Flipped volunteering: The better way to invite and engage
Jeffrey Cufaude, Idea Architects
We've had it backwards for far too long. We've been telling prospective volunteers about available leadership committees and positions and then asking if they are interested. Instead we should have been learning about their interests and then suggesting possible volunteer opportunities that match.More

Why landing pages are an indispensable part of marketing
Hubspot Blog
Any savvy inbound marketer "gets" that once you've done all that hard work to get visitors to your website, the next big step is to convert them into leads for your business. But what's the best way to get them to convert? Landing pages, that's what!More

Is your culture stifling diversity, creativity and passion?
ASAE
If associations are to have strong capacity to share and process information, make meaning from that information, solve problems, make decisions and innovate, they must be able to harness the robust intersections of differing ideas, perspectives, aspirations and experiences. To continue evolving, associations must be able to engage competing narratives. Employees, members, partners and other stakeholders are the senses of an organization and it needs access to the authenticity of these individual contributors. Every person involved who is not willing or able to be authentic in his or her relationship with the association is a closed eye or a covered ear.More

Why don't associations publish more e-books?
Avectra
Andy Lees, a Microsoft president, said during a press conference, "Clearly, we are on the cusp of a digital-reading revolution." Are associations part of this revolution? It seems like a no-brainer for content providers, but ASAE's store lists only four e-books among its 148 digital products — the rest are PDFs. Given the increasing use of tablets and readers, your members will appreciate having more options for content delivery; your marketing and publications staff will appreciate how distributors can help with distribution and exposure. Plus, additional non-dues revenue never hurts.More

Are you still providing education opportunities based on the Industrial Revolution model?
Midcourse Corrections
Is your organization still trying to make revenue from didactic forms of education and instruction? Are you using a hierarchical, top-down, command and control delivery model? Are you providing content that seems out of context in today's ever-changing global market? If you are, you are showing your age. You are announcing to the world that you believe old methods succeed in today's volatile, disruptive markets.More

Keep your content fresh
MemberClicks
Are you committed to providing the best possible content for your members? As an association, it can be tough to provide enough fresh, new content to keep your members engaged. Here are some tools to get you thinking about different types of content you can provide.More

Changes in store for group exemptions?
Venable
There has been much news related to group exemptions for tax-exempt organizations in recent months, from an influential advisory committee suggesting last summer that group returns be jettisoned to an announcement from the Internal Revenue Service that it plans to send out questionnaires to group exemption holders to see how they are complying with applicable law while maintaining their group exemptions. When one considers that approximately 500,000 organizations have tax-exempt status by virtue of inclusion on a group exemption letter, it becomes clear just how broad an impact any tinkering with the rules or heightened enforcement may have on associations and other nonprofits.More