Connecting Associations. Why “Sharing is Caring” for many Associations...PRSA Association/Nonprofit Seminar

I consider it an honor to be a Presenter at the upcoming, PRSA Association/Non-Profit Seminar scheduled for March 25^th in Washington, D.C.  PRSA has a reputation for making their events a relevant, engaging and enlightening experience.

With that in mind, I am sure many realize that staying current is essential for an association’s well-being.  The world has changed and expectations for associations have changed as well. While larger organizations are investing time and money to come up with the best way to evolve, many small associations, or components of larger ones, are left without the resources needed to overcome their challenges.

At the PRSA Seminar, I look forward to sharing my interaction and experience with many association components and will present some of the challenges I’m hearing about such as:

• Limited or inefficient online tools to facilitate collaboration and relevance
• Difficulty connecting to and leveraging social media outlets to create awareness and drive participation
• Understanding best-practice efforts from other organizations
• Having disconnected or fragmented communication, brands, or data
• Not having the staff or financial resources to respond to change

So what is the resolution to these challenges?  While there may not be a universal answer, I am confident of this one thing, remaining idle and becoming stagnant is a sure path to failure.

Non-profits, associations and their chapters must start to connect and share with other compatible organizations if they care about being prosperous in the coming years. Share best practices, resources, programs, benefits, products, fundraising strategies, events and more. Sharing is a fundamental mindset that associations need to preserve and maintain as they tread into unchartered waters.

How can your organization benefit by sharing with other associations that would otherwise be apart? What would you share? Strategically, how would that relationship work between the organizations? Then technically, what tools would you need to execute this strategy?

I look forward to meeting and greeting you at the PRSA Seminar as we learn and share together to the benefit of all associations, non-profits and their respective membership.