We cannot remain silent about the oppression and systemic injustices that people of color are facing every day. We are not willing to do “business as usual” as our friends, loved ones, colleagues and communities are hurting.
We affirm that Black Lives Matter.
As staff and leadership for 22 local, national, and international organizations we have a unique opportunity to impact the world. We are small, but passionate and determined to make a difference in our communities and the organizations we serve. We are committed to listening to the voices of people of color on our staff and in our organizations and making changes that address systemic racism.
To start, recently we hosted a conversation on professionally addressing racial disparities which was open to all IMI staff. This was the first of many such conversations to help us process, listen, learn, and grow. We were honored to have Gracie Johnson-Lopez, CEO of Diversity & HR Solutions, join our discussion and provide guidance on how we can respond to racial disparities at an individual and corporate level.
We recognize that we have a long journey ahead of us to see diversity, equity, and inclusion be represented in our company and our profession. This is only a small step on this journey. As we navigate this new territory, we encourage you to consult some resources that have assisted us and to reach out to us with any additional suggestions:
The Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential is the marker of a committed association professional who has demonstrated the wide range of knowledge essential to manage an association in today’s challenging environment. To obtain this prestigious certification, you must have at least five years experience in the industry, obtain 100 hours of broad-based, association management-related professional development, and then pass a four-hour examination.
Linda Owens decided to pursue CAE certification so she could serve her clients with excellence. She was kind enough to answer a few questions and share some helpful tips!
IMI: How long have you had your CAE certification?
Linda: I obtained my CAE in 2015.
IMI: What tips do you have for anyone that is working towards earning the CAE certification?
Linda: Don’t wait to start studying until you are close to being eligible, start now! Even if you don’t sit for the exam for 2+ years, the studying portion is so valuable. I also feel you get a lot more from studying if you aren’t cramming. As I was studying, there were quite a few things that I earmarked to come back to later simply because I was on a strict study schedule and didn’t have the time to explore some topics further as I would have liked.
IMI: How has having your CAE certification helped you in your career?
Linda: It has helped me to feel more confident, and though I don’t remember every last thing that I studied, I at least have a frame of reference and oftentimes pick up one of the study books to refresh my memory on a certain topic. It has also broadened my knowledge which is so critical when you work with an AMC. We’re more likely to experience or be exposed to most of the topics covered under the CAE simply because we work with such a variety of non-profit clients.
IMI: Anything else you think would be helpful for anyone that is working toward this designation?
Linda: Offer to present about one or more of the CAE topics to your colleagues! Studies cite that the average person retains 90% of what they learn when they teach the concept or immediately put it into practice. When teaching or applying a concept, you’ll quickly identify your areas of weakness. Revisit the material until you feel confident in your ability to explain it in a presentation. Linda is passionate about using her expertise to provide the highest level of client service.
If you’d like to find out what IMI Association Executives can do for your association, then give Linda a call! She’ll work with you to create a customized plan based on your association’s needs and goals.
A long-term client had its Annual Conference scheduled for mid-August in Milwaukee. Already questioning the wisdom of proceeding with plans to host the conference with the uncertainty resulting from COVID-19 and shelter-at-home directives, the association’s board of directors was weighing the pros and cons of a cancellation recognizing that steep penalties were possible.
No decision had been made until…
The morning of April 2, 2020, news outlets reported that the Democratic National Convention was postponed from mid-July to mid-August in Milwaukee. That was the tipping point in the board’s decision.
Imagine hosting a conference in the same city at the same time as a national political convention with a projected attendance of over 50,000. Restaurant reservations – unavailable. Shared ride services – impossible. City sidewalks – jammed. Hotel lobbies – overrun.
Within minutes, staff reached out to the hotel to inquire about cancelling for 2020 and rescheduling for the next year. Though this association would typically be booked several years in advance for their annual conference, the 2021 contract had stalled when the hotel sales manager was furloughed because of COVID-19.
One hour after we reached out to the hotel, an electronic vote was distributed for board approval of the cancellation. Three hours later, the hotel issued a contract addendum moving the entire Annual Conference footprint forward to August 2021 without penalty. The following morning, the hotel contract addendum was signed, sealed, and delivered.
