I’m sure many of you are too young to remember Willie Sutton, but you may have read about him. Willie was an infamous bank robber who robbed hundreds of banks back during a forty-year “career” beginning in the 1930s. Willie is reported to have had a smart answer when someone asked him, “Willie, why do you rob banks?” Although it is reportedly an urban legend, his now-famous answer was, “Because that’s where the money is.”

Even if you never heard of Willie Sutton, at some point in time, you’ve probably been told this by your board or CEO: “Gosh, there are all these big banks (or hi-tech companies, or casinos, or whatever the ‘big guys in town’ are) in our community. Write to them and ask them for a contribution!”

Dollars to doughnuts (no pun on Willie or the police who nabbed him), if you listened to this advice, you struck out. You might have sent a letter to hundreds of businesses and received one donation (if you’re lucky).

Yes, there are a lot of businesses in your community. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, or a small rural town in Wyoming—there are businesses there! But how do you narrow down the field to which ones will support your cause?

Don’t always think of the big companies in your community. There are lots of entrepreneurs, small companies, and mid-sized companies that are often far more generous that the larger companies and might not be on everyone else’s radar screen. So, let’s get rid of the Willie Sutton theory and start thinking about the companies that are likely to support your organization.

The Ideal Business Donor Profile

First, you need to figure out which of these businesses (whether there are dozens or thousands of them in your community) would be likely to support your organization. Let’s build an ideal business donor profile for your organization. Here are some things you might include in your “Ideal Profile:”

• This business gives to charities similar to ours.
• We have a connection to a top manager/executive within this company.
• This business is “in our neighborhood.”
• We’ve done business with this company.
• This business has given to us previously.
• This business has a natural connection to our mission (i.e., a crayon, toy, or kids’ clothing manufacturer giving to a child care center).
• This company has an interest in supporting the community.
• This company has an employee volunteer program.
• This company shares our values.

What other criteria would you add for your organization? You should be able to sit down with your staff, development committee or board and develop this ideal business donor profile in a matter of minutes—an hour at most.

Okay, so you’ve developed your ideal business donor profile. Now let’s get started developing your list of prospects.

Our Prospect List

Now you’re ready to review your profile and match up the companies in your community to see which ones are your best prospects. So let’s start with a list of “suspects,” companies that might become donors.

Hint: To help you develop these lists, use the brainstorming form attached here and have board members, staff and volunteers develop a preliminary list of people they have contacts with. Be sure to tell them that you are not going to contact these businesses yet but that you are trying to develop a list of prospective donors.

You should be able to develop a huge list within one month by following these steps:

• Meet with your CFO and get the list of vendors.
• Drive around your neighborhood in an afternoon—take someone along to make note of the companies and businesses in the neighborhood.
• Hold a brainstorming session, using the form, with your board at the next board meeting. This should take about 15 minutes.
• Hold a brainstorming session with your departmental staff at the next staff meeting(s). This should also take about 15 minutes at each staff meeting.
• Hold a brainstorming session at your next development committee meeting (another 20 minutes) and any other volunteer meetings you have.
• Spend an afternoon visiting your local chambers of commerce and see if you can get a list (you may have to be a member, so join now). Remember that there might be several chambers in your area. My community, for example, has a major metropolitan chamber, three or four suburban chambers, a women’s chamber, an Asian chamber, a Hispanic chamber and an African-American chamber.

Narrowing the Field

Okay, you might have a list of hundred, even thousands if you’ve done your homework. And it took you only a few weeks! Now let’s narrow the field and fit these “suspects” into your ideal donor profile so they become “prospects.”

• Suspect: A company that might be interested in supporting your cause.
• Prospect: A company, after being compared with your ideal business donor profile, that you believe would support your cause.
• Expect: A company, after cultivation (more about that later), that you believe will make a donation to support your cause.

Let’s get started developing your list.

• Start your business appeal by creating an ideal business donor profile.
• Develop a list of suspects—all the businesses you can think of that might support your organization.
• Narrow down your list by comparing it with your donor profile, and then develop a list of prospects—companies that you believe, with proper cultivation and a good case, would support your organization.

Now go out there out and get them!

This article was originally sourced from Business 2 Community and was written by Linda Lysakowski.

Welcomed with open ARMS

The Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS) is host to more than 2,100 specialists in the management and administration of research from across Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea & Singapore. In 2017, the most important date on the society’s calendar is the ARMS Conference, taking place in Wellington (26-29 September 2017).

