The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community
“Anne sat long at her window that night companioned by a glad content.” —from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Good reads for the association community
Chapter member engagement. Members often feel more connected to their chapter than to the national association, but remote work and busy schedules make in-person chapter meetings hard to attend consistently. Clowder explains how a mobile app with dedicated spaces—separate news feeds, discussion forums, and event calendars for each chapter or special interest group—keeps members connected between events and gives volunteer leaders better tools to manage communications.
Education programs. The Apti team talked to John Leh of Talented Learning about what associations can learn from solopreneur training firms, using the real-world example of Alicia Katz Pollock’s QuickBooks training empire—she built 70+ courses and multiple revenue streams as a one-person operation. The post shares eight strategies associations can adapt, from targeting employer partnerships and building subscription models to using AI for content scaling and launching affiliate programs to grow your audience.
Member renewal. Stop the churn! Marketing General Inc. shares nine renewal strategies backed by their Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report data. The guide covers data, research, timing, grace periods, payment options, renewal reminders, and channels, plus a month-by-month renewal schedule.
Association SEO course. Rank higher in Google search results with the Association Search Engine Optimization Certificate Course from Association Academy. Expert-led, on-demand lessons walk you through keyword research, content optimization, site authority, and technical SEO—the practical stuff that translates into real search visibility. You’ll earn five CAE credits and come away knowing how to bring more traffic to your site without paying for ads. Enrollment is $299. Use referral code BRAINFOOD to save $50.
Member surveys. Members rarely give honest answers in surveys because the questions don’t make it safe to do so. In one of the most illuminating posts I’ve read lately, Pamela Wilton writes for Boardroom about HBR research on the psychology of disclosure and what it means for associations. For example, asking about someone’s immediate situation gets far more candid responses than asking about their goals. She also explains how to word questions so that acknowledging challenges feels normal, not risky, and why closing the feedback loop matters.
Association education programs. Continuing education has long served associations as both a core mission and a financial anchor, but that model is under real pressure. Chris Urena of the Endocrine Society writes for ASAE about what associations need to reconsider, including how you define your audience (hint: not just members), price programs, gauge what learners need right now, and decide when to retire offerings that have run their course.
Technology selection. Dennison & Associates covers the six essential sections of an effective RFP and the pitfalls that make qualified vendors bail before submitting proposals. They cover evaluating proposals, assessing implementation fit, calculating multi-year costs, and figuring out whether vendors really understand your challenges.
CAE prep course/study group. Preparing for the May CAE Exam? If you want to pass, take it from this CAE: don’t do it alone and definitely don’t rely on cramming the week before. Through March 18, you can join the Rogue Tulips’ CAE Prep Course + Study Group. You’ll get a study group, course materials, individual guidance, and small-group discussions to support whatever you’re doing on your own. Take $25 off by registering with promo code RTBRAINFOOD.
Your association’s future. After talking with nearly two dozen healthcare association CEOs, Dean West of Association Laboratory has some bad news. Fragmentation—across communities, structures, strategies, messages, and cultures—will kill associations, especially if professionals and their employers already see you as an optional line item.
Snacks
ChatGPT sells out: OpenAI tests ads in ChatGPT at premium rates, while Anthropic markets Claude as ad-free, igniting debate over AI trust and sponsored answers. | Jackie Snow, Quartz
Most workers spend more than three hours per week cleaning up AI workslop. | Allisa Boulette, Zapier
Red Robin is a case study in how to kill a restaurant chain (or any business) from the inside out. | Aakash Gupta
If Association Brain Food has made a difference in your professional life, please consider supporting my work on it via Buy Me A Coffee/Beer.
You never grow old at the table
A weeknight win: orange-glazed salmon. I used navel instead of blood oranges, decreased the brown sugar by half, and used a 1/2 teaspoon each for all the spices. On the side, Brussels sprouts roasted with red onion, bacon, garlic powder, and hot smoked paprika.
On Sunday, I made 20 big meatballs—more than half of them went into the freezer. I served them with marinara over linguine. On the side, a vegetable sauté—yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli stem, onion, red bell pepper, and tomato—tossed in homemade basil pesto from the freezer.
