Association Management articles from January 2001

Association Management archives from January 2001

Make Your Meetings Matter.
January 1, 2001... How to get your group to come together and then come to good conclusions. No doubt you've had the experience of leaving a board room with that strange feeling that you've done nothing concrete--usually because the group never reached a...

Foolproof Follow-Through.
January 1, 2001... A systematic approach to getting your committees to do their duty. So, you're working on the agenda for an upcoming committee meeting. As you read through the minutes of the last one, you're reminded of a series of assignments that were...

Parliamentary Procedure in Perspective.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A practical look at when to use Roberts Rules--and when to break them. The most important statement in Robert's Rules of Order has nothing to do with motions or other aspects of parliamentary procedure. Rather, it is this simple piece of...

Getting Past the Fear of Fundraising.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Overcome your discomfort and concentrate on your cause. Recently a friend who's a volunteer fundraiser for the local YWCA gave me the opportunity to fund a program there. I say "opportunity" because that's just how I saw it. Though she had...

Recruiting Today's Volunteers.
January 1, 2001... How to find them, get them, and keep them. Generally your association needs two kinds of people to perform volunteer service: deciders and doers. Deciders, those who volunteer at the board level, usually come up through the ranks of...

Foundation Fundamentals.
January 1, 2001... What you must know about how the IRS sees your association and its related foundation. If your association has a related foundation, chances are you're so accustomed to its workings that you've never given much thought to the legal...

Your Guide to Insurance Essentials.
January 1, 2001... What the board needs to know to close up liability loopholes. If you are like many board members, you find the world of association insurance complex and off-putting. The name itself is intimidating. Formerly called nonprofit D&O liability...

Finance Basics for Volunteer Leaders.
January 1, 2001... From budget oversight to reserve policies, the fundamentals you need to be fiscally fit. As an association director, you have a fiduciary responsibility to both your association's members and to the public. It is your board's job to ensure...

CEO TO CEO.
January 1, 2001... Q: What is the most important information a new board member needs to know about the organization? Understanding the role of the executive director versus the role of the board. Role delineation is essential to ensure that an association...

Keeping Pace With Community Service.
January 1, 2001... WHO? Sherry Keramidas, CAE WHAT? Executive Director WHERE? Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, Rockville, Maryland WHEN? Since 1996 Q: How did volunteerism come to play a significant part in your...

Saying Yes to Leadership.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Leadership is a privilege. At every level, in any arena, within any community, leadership is a privilege. And the privilege presents itself in two parts: the opportunity to serve and the opportunity to learn. Take a moment to think about who we...

Commitment to the Core.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Associations today have broadened their activities to meet the burgeoning demands of the many industries and professions that they represent. This evolution, however, has not changed the core mission of our organizations--to serve and to make...

Protecting Attorney-Client Confidentiality in Association Relationships.
January 1, 2001... Most associations maintain a relationship with an attorney. The relationship may be continual and frequent or it may be episodic and occasional. Either way, there are times when an association's employed executives, volunteer leaders, or...

Building Stronger Boards.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Two studies supported by the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund (www.nonprofitresearch.org), Washington, D.C., provide interesting and practical insights for boards that want to increase their effectiveness and achieve greater diversity. *...

Learning From a Legend.(Queen Elizabeth I)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... From bankruptcy to the most powerful nation in Europe: This is what England's Queen Elizabeth I achieved during her 45-year reign, which began in 1558. Alan Axelrod, author of Elizabeth / CEO: Strategic Lessons From The Leader Who Built an...

ABA Leader Lauds Volunteerism.(American Bar Association president Martha W. Barnett)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A commitment to volunteer service that began in her youth has culminated in the presidency of the American Bar Association, Chicago, for Martha W. Barnett, a partner in the global law firm of Holland & Knight LLP, Tallahassee, Florida. "I grew...

Capitalizing on Change.(nonprofit organizations)(Brief Article)(Excerpt)
January 1, 2001... What does the future hold for nonprofit organizations? Certainly, great change. The test for nonprofits is whether they will be taken over by change or whether they will capitalize on it to make themselves over. During the next few decades,...

Upbeat Attitude Prevails.(Center for Creative Leadership)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Do leaders tend to see the world through rose-colored glasses? Yes, according to the Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina. Using CCL's extensive database of psychological test results from more than 10,000 managers in...

Welcoming Clients to the Board.(National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations report)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Nonprofit health and human-service organizations benefit in myriad ways when their boards include the consumers they serve. Yet, only 51 percent of these organizations have such representation. These are among the findings of a study of more...

