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As association professionals evaluate what has worked well over the past two years and what changes need to occur moving forward, there is a constant struggle for resources – financial and human. Association magazines, news centers, and newsletters are an important component of member communication – and member engagement. The costs, however, can be significant if the publications are handled…
According to the 2021 Association Industry Survey, a surprising 58% of respondents reported a positive impact on their value proposition from COVID. Of the organizations responding to the survey, 88% said members definitely or somewhat recognize the association’s value proposition. Of the 35% of respondents indicating an increase in member engagement in 2020, 48% said that COVID had a major…
Association editors for national associations routinely face the challenge of covering issues that may vary widely from state to state and region to region. Ensuring that articles don’t focus solely on one region and ignore the different issues faced in other areas requires careful planning to include issues, sources, and advice that recognizes the breadth of the membership. The challenge…
Although lobbying legislators and providing congressional staff members the information they need to make informed decisions about legislation that can affect the industry represented by the association is important, remember that most members want to know “How does it affect me?” In a survey of association members and staff in 2020, 53% of members said that industry information is important…
Association communicators routinely face the challenge of editing other people’s work, and their colleagues or members are not always the fabulous writers they imagine themselves to be. Some of the sticking points usually revolve around the use of AP Style Guidelines, commas before coordinating conjunctions, and the dreaded capitalization of every word in a job title, program name, and any…
Continuing education and skills training are critical services associations provide to individual members but how can an association support its industry’s need for well-trained employees who may not be members? Offering members a way to volunteer in the community and help their industry is especially appealing to younger members. A survey of more than 2,000 millennials found that almost 66%…
During the pandemic, the need to quickly make decisions and change course uncovered a number of opportunities for associations to identify changes that can be made to increase their value to members. In the original edition of Race for Relevance, the authors promote the establishment of a board that is sized and populated for the purpose of thoughtful, effective decision…
The national conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion is a conversation that is also taking place throughout association board and staff meetings as well as among member organizations and individuals. The challenge for association communicators is finding a way to highlight the association’s, industry’s, and member’s efforts to be inclusive. Three associations that have addressed the issue from three different…
The switch from in-person to virtual events and a scramble to support members with financial challenges led to a re-vamping of event fees, membership fees, and even resource access that was previously limited to only members. These changes reflected associations’ efforts to both remain fiscally viable and to meet member needs, but one author cautions association leaders that it is…
One of the many “pivots” associations made in 2020 was a re-evaluation of membership models. With some industries seeing a significant loss of jobs, decrease in corporate budgets for membership fees, and reduction payment of membership fees by employers for individuals, association leaders offered members flexibility – delaying or reducing fees in some cases. The forced re-evaluation of an association’s…