This article was originally sourced from Associations Now here and was written by Joe Rominiecki. 

Every member has his or her own reasons for engaging with your association, but how do you best serve diverse needs while maintaining focus on common goals?

From my recap of membership ideas from the 2015 ASAE Annual Meeting two weeks ago, the quote that seemed to get the most attention among readers—and which has stuck in my mind the most, too—is that “members define what engagement means, not the association.”

One reader, Jeffrey Cufaude, president and CEO of Idea Architects, rightly pointed out that this has always been true. 

Another commenter, Glenn Tecker, chair and co-CEO of Tecker International, chimed in with a separate dose of realism:

“The distinction between growing value to members and growing the organization remains a critical strategic conversation with immense implications for fulfillment of mission. While each member may define engagement for themselves based on the personal reward for which they are looking, a critical mass of common cause will continue to be the glue that holds the enterprise together.” 

Tecker’s point reminded me of a dilemma for associations that I noted a couple years ago; I even made up a term for it, “value vertigo": 

“You ask members what they value and find too many disparate needs to serve them all, but when you produce core benefits you believe are valuable, you find it difficult to maximize engagement with them.”

This seems to be a common challenge for associations, but it’s a simple problem that perhaps any business faces: People have infinite unique combinations of wants and needs, but the most viable business opportunities lie where those wants and needs align among the most people. How do you manage that tension and find the common ground where members can be served?

In their Learning Lab at the Annual Meeting, Jamie Notter and Maddie Grant, CAE, cultural and digital strategists at Culture That Works, and Joe Vallina, MBA, MSM, CAE, publisher at the Amercan Nurses Association, identifed the five common “buckets” of engagement across associations—purchases, customer satisfaction, content, volunteering, and community—though they stressed the mix of engagement methods that will maximize both reach and “stickiness” is unique to every association.

From the accompanying handout to their session, “Engagement Is More Than a Buzzword”:

“Engagement … is fundamentally internal to the individual member. It’s their engagement, not yours. The benefits of engagement accrue to the association, certainly, but in order to build engagement—to increase that stickiness—you must be focused on the members and their experience, their needs, their motivations, and their lives. This will require some customization. … It will sometimes involve intangibles. … And certainly the engagement has to overlap with the association business model … otherwise there’s not much point (think revenue-free web hits back in the dot-com bubble). But the more you can craft your engagement strategy around a clear picture of what matters—internally—to the members, the more successful you’ll be.”

In the March/April issue of Associations Now, Anna Caraveli, Ph.D., managing partner of The Demand Networks and author of The Demand Perspective, shared a model for engagement that positions the association as a “partner” in engagement with members, citing an example from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association:

“These members are engaged because their relationship with the association enables them to do something they want to do in the first place, better than they would be able to do on their own. As a result, AOPA becomes a partner rather than merely a provider of benefits. Its members choose to become engaged to achieve outcomes that matter to them.” 

Think for a moment about the Apple iPhone (or any smartphone, but we’ll go with the most iconic for the moment): It was an impressive device when first launched, but it became revolutionary only when Apple opened up the App Store to third-party developers. It had a handy set of apps built in, but the App Store let users shape the iPhone to their liking and do completely new things, many of which Apple itself never imagined. Apple has sold millions upon millions of essentially identical devices, but every single one quickly becomes unique according to its owner’s preferences.

That’s one more way to understand how an association can serve a critical mass of people with a wide array of interests. These ideas all put the association in the role of facilitator and convener, focusing perhaps less on the what and why of member engagement and more on the how, where, when, and with whom. If the association can’t define member engagement, it can be the platform for engagement that accelerates members toward their chosen goals.

This article was originally sourced from Velvet Chainsaw here and was written by Dave Lutz. 

Activation (or leverage) is the most misunderstood, yet most critical, success driver for sponsorship ROI.

Savvy marketing professionals totally get activation. But most of our profession doesn’t. This is why many of us continue to sell non-emotional promotional opportunities and incorrectly call them sponsorship.

We need to capitalize on this golden opportunity. Consumer events are kicking are butts. Yet most professional conferences have a leg up on target market concentration and buying power.

Sponsorship Activation Defined

According to Kim Skildum-Reid, author of The Sponsorship Seekers Toolkit 4th Edition,

Leverage – also known as activation… is what a sponsor does with a sponsorship after the deal is done and is the most critical factor in getting a good result from an investment.

