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The Fine Art of Managing and Eliminating Board Cliques
It’s human nature to gravitate towards people that are most like us. We like to associate with people who share our opinions, ideologies, and visions. Surrounding ourselves with like-minded people
Free E-Book – Board Training Checklist: Going Beyond the Orientation
The start of a new governance term can be an exciting time. Your board gains fresh ideas and perspectives. New board members start with energy and enthusiasm. Returning board members have renewed optimism. Capture that dynamic
Overcoming the 5 Excuses Halting Your Association Board Training
Association executives know the value of training and orientation for board members. They also know the struggle of finding time in busy schedules and packed agendas for “one more thing,”
4 Quick Tips on Running an Effective Committee Meeting
Running an effective committee meeting is not something any committee chair should take lightly. Like you, your committee members have volunteered their time, energy and expertise. As the committee chair,
Making Headlines: 3 Tips to Get Your Association in the News
The subtitle for this post should be “How to Get in the News Without Losing Sleep!” It’s not uncommon to find increased media coverage in an association’s strategic plan. Despite the
Embrace Millennials: 5 Tips for Your Recruitment and Retention Strategy
By 2020, 46% of the workplace will be comprised of Millennials (born 1981-1996), making them the largest generation in the workplace. There are already more Millennials than Boomers (born 1946-1964),
5 Books Leaders Need to Read This New Year
January is here and it’s time to start tackling your New Year’s resolutions. Did reading more and learning new things land on your resolution list this year? Studies have cited that leaders
Four New Year’s Resolutions for Association Boards
A few days ago, you probably made some personal resolutions to get the New Year off to a great start. When you made those resolutions, did you think about your
In Case You Missed It: Top Blogs of 2016
With 2016 winding down, it’s a good time to look back at our most popular blogs of the year. From financial management to event marketing to volunteering, here were the
Strategic Wins: Small Steps and Big Gains
Success is often a matter of degrees. It’s frequently the difference between making that final push—doing that something extra—versus proudly saying “well, we sure gave it our best shot.” How
How to Prevent Your Strategic Plan From Failing
This e-book will examine each of these potential pitfalls—as well as what you can do to avoid them and ensure that your strategic plan is successful now and well into the future.
Four Reasons You Need A Strategic Plan
Many organizations feel that, as long as things are going fine, they don’t need to invest the time and energy into a strategic plan. However, there are a number of
Building Your Association’s Brand (On A Budget)
Growing your association’s brand or developing one from scratch is a multifaceted process that can quickly become expensive. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be. Here’s a list of tips to
Three Tips For Engaging Event Volunteers
As an active volunteer myself, I know that it’s easy for volunteers to feel disconnected while working at association events. It’s also important to keep volunteers engaged once the conference or
5 Questions to Ask Before Agreeing to Serve as an Association Volunteer
As you move through your professional life, it is quite likely you’ll be asked to serve in a volunteer position with an association. Recent numbers show the rate of volunteerism
Reality Check: 10 Questions To Ask About The Future of Membership
Is it time for a reality check for your organization? For more years than most would like to admit, the talk around association board and staff meetings has included
So…You Want Your Board Members to Help Drive Engagement
Member engagement is the livelihood of an association. Active, engaged members renew their membership and help spread the word to bring new members to the association. While technically an association’s board
The Skinny on Meeting Contracts
Contracting in the meeting industry can be a real pain point for associations and corporations alike, especially in a sellers’ market. Staying abreast of the current trends is the best way
An Association Professional’s Guide To Online Politics
Just yesterday, a friend and fellow management professional saw a political posting from an employee that she deemed offensive; not solely because the viewpoint was incongruous with hers, but members
5 Strategies for Data-Driven Membership Recruitment
The acceleration of “big data” is changing member expectations. Companies like Amazon are collecting and using data about their customers to provide an unimaginable level of personalized service. That means
They’re Here, Now What? Communicating With Event Attendees
You pulled off a great marketing campaign to get people to attend your event. Now your job is done, right? Not so fast! Effectively communicating to attendees throughout the event
Free step-by-step Event Marketing Template
A successful event doesn’t just happen by luck. It requires well-planned marketing that effectively reaches the right audiences with the right messages at the right times. This easy-to-use template will
The 3 Biggest Mistakes Non-Profit Event Marketers Make
For most associations, an annual convention or tradeshow can make or break its finances for the year. This means that non-profit event marketers must ensure that these events meet attendance
Taking Your Event to the Next Level (On a Non-Profit Budget)
As a non-profit meeting planner, it’s easy and sometimes inevitable for your annual events to become stagnant over time. What was once the social event of the year for your
3 Things to consider When Launching A New Association Website
Thinking of pulling the plug on your current association website? There’s a lot to consider before making the dive. Here are three tips to help chart your course. 1. Define
How to Find a Great Keynote Speaker on a Budget
If you’re engaged in association management, you know how challenging it can be to execute a conference or tradeshow when you’re working with a tight budget. Specifically, finding an excellent
Three Signs Your Association Board Isn’t Effective
As an association board member, you show up to the meetings, participate and sometimes you even spend hours preparing in advance. But is the Board on which you’re serving effective? Is
Not Politics As Usual: What Associations Can Learn from the Presidential Election
Personal political persuasions aside, you have to admit that this Presidential election has been interesting to watch. Even other national, state and local races have been far from politics as
Simple Ways Board Members Can Contribute to Conference Success
For many associations, the annual conference is THE networking and education event of the year. As an association board member, you already believe in the organization and the value of
I’m A Committee Chair… Now What? 3 Tips For Success
Congratulations, you are running a volunteer committee for your organization! You have a great opportunity to make a meaningful contribution… if you can figure out where to start. Serving as
Four Keys to Consider Before Starting a Certification Program
Many trade and professional associations use individual certification or company-wide accreditation programs to promote the professionalism of their members and the standards of the industries they serve. A certification
5 Signs Your Association’s Strategic Plan Is In Trouble
Strategic planning is critical to any association’s future. If your strategic plan is successful, the board and management will be crystal clear on the organization’s purpose, goals and metrics, as well
Strategies for Selling to Associations
On a daily basis, association headquarters receive numerous phone calls and emails from potential providers of services and products that associations need, such as conference venues, speakers, hotels, even databases
Volunteer Recognition on a Budget: 3 Ways to Say Thank You
As an association professional, you work with a lot of dependable, hardworking volunteers, but you have little to no budget to recognize the efforts they make on behalf of your
Three tips to make webinars more successful for associations
Members are always looking for quick, easy and painless ways to learn about the latest trends in their fields, and webinars can be a great avenue to provide this valuable
Non-Profit Budgeting: Is Your Money Meeting Your Mission?
