Making the Most of Canceled Events

With the world a little crazier than usual lately, your association might be dealing with canceled events. Some of these events and conferences have likely been planned a year or so out and are a huge source of revenue for associations. If you are forced to cancel your event because of rapidly spreading Coronavirus, try a few of these tips to help recoup some money and still provide members with some benefits.

1.     Reread your contracts. Although you likely scanned thoroughly through your hotel or venue contract when signing it, read back through it and see if there is a Force Majeure clause. This is a contract provision that allows a party to suspend or terminate the performance of its obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise, making performance impracticable, illegal, or impossible.

2.     Hold webinars. In order to still provide conference-goers the content, they intended to learn, move sessions online. In order to make some money off of this, provide conference sponsors with the opportunity to sponsor the webinars. This will be a win-win for members, sponsors, and your association’s budget. You can also record the webinars for people who are unable to make it.

3.     Provide an opportunity for online networking. With everyone held up in their homes, people are going to be itching to connect with others. Move this experience online as well. There are plenty of platforms online that allow for breakout groups and networking opportunities. Throw a theme on it like “Cocktail Party” where everyone brings their own drink to the session to make it a little more fun and have ice breakers to get everyone talking.

4.     Practice the virtual event. Even though the switch may be last minute, make sure to get everything in order before introducing it to members. We all know that technology can be finicky and do not want to add to the stress of members whose plans have been shut down. Make sure that everything stands out and is a strong and fun experience for those that join.

Although this shift in plans may not be ideal, it is something we must accept. With that in mind, you might as well make the most of it and still work hard to provide your members and vendors with a unique experience. This could also prove to be successful and something you may want to do in smaller doses throughout the upcoming year, providing a new benefit to members.

How to get your Board to Hire an AMC

Life can be pretty hectic for a volunteer in an association. Balancing a full-time job, feeding kids or fitting in a run, and being a volunteer is not always easy. When this overwhelming feeling gets to be too much, it might be time to start your search for an association management company. The obstacle that many volunteers come across with this decision is getting the whole board on the same page about the potential switch. If you are having trouble swaying some stubborn board members, set a plan in place to ease their worries and streamline the process.

1.     Introduce the idea of an AMC to your board. Some boards have never considered an AMC before. It is your job to define what an AMC is and make sure they understand how this would work in comparison to the current system. Give a full overview of what type of work could be passed off to the AMC and what decisions and tasks could be left with the board.

2.     Discuss the current division of tasks. Have a conversation with fellow board members about how they are feeling with their current workload for the association. Do they still have time to commit? As a group, do you all often discuss bigger picture items or are the majority of meetings centered around administrative duties? This is a great way to get the board thinking about how their experience as a board member could be different with someone else in charge of the details, allowing them to focus more on their passion for the organization.

3.     Evaluate the financial pros and cons. If all tasks are currently managed by the board, hiring an AMC will take some hits to the budget. These hits, however, should be worth it. Once the AMC gets moving and fully takes over management, they will be able to look for efficiencies and ways to grow revenue. They are the experts when it comes to membership, event planning, marketing and communications, operations, and financial management and can ensure that things are being done successfully . This will also allow for the board to spend more of their time thinking of ways to market membership and events which will in turn, grow revenue. After explaining the benefit of this to the board, set a budget for how much you are willing to spend on an AMC.

4.     Define what you need. Once your board is on the same page, make sure that everyone feels comfortable and confident about the AMC that you choose. Discuss what is important to you all as a board and organization. Some things to consider when starting your search would be a size and culture fit, passion, transparency, multiple dedicated administrators to your account, and experience.

5.     Assign someone to lead the search. It is important to ensure there are not too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to the actual search. Although it is important to keep the board involved in the decision of making the switch, not everyone needs to be a part of the final decision of which AMC to go with. Many organizations going through this process assign the task of interviewing and hiring an AMC to the current President and President-Elect. Find what works for your organization but try to keep the process simple. This will keep things moving quicker and smoother.

By providing a clear outline of how to go about making the decision to move to an AMC and how to begin that search, your board will be more open to the idea. It is a lot easier to accept something when someone has done the leg work and preparation for the task at hand.