Skildum-Reid advises sponsors to focus on the event experience not the event. The event–your conference–is finite. The conference experience, however, begins at the time of consideration and continues weeks after your big close.

Activation Built On Attendee Touchpoints

Progressive conference organizers will learn from, and coach, their sponsors on how to leverage their support beyond a few days.

Activation plans are owned and primarily funded by sponsors. And they can be greatly enhanced with proper use of the conference organizers assets. Successful activation elements will often incorporate two threads:

• One carried out by the sponsor in support of your conference participants.
  
• The second, collaboratively carried out through your owned assets.
  

Trust and collaboration, with a focus on the paying attendee, is key to stacking the deck for results.

Start by sharing your event timeline with sponsors, including pre- and post-event touchpoints. Brainstorm together to identify the best opportunities to interact with, and improve the participants’ experience. Pinpoint crescendo moments where sponsors can change and leverage those opportunities.

Beyond Your Turf

Sometimes we focus so intently on activation as it applies to our conference that we miss opportunities to ride the coattails of our sponsor’s marketing assets. And we miss the chance to engage the audiences our investors have built or the trust they’ve earned.

Do your homework to understand these assets and consider the ones that can aid your conference experience or reach.

1. Content Marketing

Do they embrace content marketing? Will they consider talking about or mentioning their involvement in your conference?

2. Prizes

Do they have access to products that can be used as prizes, giveaways or sampling?

3. Communications

Does it make sense for them to develop communications that mentions your conference or show?

4. Talent Access

Do they have access to talent, celebrities or thought leaders that would be valued by your participants?

How Much Should Sponsors Invest in Activation?

Activation investments vary greatly, depending on the sophistication and integration of the sponsor’s other marketing initiatives.

Skildum-Reid says best practice sponsors spend as little as 10%-25% of the rights’ fee, incrementally, to leverage sponsors. Less sophisticated or siloed sponsors will need to spend quite a bit more to activate.

In today’s competitive business environment, creativity and empathy will be key drivers for successful activation.

This article was originally sourced from Pro Bono News here and was written by Ivan Brown. 

Over a decade ago, while studying part time I began my career as a residential youth worker after a friend of mine told me “the job is fun, all you need to do is take kids surfing and skateboarding”. Being a social science student and 19 at the time this proposition sounded perfect in that I was able to help people, get paid for my efforts and have fun all at the same time.

Unfortunately, after getting the job, my first shift replaced those high aspirations with a harsh reality. The truth was that my work days were usually spent dealing with violence, drug abuse, self-harm, suicide attempts and other not so pleasant experiences.

Although, there were good days and youth work was rewarding in many ways, I quickly learnt that my saviour like aspirations of helping people were in reality as unrealisable and personally unfulfilling as my pay rate! Eventually, after a few months of working in an all-round tough environment I realised that I had two options – either I quit, change profession and give up a slice of my social conscience or I step up and do something different to make a real impact in people’s lives.

I chose the latter. This new direction aside, I realised that to make an impactful change my energy was probably best spent working as a leader of staff and, to my surprise, not investing any more intensely in direct care. The reason I made this decision was that I continually witnessed high turnover of staff, staff conflict over the “right” way of doing things and stifling bureaucracy at all levels – all of  which I believed were compounding the crisis nature of an already tumultuous setting.

In my view, the young people didn’t need any more chaos in their lives, and, to be fair, there were youth workers way better than me at service delivery. Where I was stronger than others was anticipating future events, planning for others needs and not losing my cool under pressure. Although perhaps not thought of in those terms at the time, they were all fundamentally leadership related.

On that basis I embarked on a journey, and within three months I became a Team Leader of small team, within a year a Caseworker, then at 22-years-old I became the Operations Manager, leading almost 100 staff, and at 27 I was appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Being the youngest CEO in residential care, and perhaps one of the youngest in the broader NFP sector, was not easy, and along the way I encountered many obstacles and made mistakes, some common to young leaders in any sector and some unique to the NFP sector.

Although, each next generation of aspiring leader will need to find their own way and make their own mistakes, these three principals have assisted me and many new leaders, particularly those who are young in life or the NFP sector, to become successful leaders.

