Association Transformation

Send us Fan Mail What ghoulish goings-on or spine-chilling events have kept you awake at night? Does history haunt you or ghosts of associations-past give you the creeps? This week Elisa and Andrew dig up some graves, dust off the cobwebs, and stir up a witches brew of scary true stories, monstrous mistakes, and ghastly howlers that have landed associations in frightful trouble. Broomsticks at the...

Send us Fan Mail Is your association relying on only 2-3 sources of revenue? Are you getting nervous about declining dues or loss of publication revenue? Join Elisa and Andrew for a deep dive into the world of revenue diversification with Deanna Varga, Founder and CEO of Mayvin Global. In this thought-provoking episode, we discuss the importance of embracing commercial thinking and the need for ni...

Send us Fan Mail It feels like we all have a seemingly infinite number of digital connections but what do we do with them and how can associations use their digital platforms to generate genuine value for their communities? This week Andrew is joined by Angela Shelton, CEO of Answers for Associations to discuss how associations and members can utilise their online tools to create and experience au...

Send us Fan Mail “We’ve had hierarchies since caveman days when we deferred to the elders.” On this episode of Association Transformation, global generational strategist Sarah Sladek reminds Andrew and Elisa that times have definitely changed. Boards can no longer write-off younger members or next-gen prospects as “high-maintenance, non-joiners, lazy, or entitled.” Following the release of her lat...

Send us Fan Mail Some say consulting is the dark side. We take offense! Elisa and Andrew are the good guys! Heck, we’re association superheroes and have been consulting and advising #nonprofits and #membership organizations for quite a while now. Today, we pull back the curtain to discuss, vent, tease, and explore the good and the bad of the consultant/client relationship. How do you get the most...

Send us Fan Mail She makes change fun and elevates innovation. Join Elisa as she chats with a true association renaissance woman, Belinda Moore of Strategic Membership Solutions. Accept and adapt - We know associations have to fundamentally transform, given the incredible pace of change and the opportunities presented by technology, but Belinda reminds us that everything is interconnected! We prev...

Send us Fan Mail What’s your “Happy Meal KPI”? Elisa and Andrew go on a quest and data treasure hunt with Marion Short, CEO of the International Association for Public Participation . Growing from 3,000 to 14,000 members in just six years, Marion shares the true power of data. By spotlighting the important data versus distracting data , your association can achieve growth, deliver value, and enabl...

Send us Fan Mail 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 sourc...

Send us Fan Mail 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 probl...

Send us Fan Mail 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 i...

Send us Fan Mail Are you debating the pros and cons for sunsetting a program or an element of a program? It's not just a simple question of timing - you need to factor into your decision-making 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 Mich...

Send us Fan Mail 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 optimising our human capital, from volunteering to outsourcing to in-house teams. You can read Julie's Association's Evolve article here . Sup...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 measur...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Kellman Baxter, who talks us through the issues and opportunities of designing subscription-...

Send us Fan Mail You’ve heard the debate: Association CEOs should come from industry. Others insist the chief staff executive should be a tested nonprofit leader. Well, we found a unicorn who breaks all the stereotypes. Elisa and Andrew are joined by Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters, who reminds us that leadership success isn't based on industry versus association but rat...

Send us Fan Mail New to the Chief Brand Experience Officer role, Allison N. Marrero visits the Association Transformation studios to pull back the curtain on her work as a “change junky.” Join Andrew and Elisa for this engaging and energetic discussion on the evolution of the American Society of Interior Designers. #ASID’s Jessica Irizarry adds her perspective on the impact of change and the poten...

Send us Fan Mail Has the “rubber band of change” snapped? Dana Aragon of the National Society of Professional Engineers joins us for a broad and triggering conversation. From the band-aids of innovation used to get associations through the last 36 months to nonprofits reverting to the “way things have always been done”. Elisa, Andrew, and Dana deconstruct the association model and discuss how to s...

Send us Fan Mail What are the emerging trends and priorities impacting membership bodies in 2023? Elisa and Andrew take a look at the challenges and opportunities which they suggest leadership teams should be exploring in the year ahead. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail All boards know that strategy is important; but almost all also find it daunting. Planning forces directors to confront a future they can only guess at. Worse, actually choosing a strategy entails making decisions that explicitly cut off possibilities and options, and a board may well fear that getting those decisions wrong will wreck their organisation's chances of long-term...

Send us Fan Mail A hundred years ago, we moved from working six day weeks to five, and we’re overdue for an update. As we progress through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the 4-day week is a proposed reduction in the work week from a standard 40 hours to 32 hours for the same pay and benefits. Through a variety of pilots across the world, this reduction has been proven to work for employees and...

Send us Fan Mail Association management is a vocation; it is a profession; and for an increasing number of people, it is a career choice. It is a craft which requires a complex mix of skills, knowledge, and experience, dexterously combining knowledge of association culture, structure, and politics, with a whole spectrum of professional expertise, ranging from strategy and advocacy to marketing and...

Send us Fan Mail Constructive relationships amongst association leadership are fundamental to an organisation's success but too often we've seen tensions emerge between volunteer leaders and association professionals. Unless we invest in our relationships, it can be far too easy for an association's leadership team to descend into an emotional quagmire. Elisa and Andrew explore the...