Conference Convenor Chris Kroger, of GNS Science in Wellington, is expecting between 500-600 attendees. She believes the majority of delegates will be from Australia, which has the edge in the region in terms of professional development. “There is still some room for improvement here and New Zealanders will really benefit from getting our relevant agencies to see how the other countries do it,” Kroger notes.

“One thing that is unique to our profession in New Zealand, is there is no training for it; there is no university degree to be a research manager or administrator. Within Australia there is only one place to train in this field. Our members are predominantly research managers and administrators, mainly from publicly-funded research organisations, universities, research institutes, government departments, and some independent research arms. Health, biotech, or geoscience research - these are key areas and big questions to get right,” she says. “We deal with managing research; it involves securing funding, making sure research contracts are fulfilled, that they are ethical, within the law. All of these things are really important and a lot of damage can be done if getting it wrong. A lot of what is needed we learn on the job.

“So this conference is extremely valuable, to learn how other people are doing the job, and to get a bit of recognition for our profession. Ultimately, the things we learn at these conferences make the process more efficient and safe. It is also a very good opportunity to strengthen networks. Plus, all this knowledge inevitably makes people more employable, it's a real advantage.”

Solid support

Kroger notes that she has received outstanding support from Tourism New Zealand’s Business Events team in bringing the event to Wellington: “We received support from Tourism New Zealand’s Conference Assistance Programme in putting the proposal together in a really nice format, and help in putting a budget together. They provided funding to go over to Sydney to present the proposal, and paid for the ARMS executive and their PCO to fly over to Wellington to look at the venue and discuss a few things. What's also not to be sneezed at is all the insider advice - what do you think about this venue, how about this for social functions?” She is now working with Tourism New Zealand on marketing materials for distribution within New Zealand and at this year's international ARMS event in Melbourne, to increase attendance.

“The support has been above and beyond what I expected - I don’t think I would have taken on the role without that help.”

Wonderful Wellington

Having hosted the event in Auckland and Christchurch in previous rotations, Wellington was chosen for 2017 to tie in with the theme of securing funding and collaboration. “We hope to involve relevant government agencies and have them contribute, and the best opportunities are in Wellington,” Kroger says.

Initially concerns were raised that the destination might mean two flights for some overseas attendees, but Kroger points out that the new direct flight from Canberra to Wellington (starting this year) has helped in connecting the research hubs within both capitals.

Wellington’s compact layout and excellent network of venues and accommodation may also help in attracting attendees: “It is walkable. That's convenient - people like to have a bit of a stretch. Not having to take transport also contributes to costs, so research offices might send more than one person because it is cost-effective to come here.”

The wider appeal of the destination should also work as a draw for attracting delegates from Australia and further afield, says Kroger, who originally hails from Germany. “New Zealand is a beautiful country. People will have the opportunity to enjoy it. Wellington also has a lot of options, going south and going north.”

She adds: “Te Papa is a really good venue. It's big enough to hold all of us, and it's unique to have a museum and conference venue. You have the opportunity to clear your mind in the breaks and look at the exhibitions. We traditionally have a gala dinner and reception and we are looking at all the good options in Wellington for those. We are also working with Positively Wellington to see if there is potential to secure World of Wearable Art show tickets as a pre- or post-conference option for those interested. It should be a great event.”

For further information about Tourism New Zealand please visit 

www.businessevents.newzealand.com

Over the years, SEO has evolved and become much more sophisticated, but you cannot deny that there are still some common mistakes most newcomers and even some veterans continue to commit. It’s better to return to the start and have a look at the tactics you have been employing so far to avoid being the bungling amateur.

In a nutshell, these are the top ten SEO mistakes that businesses frequently commit. These are also some of the most common SEO mistakes my company regularly find while doing SEO work for our clients at PageTraffic. If you are an SEO, spot these mistakes, blow the whistle and fix them immediately for better results.

1. Low Quality and Copied Content

It’s annoying to find a website which has exactly copied your content from top to bottom and still ranks higher than you in Google search results. The same applies to others. Stop being a mimeograph and create your own original content which is authentic and genuine. Create content that is compelling and of some value to users, and Google will definitely reward you with higher rankings in the search results, or lift it from other websites for penalization by Google. The choice is yours.