Perhaps the most important role of a board member is to make sure your money meets your mission. The mission, or core purpose, of your organization should power its
The E-Book for Avoiding Financial Pitfalls
Embezzlement. Fraud. Financial crisis. As a stakeholder of a non-profit organization, these are words you never want to hear. But every day, non-profits find themselves facing these issues. Most had no
How to Prevent Non-Profit Financial Mismanagement
A 2013 Washington Post analysis of Federal filings from 2008-2012 found that more than 1,000 non-profit organizations in the U.S. checked the box on their tax forms indicating that they
Should you say yes to serving on a Board of Directors?
Governance is critical to a non-profit’s success. For good governance, you need good board members. There is a lot of responsibility in serving on a board – especially if you’re
Non-Traditional Sponsorship Options to Help Your Association Grow Revenue
Companies are constantly flooded with requests to sponsor an event or group, so securing new sponsors or demonstrating value to current sponsors can be a challenge. What makes your association
Five FREE Tech Tools for Associations
As the story goes, everyone is trying to do more with less and there is never enough time in the day. If you had a dollar for every time
Now You’re the Board Chair: 10 Tips for Board Meeting Success
Becoming the chair of the board of directors for your organization is a big responsibility. People will look to you for leadership and guidance and one of those increase responsibilities
5 Tips For Running Efficient Volunteer Meetings
Probably THE key asset to your association is the volunteer corps; and THEIR key asset is their time. So, to use time wisely, and make them value the time
You’ve Been Elected Association President… Now What?
Congratulations, you’re association president! Now what? All too often, organizations have nominations, elections and officer succession systems in place but fall short when it comes to preparing the incoming board
3 Trends in Tradeshows That Will Impact Your Association
If you are an association staff member tasked with managing your group’s tradeshow, you know how hard it is to keep the event fresh. Attendee expectations are constantly changing,
Four Things Association Board Members Can Do Today To Grow Membership
Growing membership is everyone’s job, but too often it can become pigeonholed as a responsibility reserved for the membership department. As an association Board member, you can also be
Five Ways to Make Your Time With Volunteers More Effective
Volunteers are the engines that help keep many associations running, and it’s important to understand how to make your time count when talking with them. It’s critical to remember
3 Keys to A Successful Mobile App for Your Next Event
There are now countless ways to engage your audience and spark participation at an event or conference. One of the most successful methods is the use of a mobile
Three Tips to Help Global Associations Overcome Language Barriers
As associations grow globally, one of the big challenges they face are language barriers. Fortunately, with a little preparation this is a challenge that can be overcome even for
Five tips for nonprofits who want to grow non-dues revenue, corporate sponsorships, and new business
After working in sales at a global consumer electronics company for a dozen years, it was time to switch gears. So I moved from the corporate to the nonprofit arena.
Tips for Solving Language Barriers When Working With Volunteers
Volunteer boards and committees sometimes struggle to ensure all of their members are on the same page during an important decision-making process. And, for growing global organizations, this challenge can sometimes
Four Lessons Learned: Planning European Conferences
Have you ever heard something like this? “Our association is hosting a first-time international conference and you are the staff person assigned to it. You need to find a hotel
Building Connections is Essential for CAE Success
Looking back, I probably could have taken the Certified Association Executive (CAE) exam ten years ago. I had just completed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organizational Management (IOM)
Six Tips & Suggestions to Prepare for the CAE Exam
I’ll be honest—when I committed to becoming a Certified Association Executive (CAE), I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew that there were a number of
Three Raybourn Group International staff earn prestigious CAE designation
Three Raybourn Group International employees passed the rigorous Certified Association Executive (CAE) professional exam in January. Founded in 1960, the CAE Program is a recognized mark of excellence in the
5 Event Planning Tips that Made ISAE’s STAR Awards a Success
The Indiana Society of Association Executives’ (ISAE) 13th annual STAR Awards banquet broke all past attendance records and also raised the highest amount of money for the silent auction charity
Six RGI staff recognized by ISAE for professional excellence
During its 13th Annual STAR Awards, held December 11 at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in downtown Indianapolis, a senior Raybourn Group International (RGI) staff member was named the 2014 Association
How to Learn Anything Fast
What if you could learn a new skill in just 20 hours instead of the old adage of 10,000 hours? That is what author Josh Kaufman promises in his book
Will your Facebook posts be seen?
Social media. A few years ago probably half of association members would say they don’t use it – now however, it is a growing communication platform with 1 in 4
Utilize This Tool To Help Plan International Events
In association management, many of us work with international members and/or plan international meetings. Sometimes this can be a bit challenging simply because of cultural differences. MPI (Meeting Professionals International),