Membership 101: Who Counts?

Who do you consider to be your members? That seems like an easy question: “Anyone whose dues are current,” right? But if you dig a little deeper, it quickly gets a lot more complicated. Do…

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The Passive Experienced Member

The MCI Group recently released the American Engagement Index 2017 (the link takes you to a page where you can enter your contact information to get your own copy, and you really should). There’s lots…

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Growth Strategies from Top Fundraisers Q&A

In my last post, I shared the link to the webinar my Steal This Idea! co-author Sohini Baliga and I presented for Wild Apricot on March 21. Sohini and I got to as many questions as we…

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Growth Strategies from Top Fundraisers

My Steal This Idea! Innovations in Cause-Oriented Fundraising for Associations co-author Sohini Baliga and I recently had the opportunity to talk with some smart people about the information in the whitepaper. Special for those of you…

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Membership 101: Should You Reward Novelty or Loyalty?

It’s a trick question! You should reward both. Associations generally do a good job rewarding novelty. The new member gets the special rate. The first time attendee gets the unique badge ribbon and the exclusive…

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Is It Time for a Digital Detox?

Over-work and too much stress are pretty much the norm for most association executives. Every day, we’re trying to do a lot for our members, and most associations are perpetually understaffed and tight on budget….

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Boosting Membership Retention from the Start: Your Members’ First 3 Months

Editorial note: the following is a guest blog from Callie Walker of MemberClicks Does membership retention really begin the second a member joins your association? It should! The better you onboard, the more likely your…

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Don’t Get Lazy!!

Putting it all together, maybe the most important thing Sohini and I learned from fundraisers as we were researching Steal This Idea! (and as Sohini has worked with them over the past two decades) is: don’t…

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Reduce Barriers to Entry

Just about every association I know of is struggling to recruit younger members (aka Millennials). Part of the reason for that is that we’re erecting barriers to entry rather than removing them. What’s required to…

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Your Baby Is Ugly

One of the great things about being a consultant is that we get to tell people when their baby is ugly without them getting mad at us – hey, they’re PAYING us to tell them…

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