1. You must know why you want to lead

As an enthusiastic and energetic emerging leader in the NFP sector you most likely will want to “help” others, but here’s a news flash, so do the vast majority of the people working alongside you. Similar to a sports team, all the players love to play but they can’t all be, and nor should they be, captain. It’s not uncommon to hear NFP people recite their personal reason for working for an agency and wearing it as a badge of honour. Perhaps this helps remind us why we do such challenging work and somehow subsidises our efforts which are often undervalued, or maybe it is the way we justify our right to be NFP employees.

In any case, this narrative sharing no longer relevant or useful if you want to lead a NFP, the sooner you recognise that passion is a prerequisite to NFP participation and not the sole qualifier for leadership, the quicker you will become a productive leader. Being a NFP leader is not about being the most passionate about the cause, rather it is about being the most able to harness, cultivate and put to work other people’s passion. This requires a totally different mind and skill-set.

To read the full article please click here. 

This excerpt was originally sourced from Business 2 Community here and was written by Rosemary Melchior. 

When targeting millennials, many nonprofits focus on the best ways to reach them in a changing media landscape with the end goal of increasing donations. But tapping the potential within this audience goes beyond just raising money. There is an opportunity for nonprofits to reach out to this generation in a way that could engage them on a whole new level.

In the same way that millennials value experiences over products, they value donating their time over their dollars. According to the Millennial Impact Report 2015, 77 percent of respondents said that they are more likely to volunteer if they can use their specific skills or expertise to benefit a cause. In addition, millennials are part of a skilled workforce with a sense of social good. In 2014, 82 percent on average reported participation in positive action toward social change.

By focusing solely on money, organisations are looking at only half the picture. Here are three ways nonprofits can focus on creative capital in addition to financial capital when targeting millennials.

Implementing the “Reverse Registry”

Nonprofits should frame their needs within a story instead of a wish list. Instead of asking for money to fix a problem, show the impact of the problem and give millennials an opportunity to take the next step.

In 2011, I launched a social-good project called Underheard in New York with several others. We followed a “reverse registry” – instead of asking for a known solution, we talked about the need it would fill. One of the homeless men participating in the project walked 40 blocks each day to use a library computer. After hearing his story, someone donated a filled MetroCard so he could take the subway, and someone else donated a laptop computer – both wonderful, unanticipated results.

Many companies have adopted the participation economy concept, and nonprofits should too. If nonprofits give up a small amount of control, millennials are apt to feel like they have more ownership over the solution and may even deliver an outside-the-box answer.

To read the full article please click here. 

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) New Home Sales Report, a survey of Australia’s largest volume builders, showed a modest decline in July 2015.

“Total seasonally adjusted new home sales eased by 1.8 per cent in July this year, but remain in strong shape,” said HIA Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale.

“New home sales are spending mid 2015 drifting along at a historically high level. It appears that the cyclical peak for total new home sales occurred in April, but the subsequent downward trend is very mild,” said Harley Dale.

“Key leading indicators of home building, including HIA New Home Sales, suggest little prospect for further growth in new home construction in 2015/16,” said Harley Dale. “However, following three consecutive years of strong growth which has propped up the domestic economy considerably, both HIA New Home Sales and ABS Building Approvals signal another healthy year for new home construction in 2015/16.”

Detached house sales fell by 1.0 per cent in July this year. The annual peak for detached house sales has passed. Over the three months to July this year detached house sales fell by 3.3 per cent to be 4.0 per cent lower when compared to the three months to July 2014.

‘Multi-unit’ sales peaked in May this year and fell by 4.2 per cent in July following a decline of 2.9 per cent in June. Over the three months to July this year multi-unit sales increased by 8.3 per cent, but it was the strength of the May result that drove the quarterly outcome.

In the month of July 2015 detached house sales increased by 4.2 per cent in New South Wales.

Detached house sales fell by 2.3 per cent in Victoria and by 4.9 per cent in Western Australia. Sales were close to flat for the month in Queensland (-0.6 per cent) and South Australia (-0.2 per cent).

For further information please contact: Harley Dale, Chief Economist 0414 994 186

This media release was directly sourced from the Housing Industry Association website here. 

The AMA has recently released its new Position Statement on Combat Sport (2015), which supersedes and builds on the AMA Position Statement on Boxing (1997. Reaffirmed 2007).

AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, said that the AMA is a long-time opponent of boxing, and has now extended its concerns about the health of participants to include all so-called combat sports.