Just when you think you’ve seen and experienced every possible meeting calamity, you realize you haven’t.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you’re encountering a similar situation:
Start the discussion with your leadership as early as possible if there is the slightest chance that you might cancel or reschedule a meeting.
Prepare multiple scenarios that would work for your group and, hopefully, the hotel.
Get everything in writing. In the event of a cancellation, be sure the terms of that cancellation are in writing beyond just the wording in the contract.
Search for a win-win solution.
Check the CVB website often for other events and meetings that may be in the city at the same time as your conference. These other events may not end up affecting your group, but it’s good to have all relevant information.
If your association is struggling with the decision to cancel a meeting or move it to a virtual platform, IMI Association Executives is here to help. We have 30+ years of conference experience and can help you choose and execute the best event strategy for your organization. Call us today.
With the current COVID-19 crisis, it may be hard to find a balance between inundating your members with emails and going completely silent. While we don’t want to overwhelm our members, we also don’t want to leave them wondering what our organization is doing and how it impacts them.
First, check all automated messages that your organization sends. Remove any information that refers to events that have been cancelled or moved to a virtual platform. Also, don’t forget to edit any information regarding office hours or services that have changed.
Cull Images
Make certain that the people in your images are following all social distancing guidelines. Remove any images that include groups of people, individuals shaking hands or hugging, and other actions and activities that are currently discouraged.
Consider Your Tone
Though we’ve all been taught “This Is Your Last Chance” and similar subject lines generate opens, now is not the time to create a heightened sense of urgency. Instead, consider communicating in a way that creates a sense of safety and security for your reader. Before sending any email, read it several times to think about all the different ways your tone could be interpreted and edit as needed.
Create Brief Messages
Don’t send an email just so your organization’s name appears in your member’s inbox. We’re all being inundated with information every day, so keep in mind that your members may be experiencing email fatigue. Only send messages when you have something to say. Keep your email brief and, most importantly, provide value to your reader.
Choose Empathy
Above all, remember there is a human being sitting on the other side of the screen. Think about where your members are, what they’re doing, and the experiences they may have encountered that day. One of the most powerful quotes I took away from the Litmus webinar is, “If you wouldn’t feel comfortable sending it to a family member, then don’t send it.” Now is not the time to let the bottom line cloud our judgement or use manipulative scare tactics. We must choose empathy.
If you’re struggling to send emails with a consistent and empathetic voice, then contact IMI Association Executives. We specialize in creating content that engages your members and advances your mission. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
Is your association looking for a way to generate non-dues revenue? Affinity Programs can create additional income while also adding an incredible new benefit for your members.
“a relationship between an association, an association’s members, and an external business.”
So, basically, an association receives compensation for giving a business permission to promote certain products or services to its members. In turn, the member traditionally receives lower prices for certain products or an enhanced customer experience they wouldn’t receive otherwise.
Though starting an Affinity Program may seem intimidating, ensuring you have these three must haves will help the program run smoothly and generate your association that desired non-dues revenue for years to come.
1. There Must Be A Need
First, and most importantly, there must be an actual need for the product or service the external business will be promoting. Today’s member isn’t interested in a small discount or a product unrelated to your association’s mission. They’re looking for unique products and meaningful services that meet their specific needs.
An easy way to see if this product is something your members will get excited about is to email a simple poll to gauge their interest. Make sure to provide your members with as much information as possible about the business and products so they can educate themselves and answer accurately. You don’t want your members thinking they’re receiving one thing only to find out it’s something entirely different once the program officially rolls out.
2. You Must Have A Strong Agreement
Behind every successful business relationship is a strong and clear agreement. This is no different for Affinity Programs, so make sure to contact your legal counsel once you decide your association wants to work with an external business. While your legal counsel will know what is best to include in the contract in regards to your specific agreement, some items you may want to consider including are:
Marketing Responsibilities
Performance Expectations
Legal Obligations and Liabilities
Reporting Expectations
Causes For Termination
3. There Must Be Ongoing Monitoring
Finally, part of any thriving Affinity Program is ongoing monitoring. Depending on the size of the program, ensure that the external business will be sending you quarterly reports. Additionally, setting up in-person meetings or conference calls at least twice a year can ensure both parties are receiving their desired results.