2. Internal Duplicate Content

As condemning as copying content from other websites is duplication within your own website. In-site duplicity occurs when you replicate the same content in more than one location within your website or use the same title tags and Meta descriptions on multiple pages. While the former is typically seen on e-commerce sites with several pages listing the same set of products, the latter occurs when content management systems auto generate page titles. Apart from being unique, title tags of each page should represent the content on that page. Don’t slip up on Meta descriptions. Make these as effective and powerful as possible within the 160 character limit.

3. Using the Right Keywords

Keywords can be the heart of your SEO campaign if optimized properly. It is not only critical to use keywords that best reflect the products sold by you but also coordinates with what the searcher types in the search box. Be specific while using keywords. You might think that this particular keyword is fit for your industry but searchers might not necessarily think the same. Before incessantly inserting keyword phrases in your content, get yourself educated on keyword research and analysis first. Another unscrupulous tactic used by SEOs is unnecessarily inserting keywords in the web pages just to improve a site’s ranking unnaturally. The recurring words and phrases create a bad impression and can even earn you a Google penalty.

4. Broken Links

Think of it this way. You see a link, which claims to show you how you will look after 20 years. But clicking on it no longer directs you to the page it is intended to, because it is broken. Now, isn’t that annoying? Don’t earn yourself bad repute by accumulating many such broken links.

5. Getting Links from Incredible Sources

Yes it is difficult to get links from quality sources and equally easier to get them from article directories. But don’t go for quantity at the cost of quality. A single link from a reliable and authentic source is better than dozens from poor quality sources.

6. Not Using Webmaster Resources

Matt Cutts, Google’s Ex head of Search Spam, said that not using webmaster resources and learning about how Google works, is another common SEO mistake. Configure your Google Analytics and Search Console to be updated about your website’s data. Set up conversion goals, reports, and track which keywords and phrases convert the most.

7. Not Using the Alt Tag

Use the Alt tag to name your images. Images cannot be deciphered by the search engines. So you have to fill in the Alt tag to tell the search engine what the image is about. The Alt tag can be a brief descriptive phrase of your image and can include your keyword phrase. Don’t use the same descriptive phrase on more than one image, unless the images are same.

8. URL Structure

Just as it is important to target keyword phrases in your content, it is necessary to name your URL structure after your prime keyword phrase. The URL structure should also be relevant to your website content. This URL structure can help search engines and searchers to relate to your content.

9. Not writing for human beings

Have you heard about the adage, “Jack of all trades master of none?” Well, avoid being that. Instead of writing about anything and everything, choose an area of authority. Google will definitely not want to show you to the searchers when you don’t have expertise on any particular subject. Obviously, it would like the searchers to get their queries solved from masters on that particular topic. If you still want to write on multifarious topics, then don’t anticipate much traffic from search engines, because as such you are categorized only as a personal blog or website.

10. Non crawlable site

Lastly, everything is in vain if your website is not crawlable. According to Google, not enabling your website to be crawled by Googlebot is the biggest mistake made by webmasters. No crawling means no indexing and hence no ranking.

11. Now, it’s your turn

Tell me what other SEO mistakes you come across regularly? What is the most frustrating out of the ones above?

This media release was sourced directly from Business 2 Community.  

Recently, Ernie Smith wrote a good piece about starting online communities in Associations Now. In the article, he referred back to the Reddit volunteer moderator revolt I wrote about last August, and offered some tips for organizations just beginning to build online communities. For associations looking to build strong online communities from the ground up, I’d build upon Ernie’s tips a bit, as follows:

1- DON’T JUST BUILD FOR YOURSELF–BRING EVERYONE ELSE ON BOARD.

For many associations, the first step in building an online community is purchasing software. While software is the foundation on which your community will live, there are important steps to take before you start building. Start developing relationships and creating a shared vision for what the community can become early on, before you buy any software or even start the selection process. Consider creating a community steering committee who will ultimately become your community champions. The more personal the interactions you establish before the community is built, the more buy-in you’ll have before the community is even up and running–and the easier it will be have those champions begin cultivating a strong community once it’s up and running.

2 – BUILD A COMMUNITY FROM AN EXISTING BOND.