Professor Owler said the AMA is recommending the prohibition of all forms of combat sport for people under the age of 18.

Further, the AMA wants boxing banned from the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.

“As medical practitioners, the AMA is concerned by any sports that involve displays of interpersonal violence, and where the goal is to injure the opponent to the point that they are unable to continue,” Professor Owler said.

“The fighters in boxing and other contact sports typically aim to hit their opponent in the head to cause a ‘knockout’. This is inherently dangerous, and sometimes the results are fatal.

“Even when fighters are not knocked unconscious, repeated blows to the head are inherently dangerous.

“Head injuries are essentially invisible, and can evolve over time. Even what may appear to be minor head injuries can turn serious very quickly.

“Along with head injuries, combat sports are associated with a range of other, often severe injuries, including dislocations and fractures, spine and neck injuries, and maxillofacial injuries.

“Despite the acknowledged harms, combat sports are growing in popularity, in terms of participation and with television and online audiences.

“It is important that we do not ‘normalise’ violence. Children and young people may be particularly vulnerable to the promotion of ‘sports’ that encourage interpersonal violence.

“Doctors witness the loss of life and quality of life as a result of injuries incurred in boxing and other combat sports. We must put an end to this senseless carnage.”

The AMA Position Statement on Combat Sport (2015) is at https://ama.com.au/position-statement/combat-sport-2015

For more information please contact: John Flannery (0419 494 761) or Odette Visser (0427 209 753). 

This media release was directly sourced from the Australian Medical Association website here. 

Dementia Awareness Month is held from 1 September to 30 September nationwide.

The theme for the month is Creating a Dementia-Friendly Nation.

The goal is to encourage Australians to become dementia-aware, have a better understanding of what it is like for a person to live with dementia, and ultimately be encouraged to create communities where people with dementia are supported to live a high quality of life with meaning, purpose and value.

To see a list of events around Australia during Dementia Awareness Month please click here. 

This information was directly sourced from the Alzheimer's Australia website here. 

This article was directly sourced from the Western Australian Cricket Association website here. 

The Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) announced on September 3 a landmark decision that will see the WACA Ground developed into a modern boutique stadium, sharing Test Matches with Perth Stadium, and remaining the home of cricket in WA.

WACA Vision 2030 highlights:

• Cricket in WA will be transformed by the new ‘WACA Vision 2030’ blueprint;
• WACA Ground to become a modern boutique stadium with a permanent capacity of up to 15,000 and a complementary partner to Perth Stadium;
• Proposed new stands and significantly more shade among the range of upgrades to be provided to spectators;
• New dedicated player facilities and high performance training facilities to play a fundamental role in the future development of cricket;
• Test Matches shared between the WACA Ground and Perth Stadium;
• The flexibility for co-location of the Western Australian Football Commission at the WACA Ground;
• Vision 2030 supported by Cricket Australia potentially resulting in more premium cricket content for Western Australia;
• The WACA will now prepare funding submissions to State and Federal Government to support the delivery of Vision 2030.

The decision was announced at the release of the Vision 2030 Report, the result of a wide-ranging investigation over 14 months by a special WACA Board appointed committee.

The committee headed by highly respected company director and businessman Michael Smith was charged with making recommendations on the future of the WACA Ground with associated funding options aimed primarily at benefiting cricket, WACA Members and the public.

Mr Gannon said that the development of the iconic WACA Ground, estimated to be between $150 million and $200 million depending on the final design, would transform cricket in WA and secure its future as a major participation and spectator sport.

To read the full article please click here. 

The completion of the Inland Rail Business Case brings this major logistics project one step closer to fruition and is welcomed by the Australian Logistics Council as a transformative project for generations to come.

“Inland rail is critical to Australia’s freight future given the expectations of the growth in the freight task,” said Michael Kilgariff, ALC Managing Director.

“We welcome finalisation of the business case handed to the Commonwealth Government today, and note it found an investment in inland rail has positive net economic benefits.

“I congratulate members of the Implementation Group, and its Chairman John Anderson, on their work to provide high level advice to Government on how Inland Rail can proceed.

“I also acknowledge the significant work of the Australian Rail Track Corporation to undertake a rigorous and extensive business case, which can now go to Infrastructure Australia for further analysis.

“This project is now developing a high level of industry interest as evidenced by the fact alternative consortia have also sought to have proposals considered. In the context of developing its 15 year Infrastructure Plan, IA has an important role to play in providing advice to government on these plans.