Do you have questions about creating that perfect Affinity Program for your association? Or do you need help managing or revamping a current program? Contact IMI Association Executives! We’ve helped our clients create and maintain successful Affinity Programs, and we’re ready to help you. Contact us or submit an RFP today.
As a new Membership Coordinator, gaining and retaining members may seem intimidating. Here are seven things to keep in mind.
1. Gaining members takes time.
New and existing associations can go thru lulls in attracting new members. It’s ok to have a lull, but don’t let it be your norm.
2. Mass emails sometimes equal “OMG”.
When someone joins a new group, they are usually flooded with emails. Don’t take it personally if they complain to you. Listen to their concerns and ask what communications they would like to receive. If your group doesn’t have a way to opt members out of specific emails, then keep a spread sheet of the members who prefer to receive less emails. Then, when it is time to send certain, emails simply remove their name from the recipient list.
3. You don’t know everything, and that’s ok.
You probably have a lot of great ideas on ways to increase membership. Remember to take time to see what has worked and not worked in the past. You might be surprised that some of your great ideas have been tried before.
4. Work hard to show them why should they join.
What incentives does your group provide for members? Be it discounts on purchases for webinars, conferences, or access to free CE credits, give them a reason to join versus always hanging on the sidelines as a nonmember.
5. Membership forms are incredibly important to get right.
You want to gain knowledge on new members and their background, but remember General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other US state privacy laws. If you are asking for members for information, have an actual need for why you want it. The information you can garner from their application can be a gold mine for your marketing department. Suggested info to collect is name, address, phone number, email. Depending on the type of group you have, you might consider credentials, primary area of employment, if they are decision makers for their company, and why they joined.
6. Members can ask a lot of questions.
Remember when you were new at your job? You most likely asked tons of questions because you were new to the company and its processes. It’s the same way for new members. Many new members are excited about their new group and want to make sure they are making the most of their membership. Start to take notice of the questions you seem to be asked over and over. Create a welcome email that has tips and tricks that you can send them once they join. It will cut down on your emails and empower your new members.
7. Reports are your best friend.
Membership is picking up, now what? You want to show off your results and the best way to do that is with membership reports. If your database system is capable, create membership reports on a monthly basis. This will allow you to identify trends on when people are joining, who is joining and their reason for joining. The more info you know the better you can be at gaining new members. It takes time to see the trends but it is well worth it.
If you need help growing your membership, then IMI Association Executives can assist you! Contact us today to see how we can help grow your membership and keep your retention rates high.
At its core, customer service is a knowledge of services and experience that achieves results — and connecting to your customer so you can reach the best possible outcome. No matter the sector, the human relationship that is customer service is critical to success.
So why is that?
A company is just a business without the people who work there. It’s the people who make any company great. The same can be said for a non-profit. A non-profit is just an association, without the people there to organize, serve, and support. Without the people there is no success.
So, you have people? Great!
That one factor means you can provide great customer service, right? Wrong.
Customer service means connecting to the members. Members, or the community your non-profit serves, are the heart of any organization. The bonds you build between people are what can cause an association to grow or to fail. With strong bonds and a real connection to the needs of your organization, the association can grow.
Like any relationship, being in tune to the needs of your community are key. Not sure how best to serve your members or how to select your next new member benefit? Ask! Give opportunities for your community to provide feedback.
Without these connections and a strong customer service focus, non-profits will struggle to succeed in membership growth and retention. Ultimately, customer service is intrinsic to a well-run non-profit organization.
Are you a smaller non-profit that is
spending lots of time and energy on anniversary dues billing each month? Switching
to a calendar year dues cycle could save staff a lot of time!
Have you considered these benefits to
moving to a calendar year dues cycle?
Aligns your
organization’s budget and activity year with the budget and activity years of
your members.
Smooths your
organization’s cash flow throughout the budget year.
Improves the
accuracy of your organization’s budget since the dues revenue is typically
received in the first three months of the year. If dues are not received as
expected, then the organization has the remaining nine months of the year to
reevaluate expenses.
