A transatlantic conversation advancing the impact and evolution of non-profit organizations. Together with our special guests, each episode we take a deep dive into the issues, topics, challenges and opportunities facing the association community.
How many times have you heard the suggestion "we should try the Netflix model" and wondered what exactly that means? Adapting and adopting pricing models is a perennial conundrum in the membership world but today Elisa and Andrew are joined by the global subscription guru, Robbie Hellman Baxter, who talks us through the issues and opportunities of designing subscription-based membership offerings.
Financial! Fiduciary! Fund! Finance! Pick your nonprofit “F-word” of choice. Between bank collapses, inflation, stock market fluctuation, we had to call in the big guns this week. This week, Marc Labadie of RTD Financial joins us to discuss FDIC protections, reserves, insurance, and financial governance. As a financial adviser, specializing in membership associations, he gives us nonprofit-specific insights into today’s volatile economic environment.
Maddie Grant, Culture Designer with Propel, joins the Association Transformation family for a deep dive into culture with Elisa and Andrew. A commitment to maintaining a strong, positive organizational culture is no longer an optional soft skill. From internal staff culture to member and volunteer culture, it doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. Maddie walks us through measures of cultural dysfunction and success, defines important cultural markers, explains employee net promoter scores and the difference between a cultural assessment and engagement analysis.
Is your association on the verge of a surge in participation? The king of association membership research, Tony Rossell, Senior VP of Marketing General Incorporated, joins Association Transformation to discuss all things recruitment, retention, and member engagement! Without her trusty co-host, Elisa and Tony celebrate the power and potential of membership, affirming their shared belief that membership still works for associations! Check out episode 74 to learn more about ready, aim, fire strategies, and how to avoid analysis paralysis. Andrew – we missed you and the accent!
People come together in associations to tackle a problem and make a difference, right? What is more urgent than climate change? Elizabeth Engel of Spark Consulting and Shelly Alcorn of Michelle Alcorn & Associates join Elisa and Association Transformation to help associations understand the impact of climate change on their operations, events, and membership. These powerhouse women unpack the economic impacts and encourage association executives not to wait for the board, but instead provide information and help volunteer leaderships to ask the hard questions about impact, sustainability, and value-based choices. It’s heavy, but we have fun! Don’t miss this timely and important conversation.
For associations and other non-profits, one of the key issues is finding a balance between resources required and funds available. This week Andrew is joined by Julie Krieger, founder of Onsomble to explore the various options for optimizing our human capital, from volunteering to outsourcing to in-house teams.
Are you debating the pros and cons of sunsetting a program or an element of a program? It's not just a simple question of timing - you need to factor in costs, financial impacts, reputational risks, resource implications, and of course, the age-old "sense of ownership" that underpins so many association endeavours. Andrew is joined by Dr Michael Tatonetti, CAE, founder of Pricing for Associations, to discuss the key considerations you should explore when redefining your value proposition.
The band is back together as Andrew and Elisa chat with digital strategist and social learning expert Joanne Jacobs of Disruptor Co. After exploring “Why Most Webinars Suck” in Associations Evolve 2023, we discuss the future of online learning and tools to engage in a sincere and memorable way. Did you know that depth perception impacts memory, making it harder to remember the information we receive digitally? In this episode, we explore ways to make digital experiences dynamic, including recommended platforms, the power of cohorts, and “top and tailing” strategies. Dive in and share with us what’s working for you!
From “Toxic Tech” to continuous performance improvement, Elisa visits with the tech doctor Troy Stenback, CAPIA, Director, Client Performance Improvement with Advanced Solutions International (ASI), the developers of iMIS. This episode of Association Transformation takes us on a search for tech health and forces us to face the truth - tech is usually only a small part of the problem we face. Most tech issues are due to your association's tech culture. Does your staff complain about or just not use the software and systems in place? Do you have duplicative programs because departments don’t communicate? Has anyone been recently trained on the tools you have? If these are symptoms you see, it may be time to look in the mirror. Stenback walks us through the journey to tech health and shares some great client best practices you can implement now to improve your #nonprofits tech culture!
We admit it! We’re intimidated by all the digital possibilities presented by AI and automation, especially when it comes to composing the perfect newsletter. So Elisa and Andrew called in an expert for Episode 80 of Association Transformation. Erica Salm Rench, COO of rasa.io helps us navigate content curation best practices, personalization strategies, and ensuring reliable sources. This episode will bring you up to speed on the new normal for open rates, ways to save time building newsletters, and the realities of data decay. Now we get it!