This is where associations have a distinct advantage over brands looking to build online communities–association members already have an existing bond, which is baked into the association. However, far from being a slam-dunk, in my experience, this is often a loose bond. Yes, your association represents an industry or a profession, but while that bond does already exist, you may see better success building a community around a smaller segment of the membership with a bond stronger than mere shared membership or professional affiliation. For example, instead of just one overarching community for all members, initially focus on special interest groups, new members, members who hold the association’s certification, etc. Those niche groups will likely bring you some early wins in terms of engagement, participation and enthusiasm about the community, and you can then use those successes and community champions to springboard your community to the broader membership.

3 – JUST BECAUSE A BOND EXISTS DOESN’T MEAN THEY KNOW YOU DO.

This one is sort of a head-scratcher for associations, because obviously your members know your organization exists. That said, to grow their community, associations should leverage their other points of contact with members (newsletters, social media, magazines, events, etc.) to continually raise awareness of the community. General calls to action like “Join a conversation with your peers!” are less effective than specific calls to action like “See what [specific member or industry expert] had to say about [hot topic in the field your association represents] this week in our community.” Also, look at your community as a hook to bring new members on board, or at least to raise awareness about your association among the broader community of potential members, customers or event attendees. Even if your community is a member-only benefit, there are ways to surface interactions and resources behind the community wall to larger constituencies.

4 – MAKE SURE YOUR COMMUNITY MANAGERS ARE GREAT STORYTELLERS.

Hmmmmmm. What community managers? Let’s get real here. Most association communities don’t have a manager. They took the “if you build it they will come approach”….and the results often are proof positive that this strategy just doesn’t work if you’re trying to build a strong, engaged community (and who isn’t?). My most successful clients have one thing in common: A dedicated community manager. Even if they’re not great storytellers (and most of the ones I work with aren’t!) this is still the #1 predictor of success. If someone is focused on community, the community thrives. Whodathunkit? So storytelling aside, make sure your community managers just ARE…as in, have one–or, ideally, more than one.

5 – ALL EMPLOYEES SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT COMMUNITY UPKEEP.

This one is spot-on and I agree entirely. One of the top roles of a community manager (assuming you have one) is coaching other staff on how to engage in — and harvest the benefits of — the community. The full time community managers I work with hold regular meetings and brown bag lunches with their co-workers to ensure the principles of effective community management are spread far and wide. And more than just community upkeep, the more staff who are aware of what’s going on in the community, the more likely your association is to be successful in integrating the community into all aspects of the association’s other offerings…which, in turn, will fuel continued community growth and engagement.

This article was originally sourced from Social Fish and was written by Ben Martin.

AuSAE Networking Lunches offer a great chance to get out of the office and meet new connections in the sector. Each lunch also features an insightful presentation on various topics of importance. Attending a lunch is a great chance to see what AUSAE really offers which is a place like-minded professionals can gather and share workplace challenges and achievements over a delicious two-course luncheon at a great venue. Check out the upcoming lunches below. We would love to see you there!

Sydney | From "Compulsory Union Ticket" to "Membership of Choice" on Thursday 7 July

Stephen Hale (Head of Marketing & Communications at Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia) will share how the MFAA is improving member engagement and retention within the compulsory membership [more]

Brisbane | Creating a Behaviour Based Culture on Thursday 14 July

Michelle Trute (CEO at Diabetes Queensland) will explore the behaviours you are really wanting your staff and volunteers to adopt in your organisation. How do you define [more]

Melbourne | In Conversation with Tom Garcia on Friday 15 July   

Tom Garcia (CEO at the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees) will discuss the role he has played in driving AIST’s advocacy on the superannuation reforms and governance. He will share his experiences working with government, sharing industry messages and advocating for your members and how his experiences can [more]

Canberra | How to advocate your Members on Monday 1 August 

Genevieve Quilty (CEO at Optometry Australia) will discuss Optometry Australia’s responsibility to raise the united concerns of the sector with decision makers and to influence the necessary changes to support [more]

ShowGizmo is offering all AuSAE members free Lead qualification or Digital Passport with any app licence. These two features have a standard price of $3000AUD and $1500AUD respectively so, it really is a sweet offer!

ShowGizmo was founded in 2010 and has produced apps for thousands of events throughout the world. All of their products are beautifully intuitive and designed with maximising engagement at events at the forefront. 

For further details on this offer and all about ShowGizmo or to arrange a one-on-one demo and to find out more about deploying ShowGizmo at your next event. Contact Josh josh@showgizmo.com Phone 02 8599 7234 www.showgizmo.com.

