scholars
• Connie Ryan, Founder & President, Professional Development Institute

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Tue 8/20 at 2 p.m. – Renewals Reinvented: Leveraging Member Insights for Greater Retention

Learn how to use member data to supercharge your renewal strategy. Hear real-life success stories about creative ways to personalize your approach and make renewals more engaging. Whether you’re looking to improve retention rates, increase engagement, or simply refresh your renewal strategy, this webinar will equip you with fuel to reimagine your renewal process with insights from your members. More info/register.

Host: PropFuel

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Tue 8/20 at 2 p.m. – Leveling Up Your State Public Affairs Program: Benchmarking & Strategies

Learn how to have a greater impact on the policy landscape and benchmark the effectiveness of your state public affairs program. Hear what other teams are doing that you could also be doing. Get information about the five tiers of public affairs maturity—from Just Getting Started, all the way to Strategic—and get strategies to help you level up from one tier to the next. More info/register.

Host: Quorum

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Tue 8/20 at 2 p.m. – Benchmark Your Advocacy: 2024 Data-Driven Insights and Tactics

Understanding what time of day and day of week your audience is most engaged, or what channels they use the most to take action is a must if you want to run successful advocacy programs in an already crowded space. Hear about the findings of VoterVoice’s 2024 Advocacy Benchmark Report, packed with the latest data, trends, and actionable strategies to elevate your grassroots efforts. Discover the secrets behind top-performing advocacy campaigns and learn how to leverage this data to optimize your grassroots communication strategies. More info/register.

Host: VoterVoice

Speakers:

• Seth Chase, Government Affairs Director, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses
• Lauren Schwartz, Senior Digital Advocacy Strategist, REAL Strategies
• Amanda Allen, Director, Communications and Office Management, New York Chapter American College of Physicians

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Tue 8/20 at 2 p.m. – Keys to Driving Webinar and Digital Event Registration

Learn best practices to increase your audience from tens to thousands and deliver maximum results. Hear about the latest performance benchmarks, quick wins to boost your success, optimizing and personalizing your email invitations, tips for content that converts, and how gen-AI tools can help, and new ways to get out of the email inbox and promote across channels. More info/register.

Host: American Marketing Association

Speaker: Mark Bornstein, VP of Marketing and Chief Evangelist, ON24

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Wed 8/21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Event Marketers Week: Creativity & Design Thinking

The only virtual gathering for top B2B event and experiential marketers, focused on your growth, wellness and overall betterment. We’ll tackle the unique challenges of one of America’s most stressful professions in a community setting that’s focused on you, while offering a platform for sharing insights to help you thrive both personally and professionally. Learn from experts in resilience and wellness, creativity and design thinking, and event leadership—all from the comfort of your desk. More info/register.

Host: Zuddl

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Wed 8/21 at 12 p.m. – Are You Talking to Me?! CPC vs EPC

While the definitions of “compliance” and “preference” are pretty clear cut, the email marketing world has often interchanged these terms in efforts to build member engagement and improve campaign performance. The goal of an EPC (Email Preference Center) is rooted in maintaining compliance and adhering to CANSPAM laws. With more emphasis now placed on creating personalized digital experiences and user journeys, the lines are getting blurry around what you need to provide to maintain compliance, and what you want to collect to personalize communications. Learn about the mechanics behind a Communications or Content Preferences Center, how it differs from the traditional EPC and what associations should plan for in the future. More info/register.

Host: HighRoad Solutions

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

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Wed 8/21 at 12 p.m. – Using Probing Questions & Internal Communications Measurements to Encourage Leadership Support

Learn how to effectively communicate the operational value of internal communications and create project champions. Find out about the questions to ask when starting a conversation with decision-makers, ways to measure where you are and the progress you want to see, defining goals and how to work toward them, quantifying loss due to poor internal communications, and understanding and aligning assumptions with reality. More info/register.

Host: L-12 Services Corp.

Speaker: Lizabeth Wesely-Casella, Founder & CEO, L-12 Services Corp.

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Wed 8/21 at 1 p.m. – MasterTHIS: Content Strategy – Day 1

Sessions are: Strategies to Scale Your Content Engine for Maximum Impact, 7 Steps To Document Your Content Marketing Strategy, and License the Internet: The Future of Marketing Campaigns. More info/register.

Host: Content Marketing Institute

Speakers:

• Michael Brenner, Founder, Marketing Insider Group
• Analisa Goodin, Founder & CEO, Catch+Release
• Ariana Keil, Growth Marketing Manager, Canto

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Wed 8/21 at 1 p.m. – Mastering Mobile Optimization: Strategies for Increasing Conversions on Smartphones

Explore key strategies for optimizing mobile user experiences to drive conversions. With nearly 70% of the global population using smartphones, understanding mobile behavior and trends is crucial to driving growth. Learn how to enhance speed, maximize screen space, and optimize calls-to-action to improve your mobile engagement. More info/register.