What's on the Web.(online information sources on leadership)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Leadership batteries running a bit low? Recharge them by checking out the following Web sites, which offer interesting tidbits and helpful pointers about becoming the best leader you can be. * www.emergingleader.com: This user-driven site...

Decisions on the Double.(digitalNow Internet strategy conference, part 1)(Transcript)
January 1, 2001... Leading together in an accelerated environment. Editor's note: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Rosemont, Illinois, is an early adopter of a number of the ideas presented at the November 2000 associations: digitalNow...

TELLING A New Leadership Story.(Column)
January 1, 2001... The contemporary leader in an age of change. Once upon a time the want ad might have looked like this: Wanted: board president. Responsibilities: Chair a few meetings; preside over the business meeting; host functions at convention;...

ASAE.(American Society of Association Executives)
January 1, 2001... For associations, the focus in Congress, the courts, and the agencies throughout the past year has been on tax issues. On the legislative end, much of the early part of 2000 was spent beating back the Clinton administration's proposal to tax...

Planned Partnership.(volunteer and staff cooperation)
January 1, 2001... Strengthen your organization by creating and nurturing a strong volunteer-staff partnership and mining the talents of both volunteers and staff. YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THEM, OR MAYBE you have belonged to one: membership organizations...

Provocative Questions for Volunteer Leaders.
January 1, 2001... Some soul searching is in order as you ponder the issues tied to your leadership role. The special Leadership Issue of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT generally seeks to encourage, educate, and help the volunteer leader be more effective and...

TODAYS LESSON: Strategic Planning.
January 1, 2001... What ASAE's experience can teach you and your board before, during, and after you create a plan. Just ask any board members who've been through a strategic plan--they'll tell you the process gives a whole new meaning to the term learning...

A Grand Scan Plan.
January 1, 2001... Facilitating quick consensus on the right issues for your strategic plan. FOR MOST ASSOCIATIONS, THE TIME available for the board of directors or for a planning committee to come together to work on its strategic plan is limited. If people...

Sustaining the Volunteer Spirit.
January 1, 2001... Klas Bergman of the United Nations talks about recognition programs that resonate with volunteers. IT MAY SEEM A BIT OF A STRETCH TO DRAW COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE volunteer efforts of an association member contributing to a monthly...

An Eye Toward THE FUTURE.
January 1, 2001... What the ASAE Foundation has learned through its futures scan and how you can learn about your future too WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WILL THE FUTURE hold and how will your organization capitalize on them? Planning how to prosper amidst the swirl...

BRIDGING THE GENERATION GAP.
January 1, 2001... Young members want to take on leadership notes but getting them involved requires the right approach. Understanding generational differences will help your organization recruit and retain young leaders. EVERY GENERATION HAS ITS BELIEFS AND...

Making America Better.(Associations Advance America Awards 2000)
January 1, 2001... The top winners in ASAE's Associations Advance America program in 2000 reflect the broad impact associations have on society today. IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ANY good news lately or not enough, this article should do you a world of good. You...

Losing Your Volunteer Blues.(Column)
January 1, 2001... Any single experience as a volunteer leader may leave you wondering why you became a volunteer in the first place. But the cumulative effects of a long-term commitment to your profession provide personal fulfillment otherwise hard to come by....

Becoming a Change Champion.(Column)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... What your CEO wants you to know about how to stop dwelling on minutiae and start accomplishing more. Dear Board Member, As your association's executive director, I know you're busy--serving on a board, in addition to your "real job,"...

Why Boards Succeed.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... How to rise above the most common problems of governance. Boards. Do we really need them? The short answer is yes, if they operate effectively, and no, if they are dysfunctional. The recurring problems lie in two places: 1. Although...

Leveraging your Leadership.(Brief Article)(Column)
January 1, 2001... Six ways to go beyond the basics and make your term in office a success. In many articles of this nature, the author assumes a need to clearly delineate the lines of responsibility between board and staff. That will not be the case here....

Forging a Strong Partnership.(chief elected office's relationship with chief executive officer)(Column)
January 1, 2001... Why a united front is so important for your CEO and you. The relationship between you as chief elected officer and your chief staff officer is crucial to your association's success. A strong partnership--one that's forged out of respect for...

The View From the For-Profit Side.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Get a fresh perspective on nonprofit board service from these comparisons to for-profit boards. Sometimes you can see your own strengths and weaknesses more clearly by comparing yourself to others who are similar but different. That's why...

Board Manual Basics.(handbook)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Whether simple or sophisticated, a handbook keeps your board informed and on target. Having been deeply active in your association, you no doubt know a great deal about its operations, its history, its politics, its policies, and its...