Saves staff time
with handling dues billing once a year vs. twelve times throughout the year.
Once the decision is made, how do you
notify your membership?
Send an email or
letter to each member notifying them of the change. Be sure to include an
outline of how this decision will benefit the organization.
Give your members
options on how to transition to the new dues cycle.
A single payment:
pay a pro-rated amount for the remainder of the current calendar year along
with the annual dues for the next calendar year.
Two payments: pay
a pro-rated amount for the remainder of the current calendar year and be
invoiced for the annual dues for the next calendar year.
A
calendar year cycle has been more common among smaller non-profits while
anniversary-based dues cycles are more common among individual membership
organizations. Calendar year cycles tend to align with an organization’s fiscal
year and are easier for a small staff to manage since billing takes place
during a specified span of time vs. all year, freeing the staff to focus on
other management tasks.
Are you interested in learning more about what IMI can do for your non-profit? Email me at linda@imiae.com for more information.
Getting ready to plan your next fundraising appeal and looking to save some costs? With mailing lists totaling in the thousands, it can be quite daunting to think about printing, stuffing, and mailing out your appeal letters from your office. But, at the same time, the cost savings could be a real boon.
So how do you know when it’s time to do your appeal in-house and how do you know when to stick with your third-party creative design and print team?
Before you bring your appeal in-house, consider the following:
You must have the internal resources – both the creative and technical experience – to create and execute the appeal in-house.
The physical cost savings may be there, but did you factor the investment of staff time? Also consider that sometimes managing a third-party can be as time consuming as doing it yourself.
If you have determined that you have the internal resources and staff time to bring the appeal process in-house, then consider the following:
The costs of hiring a professional communications company may not be justified. We sometimes do what we have done because we have always done it that way. Analyze the ROI. After looking at the numbers more closely, we came to understand that we were spending too much compared to what we were taking in. We were able to decrease costs by 2/3 and increase total donations by 45% by managing the appeal in-house.
The ability to target letters, e-mails, and social media to make the message more personal may be easier than working through a third-party. We were nimbler with our messages as we were able to be responsive to what we saw happening in real time. For example, if you see your social media posts creating more donations, you can quickly purchase more Facebook ads or post more on your preferred social media platforms.
Adding a personal touch is easier. Each letter touched the hands of our staff which means the Executive Director personally signed each letter. When needed, a letter also included a handwritten note.
There is so much to consider when doing an appeal. You have a limited number of times you can contact your donors for financial support so you want each of those times to be their best. You should look at each appeal letter opportunity to see what works best at that point in time for you. Don’t shy away from your own internal skills and abilities!
If you’d like assistance with your donations appeals, IMI Association Executives can help! Our expert staff will assist you with everything you need to run a successful campaign. Contact us today.
by Clint Owens, Owner, Vice President, and IT manager
As we go along each day at work, great, innovative ideas
come to mind. However, we dismiss them or don’t share them with someone because
we’re scared the idea might not stick. That great idea has succumbed to fear
and starts to slip away, we fall back into our comfort zone of just doing what
we always have done and we let a great idea fall to the wayside. My advice?
Treat your idea like a spaghetti noodle.
Let me explain.
Growing up, my best friend Jim’s mother, Millie, was an
amazing cook. Millie made her spaghetti noodles, bread, and sauces from
scratch. The first time I went to my friend’s house for dinner, Millie was
making spaghetti. I was sitting at the kitchen table with Jim and his brother
and I noticed Millie pull a noodle from the boiling water and throw it against
the wall behind the stove. I watched Mille do this three or four times. Being
inquisitive, I asked Millie, “Why are you throwing the noodles against the wall?”
Millie said, “When the noodle is cooked perfectly, it will stick to the wall.”
So, like any other 12-year-old boy, I asked, “Can I throw one?” I actually
threw two. The second noodle did stick and we all had a good laugh.
As strange as it may seem, ideas can be like the spaghetti Millie used to make. When a great idea comes to mind, let it simmer, then throw it against the wall to see if it will stick. Don’t allow discomfort and fear to undercook your ideas.
Wondering how you’re going to execute your great idea? Contact IMI Association Executives! We specialize in assisting associations turn their great ideas into reality.