Engaging Young Professionals

The hot topic for associations right now is engaging young professionals. Younger generations are either not seeing the value in membership or do not have the extra income to pay for one. Christina McCoy with AMPED spoke to our group on how to involve young professionals and provide them the value they are looking for rather than just a generic membership.

Identify the problem. What is causing young professionals to stay clear of your association? Is there a void in education? Are there enough networking opportunities? Many young professionals have the perception of “This isn’t for me yet.”

Set some goals in place to change this mindset. Obtain better data on the audience, advocate for money in the budget to be dedicated to young professionals, and create a dialogue between young professionals and other members. This will help to immerse them more in the organization. It could also help to provide opportunities and resources specifically for the young professionals. Hold an educational session for young professionals by young professionals or host a young professional breakfast at your conference. This will allow the group to connect with one another easier.

Another way to get this demographic engaged is to restructure parts of the organization to include young professionals. Create a committee for young professionals or include a spot on the board for one. This will allow people who understand the upcoming generations better to be making the decisions on how to engage them.

When making these changes, it is important to have the proper execution. Make sure to stay flexible. Some ideas will work and others will not. Be ready to adjust when those plans do not go as planned. It can also be helpful to create a timeline or use a project management tool to ensure things are moving at the right speed. This initiative cannot be something that falls off the radar after a few months or any time spent on it will be wasted.

It is also important to evaluate the success of the efforts after they have been made. Come back to your initial goals and see how much progress has been made. It might be as simple as noting engagement from young professionals on social media or tracking the increase of attendance from young professionals to the organization’s events. Any progress is something to be excited about but it is important to maintain the efforts moving forward. There will always be a new group with new challenges that you are trying to involve more in the association.

The Pros and Cons of Term Limits

Each organization is unique and has their own reasoning for setting things up the way they are set up. This doesn’t mean that the board should not always be evaluating whether or not that original set up still works for the association. One thing that should be set in the bylaws is whether or not the board has term limits. Term limits are most commonly 2-3 years and are set in place to keep order to the board and prevent one group of people from holding both the power and responsibility for too long. If you are unsure if term limits are for your organization or not, check out the pros and cons our clients have experienced below!

Pros:

• Term limits encourage other members of the organization to become further involved.

•  Ideas and systems are kept fresh with new mindsets.

• The board is able to keep a more diverse group of people rotating through it. Having limits allows for younger generations to get involved.

• Power and responsibility shift helping to avoid a monopoly by one group.

• Term limits allow for a more structured system. Without term limits, a large group of board members could leave at once, leaving the board at a loss. Term limits are usually set up to phase people in and out without an enormous loss on the team.

• There is a peaceful and easy way to get the troublemakers off the board. If someone has something negative to say about everyone’s ideas or is not pulling their weight on the team, there is an end date. This avoids an uncomfortable situation and lets things play out naturally.

Cons:

• The history of the organization might start to dwindle. Sometimes having someone that has been on the board for years, adds an immense amount of value. They have seen how things have been done and what has worked and what has not worked. They also have a core understanding of what the organization’s purpose is and typically work to preserve that.

• Term limits can cause the board to lose high performing and dedicated board members. This can take a hit to the productivity of the organization and can often be seen by members.

• Succession planning is not always a quick and painless process. The more something is passed on to someone else, the more information that can be lost in the process. It is important to set up a clear process for succession if you choose to have term limits.

• Relationships with board members are hard to hold on to. If your board member’s company sponsored the annual conference every year, they might be less likely to jump in with support if their employee is no longer on the board.

• There are not always many volunteers willing to join a board. Being that involved in an organization is a huge time commitment that not everyone is willing to take on. This can leave a board seat empty for longer than you might like.

No matter how your organization is set up, there will be positives and negatives. Understanding the needs of your organization is the most important part of making this decision. There are also other alternatives like making board terms longer and shorter that could make term limits a better fit for your organization. Learn more about Impact can help your organization: https://www.impactamc.com/nonprofit-association-management/support-for-your-association