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.
Fri 2/27 at 11 a.m.* – From Search to AI Discovery: A One-Person B2B Inbound Story for Associations
Learn what still works, what needs to evolve, and what to ignore. More info/register.
Host: OasisLMS
Speaker: Samuel Hirsch, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, OasisLMS
*All events are online at Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.
Fri 2/27 at 12 p.m. – What We Stopped Doing: The Hard Decisions Behind Building a Modern Association Tech Stack
Resources—time, people, money, attention—are not infinite. True growth in one area often requires reductions in another. Learn how to identify systems for sunset, decide when programs no longer deliver value, and evaluate processes, workflows, and customizations for inefficiency and drag. Find out how to approach the stakeholders (teams, members, board) about a system that needs to go, make space for honest evaluation, and keep generating buy-in for continuous change. More info/register.
Host: fusionSpan
Speakers:
- Edima Elinewinga, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Association of Corporate Counsel
- Thad Lurie, Senior Vice President of Digital & Technology, AGU
- George Breeden, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer, American Society for Microbiology
Fri 2/27 at 3:15 p.m. – Sustainable Leadership in Demanding Times: Preventing Burnout & Building Resilience
Learn how to identify early signs of stress and burnout in themselves and within leadership roles; apply practical stress-management and emotional regulation tools that support daily leadership demands; strengthen personal resilience through adaptive coping strategies that enhance energy, focus, and decision-making; and develop a sustainable leadership approach that supports long-term well-being and organizational effectiveness. 1 CAE credit. More info/register (ASAE members only).
Host: ASAE Executive Management Professionals Advisory Council
Speaker: Nadia Paredes, Lecturer, Marital and Family Therapy, Loyola Marymount University
Mon 3/2 at 8 a.m. – Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) for Associations (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, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and other channels.
Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, ACNP, LPEC, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting
Guests: Alyssa Hulka, Kelsey Mills, and Merrik Kressley of Acella
Tue 3/3 at 12 p.m. – Association Tech Trends: Insights from Association Leaders
Each year, ASAE’s Chief Information & Performance Excellence Officer, Reggie Henry, asks association leaders to share the technology challenges and trends shaping their organizations. Hear about the latest findings from emerging tools and integration hurdles to data strategy, AI adoption, and member experience priorities. Get a practical look at what your peers are navigating and what it means for your technology roadmap in the year ahead. More info/register.
Host: Data Analytics Network
Tue 3/3 at 12 p.m. – Managing Event Risk in an Unpredictable World
It’s not just that things are unpredictable, it’s that they are also unusually unstable. Political shifts, economic pressure, changing workforce expectations, and accelerating technology are colliding at once and creating new worlds of risk at our events. Join Beth Surmont of 360 Live Media in a fireside chat with Jeannie Weber, the Smithbucklin SME on event risk management. More info/register.
Host: Smithbucklin
Tue 3/3 at 1 p.m. – Strategy: Crafting the Right Strategy Based on Purpose and Core Values
Learn how to anchor strategy in purpose and core values; differentiate between a growth story and true strategic growth; translate strategy into a clear, memorable statement; and align stakeholders around the organization’s strategic direction. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speakers:
- Jane-Scott Cantus, Principal Member at ILEX Leadership Associates LLC
- Michele Barry, Business Coach at Assured Strategy
Tue 3/3 at 4 p.m. – Let’s Chat: Small Staff Associations
Join a discussion about developing governance pipelines and onboarding board members. Topics include: Governance Pipeline & Recruitment Strategy; Election Models & Candidate Development; Preparing the Board, Onboarding, & Setting Expectations; and Offboarding, Evaluation & Succession Continuity. More info/register (ASAE members only).
Host: ASAE Small Staff Advisory Committee
Wed 3/4 at 12 p.m. – Rethinking Event Sponsorship for Growth
Hear how to rethink sponsorship strategy by using events as year-round revenue platforms rather than one-time transactions. Learn how to better align sponsor objectives with member engagement, design higher-value sponsorship opportunities, and leverage event technology to deliver measurable ROI that sponsors are willing to pay more for. More info/register.