The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at the Queensland University of Technology is undertaking the second Giving Australia study during 2015/2016 on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Social Services and the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership.

Nonprofit organisations are invited to participate.

As this survey asks about your resourcing, it is essential that whoever completes it can access information about the organisation’s financial position, fundraising activities and volunteer management.

If this is does not describe your role, please forward this email to an appropriate person within your organisation.

What is the survey about?

This survey focuses on your organisation’s experience with aspects of fundraising and development activities, community business partnerships, social enterprise, volunteers and new technologies.

The purpose of the Giving Australia 2016 research project is to collect comprehensive, up-to-date information on giving by individuals, collectives and businesses in Australia. With this survey we hope to be able to provide your organisation with information about:

• What resources successful organisations use in fundraising and volunteer recruitment
• What resources nonprofits need in order to improve their fundraising or volunteer recruitment
• What new technologies are being embraced by nonprofits and how these are being used

In order for this project to be of most benefit to your organisation and the sector as a whole, we need to obtain accurate data from a wide range of organisations. We do hope that you will take up this opportunity to participate in the largest study of giving and volunteering ever undertaken in Australia.

Click here for the link to the survey. 

Please complete this survey by 16th July 2016.

All comments and responses will be treated confidentially. Please note that this study has been approved by the QUT Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number 1600000098) and the Australian Government Statistical Clearing House (approval number 02476-01). Our partners in this landmark study are the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology (CSI Swinburne), and the Centre for Corporate Public Affairs. If you have any questions about the authenticity of the survey or about the Giving Australia project in general, please email the Department of Social Services partnerships@dss.gov.au

AuSAE has welcomed new members from the following organisations this month.

Is your organisation on this list? If your organisation is on this list as an AuSAE organisational member but you are unsure if you are part of the membership bundle, please contact the friendly AuSAE team at info@ausae.org.au. 

Not on this list? To join AuSAE today please visit our membership information page here.

So far we have identified pre-emptive actions, if executed, will prevent Business Discontinuity. Or will they?

So far you have planned for, created and implemented solutions dealing with prolonged internet availability, missing/ransomed files and even total failure of "the cloud"; so what else could possibly go wrong.

In words often repeated, once you have executed and tested precautions against known points of failure what remains are the unknown points of failure. These are unknown and render taking precautions as an impossibility. So to do?

From the editorial desk the answer is plain and simple. Acknowledge that systems will fail in ways yet to be discovered; let alone planned for even if they were knowable. These failures when they occur will without doubt adversely affect your business in ways wide and varied; and expensive and quite probably terminal.

You must expect the unexpected events to happen. Planning for the unknowable is easy; assume it will happen.

Create a fail proof means of contacting your customer base in a timely manner, via snail mail if that is what it takes, and let them know the situation and the plan going forward.

Many many businesses, perhaps most, do not have any form of paper based set of client records. Some don't even know how to contact the Chairman of the Board without access to the online address book. Failure proof records will both save your business and provide the base to get you going again. Expect the worst; it will happen; and when it does reach for the paper based rescue kit. It will tell you phone numbers, emergency contacts and if well prepared even have a recovery checklist.

Remember: 

a) Put the paper records in multiple places where they can be readily accessed and

b) Keep them reasonably up to date; and brief key staff on their existence. 

My 18 year old daughter embarked on a big international adventure last month. First stop San Francisco. The farewell was a mix of sadness, joy, envy and pride that someone so young was about to take on the world. An 18 year old international traveller has more in common with an Association Professional than you might think. First and foremost is the real sense of purpose. A burning desire to experience the world. A commitment to also volunteer and help others – facilitated through a range of pre-organised placements. With that purpose came detailed planning to ensure a successful trip. Previous hard work and disciplined saving contributed to a build-up of cash reserves. Sponsors (family) provided valuable underpinning support. To maximise the experience, networking with fellow colleagues and travellers will be important. Learning along the way and risk awareness are both essential. Looking for, and grasping, opportunities en-route (and a dose of good luck) will certainly help. The wide-eyed wonder and enthusiasm of an 18 year old traveller compelled me to focus on my purpose (community focused outcomes) and that of AuSAE (career success for Association Professionals). What is your purpose and how can AuSAE assist you to achieve that? Let us know, we would love to hear from you!