Host: American Marketing Association

Speaker: Mary Kate Cash, Head of Growth Marketing for North America, AB Tasty

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Wed 8/21 at 2 p.m. – Next-Gen Nonprofit Marketing: Social Media Strategies

Discover the strengths of various social media platforms and how to leverage them effectively to reach your target audience. Get tips on creating compelling content that resonates with younger audiences and drives engagement. Understand how to track and measure the success of your social media campaigns to ensure you’re meeting your goals. Explore real-world examples of nonprofits that have harnessed the power of social media to engage and grow their supporter base. More info/register.

Host: Feathr

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Thu 8/22 at 11 a.m. – AI and Human Collaboration: Creating High-Quality Content Together

Learn how to use AI tools to build detailed audience personas from existing data, create and repurpose content with AI, and test content with AI to gauge audience preferences. Find out about the critical role of human oversight in maintaining content authenticity and creativity. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Adrian Speyer, VP Marketing & Community, Customer Leaders Institute

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Thu 8/22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Event Marketers Week: Event Leadership

The only virtual gathering for top B2B event and experiential marketers, focused on your growth, wellness and overall betterment. We’ll tackle the unique challenges of one of America’s most stressful professions in a community setting that’s focused on you, while offering a platform for sharing insights to help you thrive both personally and professionally. Learn from experts in resilience and wellness, creativity and design thinking, and event leadership—all from the comfort of your desk. More info/register.

Host: Zuddl

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Thu 8/22 at 1 p.m. – How to Grow Your Online Course Catalog with Third-Party Content

It’s through your catalog of products that you can improve the skills and knowledge of individual learners and hope to realize broad change in the fields, professions, or industries you serve. Ensuring your products are effective and of high quality is of paramount importance. But you don’t have to build everything in your catalog yourself. Learn about factors to consider when determining whether to create content or curate content, practical considerations for how to offer third-party courses to your learners, and specific existing online courses that might make sense for your learning business to leverage. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Leading Learning

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

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Thu 8/22 at 2 p.m. – Data Strategy Workshop: Thinking Big with Data for Associations

Learn about the tools and strategies needed to leverage data effectively, ensuring you can make a greater impact on your mission. Discover the potential of big data and how it can drive innovation within your organization. Learn practical ways to bridge the gap between your current data capabilities and your data-driven goals. Participate in a hands-on exercise to map your big ideas to actionable data strategies. More info/register.

Hosts: Fíonta and Salesforce

Speakers:

• Nicole Adair, Principal Solution Engineer, Salesforce
• Ashley Goad, Director of Data and Architecture, Fíonta
• Lex Grace, Solution Engineer, Salesforce
• David Manuel, Manager, Technical Architect, Fíonta

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Thu 8/22 at 4 p.m. – Strategic Planning: Why It Fails and A New Approach

Hear the reasons behind strategic planning failures and a new approach to tackle this common issue. Learn about the pitfalls of traditional strategies and explore innovative methods to achieve success. More info/register.

Host: Jon Bassford, CAE, MBA, JD, Lateral Solutions

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Fri 8/23 at 1 p.m. – Building Bridges: Strategies & Best Practices for Working with Subject Matter Experts

Learn how to build bridges with your SMEs that result in high-quality content for your organization’s learning programs. Unlock the secrets to clear and effective communication with SMEs. Discover tools and techniques to keep engagements with SMEs on track and on time. Learn how to set and manage expectations to avoid common pitfalls. Explore strategies to make the learning content creation process smooth and efficient and tips and tricks to ensure your educational materials are top-notch and impactful. 0.75 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Blue Sky eLearn

Speakers: Jordan Baker, M.Ed., Learning Solutions Advisor, and Dr. Kristen Wall, MA EdD, Director of Learning & Development, Blue Sky eLearn

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Fri 8/23 at 4 p.m. – ASAE Conference Recap

Fridays@4 board member, Kenjie Davis, will facilitate a recap of the ASAE24 conference. Did you attend? What did you learn? What were the key takeaways? If you didn’t attend, find out what you missed. More info/register.

Host: Fridays@4

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Wed 8/28 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Meet & Greet

Connect with new faces in the association tech community. Join us for a 30-minute welcome event to forge fresh connections and discover our vibrant Slack community. More info/register.

Host: Association Women Technology Champions

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Thu 8/29 at 11 a.m. – So What Is CRM Anyway? How These Modern Tools Can Help You Increase Sales, Members, Sponsors or Just About Anything Else

Whether your organization is selling products, services, memberships or is just supporting a group of interested people (like an NGO), CRM tools will pull you out of the world in which you’re managed by Excel spreadsheets. Hear industry use cases and some of the built-in capabilities available in CRM tools. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Matthew Friedman, Principal Solution Architect, Business Process Associates

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Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers free professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled.

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Creative Commons licensed photo of Buckskin Gulch trail by Joshua Gresham via Unsplash

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