Hosts: CANRev Collaborative and PheedLoop
Speakers:
- Ed Byers, CHRP, CMP, CAE, President, CANRev Collaborative
- Mitch Malinsky, Vice President, PheedLoop
Wed 3/4 at 12 p.m. – The Personalization Mirage: What Your Members Aren’t Telling You
Associations say they “know their members,” but most rely on outdated profiles, stale behavioral data, or generic content journeys that no longer reflect what today’s professionals want, need, or expect. Explore how AI-powered personalization is transforming the member experience. Hear how associations use dynamic content signals, adaptive tone, automated summaries, and behavioral insights to deliver experiences tailored to learning style, seniority, accessibility needs, and cultural context. Learn what true personalization looks like, what data it requires, how to ethically deploy it, and how to avoid the pitfalls of fractured systems or biased models. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: AIOT
Speakers:
- Adam Hostetter and Johnny Clayton of FUSE Next
- Joseph DeMicco of Amplify Industrial Marketing.
Wed 3/4 at 1 p.m. – AI & [Canadian] Associations: Legal Readiness in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Learn about the current state of AI law in Canada and what’s coming soon; key legal risks for associations using AI (internally or through vendors); how to handle donor, financial, and member data responsibly; internal policy essentials: red/yellow/green light AI usage scenarios; contracting with AI vendors: what to watch for and what to ask; and first steps toward responsible AI governance in your organization. More info/register.
Hosts: Wicket and Navio Law
Thu 3/5 at 10 a.m. – Digital Marketing Analytics Starter Pack: Measuring What Matters for Membership Growth (Membership & Marketing Symposium)
Learn how to identify key digital marketing metrics across email, social media, web, and paid ads that signal progress toward membership goals; apply UTM codes and GA4 reporting to track campaign effectiveness and user engagement across channels; translate analytics into strategic insights that answer leadership questions and guide membership-focused decision-making; benchmark performance using internal and external data to refine content and outreach strategies; and build a starter analytics toolkit that supports ongoing evaluation, optimization, and storytelling around member impact. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Julie McDowell, Director, Strategic Communications & Digital Content at College of American Pathologists
Thu 3/5 at 11:15 a.m. – Using AI to Power Smarter Membership and Marketing Strategies (Membership & Marketing Symposium)
Learn how AI is changing membership and marketing strategy, not just speeding up the work; which AI tools are worth paying attention to and how associations are using them; and where strategy needs to shift in response to AI. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Joanna Pineda, CEO & Chief Troublemaker at Matrix Group International
Thu 3/5 at 12:45 p.m. – Members Aren’t Responding—Now What? (Membership & Marketing Symposium)
Learn how to diagnose the real reasons behind poor member engagement using segmentation, messaging, and product-fit frameworks; evaluate member data and campaign performance to identify what’s working—and what’s not—in your marketing strategy; differentiate between symptoms of marketing problems (like low open rates) and underlying product or value gaps within the association; redesign core marketing messages to align with meaningful member needs and motivations, avoiding one-size-fits-all communication; collaborate with peers to create actionable solutions and engagement strategies that can be applied immediately within your organization; and implement a feedback and measurement loop to continuously improve marketing, segmentation, and product relevance over time. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Laura Sparks, Director of Marketing and Communications at American Society of Appraisers
Thu 3/5 at 2 p.m. – There’s Gold in That There Content! The AI Tech Stack to Turn Hidden Assets into a Member Education Goldmine
Learn how to transform archived webinars, papers, and conference content into fresh, high‑value learning products. Hear how AI augments staff capacity, enabling faster content turnaround and scalable education programs powered by your association’s own expertise. More info/register.