“The momentum gathering behind this project is exciting now that we have robust information on how the iconic inland rail project can be delivered.

“The funding requirements for inland rail need to be seen against the backdrop of the significant economic opportunities the project can deliver and enormous freight growth expected in Australia over the next 30 years.

“ALC research has shown that a 1% improvement in logistics productivity would have a $2 billion a year benefit to the national economy – inland rail is one such way industry and government can work towards achieving this economic dividend,” he said.

Mr Kilgariff said the business case confirmed economy-wide modelling that indicates the Inland Rail Programme will increase gross domestic product by $16 billion over the 10 year construction period and 50 years of operation.

“Australia’s freight task is also expected to almost triple by 2050, and rail needs to make a greater contribution to meet growing demand, particularly on the north - south corridor,” he said.

“Inland rail would complement the road and rail links already connecting Australia’s three largest cities along Australia’s east coast and reduce pressure on our road infrastructure, particularly in Sydney which often acts as a freight bottleneck because passenger rail is afforded priority.

“Inland rail would also reduce train transit times and transport costs between Melbourne and Brisbane, which would have a positive effect on transport companies, exporters and ultimately Australian consumers.

“The effective completion of this project would see the connection of our major mainland cities with a world class rail network providing the backbone for moving goods across the country safely, reliably and efficiently.

“From an economic perspective, not only will this project improve the global competitiveness of our key exports through providing a reliable rail transport alternative for agricultural and mining freight, it will also create thousands of jobs during and after construction, many in rural and regional areas.

“ALC, along with industry, strongly supports the project and we eagerly encourage Government’s continued commitment to the project to ensure its long awaited delivery.

To view ALC’s Inland Rail Video visit http://austlogistics.com.au/media-centre/videos/

This media release was directly sourced from the Australian Logistics Council website here. For further information, contact Duncan Sheppard on 0412 340 934. 

As the Syrian refugee crisis continues to unfold, the national charity regulator is urging the public to donate to established humanitarian charities.

Commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), Susan Pascoe AM, said the Australian public’s response to the refugee crisis has been extraordinary.

“The Australian public are inherently caring and generous, and are often willing to give their time or money to support those facing a crisis,” Ms Pascoe said.

“I know that many Australians have been deeply impacted by the heart-wrenching images and stories we have seen and heard recently.

“To ensure that their valuable contributions are used to full effect, I encourage the public to donate to established humanitarian aid charities that are registered with the ACNC.

“Those seeking to donate can find registered charities on the ACNC Charity Register at  acnc.gov.au/findacharity.” Ms Pascoe also warned the public about scams.

“During tragic events we tend to see an increase in scams, so I would like to encourage the public to remain vigilant and ensure they are giving to legitimate charities.”

The ACNC encourages the public to take these steps to ensure they are confident giving to legitimate charities:

• Always ask for identification from door to door and street fundraising collectors.
  
• If you haven’t heard of an organisation, look them up on the ACNC Charity Register to see if they are registered.
  
• Do not provide your personal, credit card or online account details unless you know it is a trusted source.
  
• Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails - delete them.
  
• If you think that there is something wrong, contact the charity directly and alert them of your concerns.
  

Marc Purcell, the Executive Director of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for Australia’s aid organisations, reiterated ACNC Commissioner Pascoe’s comments about the need for the public to donate wisely.

“Australians are very generous in their responses to humanitarian appeals and it is important to make every dollar count. So there are three things the public should consider before donating,” Mr Purcell said.

“Firstly, it is important to donate to organisations who have a track record of working on the ground where humanitarian situations arise. ACFID members have been at the forefront of assisting refugees from Syria since the conflict began and have established channels and relationships that can direct aid to those who need it most.

“Secondly, it is important to donate to organisations that are not only registered with the ACNC but abide by the ACFID Code of Conduct that ensures their fundraising efforts are transparent and accountable.

“Finally, we encourage Australians and Australian companies to donate cash, not goods, as sending goods in kind to remote overseas locations is usually costly, complex and can sometimes lead to unintended consequences.”

ACFID members with appeals can be found at acfid.asn.au/aid-issues/humanitarian-response/syria-crisis.

The ACNC Charity Register is available at acnc.gov.au/findacharity. 

This media release was directly sourced from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission website here.