Host: 501Works
Speakers:
- AJ Sallis, Chief Executive, Intuto
- Caitlin Tennant-Brooks, Head of Customer Success, Intuto
- James Marquis, CIO, 501Works
Thu 3/5 at 2 p.m. – From Reactive to Strategic: Building a High-Impact Marketing Function in Today’s Associations (Membership & Marketing Symposium)
Learn how to identify and assess common failure points in association marketing teams, including misaligned priorities, lack of strategic clarity, and unclear performance expectations; apply a practical quarterly planning framework that helps teams stay focused, measure what matters, and communicate results to leadership more effectively; and implement strategies to shift the internal perception of marketing—from order-taking to strategic partner—through better goals, reporting, and cross-team collaboration. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Brianne Wheeler, CEO/Owner at Levitate Marketing
Thu 3/5 at 2:30 p.m. – What Board Members Think Association Community Survey Information Sessions
The What Board Members Think Association Community Survey, presented by Foresight First LLC, is an invitation to association board directors/officers to share their perspectives on board service and help elevate board performance in 2026 and beyond. Please join one of our March 2026 information sessions to learn more about this project, including how your association can benefit from your board’s participation. More info/register.
Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor, Foresight First LLC
Thu 3/5 at 3 p.m. – Email 2.0 for Associations: Turning Messages Into Meaningful Engagement
Hear how associations can evolve their email strategy beyond announcements and reminders, turning it into a consistent engagement driver. Learn how to align email with member value, reduce noise, and create messages that feel timely, relevant, and worth responding to. More info/register.
Host: Member Lounge
Speaker: Amber Worthen, Founder and CEO of Email Maven
Tue 3/10 at 11 a.m. – Strategy: A Year-Round Process
Learn how a strategic framework can, when properly structured, serve as an organizational nexus and north star; approaches to incorporating strategic practices into regular organizational function; and the volunteer and staff frameworks needed to elevate the strategy potential of an organization. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF, CEO at Vista Cova
Tue 3/10 at 1 p.m. – Execution: You Can’t Scale Chaos
Learn how to develop strategies to grow effectively and efficiently with discipline and intention; design processes that scale as the business grows; identify execution gaps that erode effectiveness and profit margins; and apply communication techniques as a tool to enhance execution. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speakers:
- Jane-Scott Cantus, Principal Member at ILEX Leadership Associates LLC
- Michele Barry, Business Coach at Assured Strategy
Wed 3/11 at 12:30 p.m. – Credentialing in the 2020s and Beyond | Modernization, Globalization, and Legalization
Learn about recent changes to NCCA / ISO accreditation standards, challenges that credentialing programs are facing today, and how to smartly grow your credentialing brand internationally. More info/register.
Host: Element AMS
Speakers:
- Sheetal Tiwari, founder of Global Certification Partners
- Mark Franco, nonprofit legal expert at Rimon Law
Wed 3/11 at 1 p.m. – More Than “Meh”: How Web Governance Turns Website Management Into a Strategic Win
Learn how to transform your website into a strategic asset, rather than a catch-all repository, and how the shift from reactive management to a strategic web management delivers measurable value for members and stakeholders. Hear how to implement a web governance framework empowers leadership, aligns competing priorities, advances your mission, and increases member engagement. Take away actionable tools, including a RACI Matrix, practical governance frameworks, and standards and policies that achieve buy-in from your team so everyone is heading in the same direction. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: UST Education
Speaker: Ray van Hilst, CAE, Vice President of Strategy at Yoko Consulting
Wed 3/11 at 3 p.m. – We Cannot Flee the Future: Preparing for the 2030s
Learn why association contributors must choose to stand up for their successors’ futures today through intentional learning, short-term sacrifice, and long-term action, and how all stakeholders can work together to navigate sustained turbulence while preparing for the challenges and opportunities of the 2030s. More info/register.
Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor, Foresight First LLC
Thu 3/12 at 2:30 p.m. – What Board Members Think Association Community Survey Information Sessions
The What Board Members Think Association Community Survey, presented by Foresight First LLC, is an invitation to association board directors/officers to share their perspectives on board service and help elevate board performance in 2026 and beyond. Please join one of our March 2026 information sessions to learn more about this project, including how your association can benefit from your board’s participation. More info/register.
Host: Jeff De Cagna, executive advisor, Foresight First LLC
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 Alex Talmon via Unsplash
Amazon, AssociationBrainFood.com, Association Academy, and Rogue Tulips links allow me to earn a royalty and/or complimentary registration from any resulting leads or sales. Thank you!
Association Brain Food 