Hot off the press! Our very own President and Founder of AMI, Lianna Collinge, CAE, was voted Best CEO in South Sound Business magazine!
Lianna was nominated by someone in the South Sound business community, and by popular public vote took home the highest honors of “Best CEO”.
We are so incredibly proud to recognize our leader for this top award voted on by peers in our business community. It is a testament to the great work and positive contributions you’ve made this our community. Congratulations, Lianna!
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Congratulations to our own Liz Truong, CAE, CFRE for being honored in the Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40!
Each year, the 40 Under 40 Awards honor 40 rising stars in the local business world who have distinguished themselves in their companies, their communities and their industries — all before their 40th birthday. These young professionals are executives, innovators and entrepreneurs who represent our region’s next generation of business leaders. This is a highly competitive and distinguished honor in the Greater Seattle business community.
We are so proud of the work Liz does as our VP of Client Development, bringing new clients in and making them a part of the AMI Family. She embodies the values of our organization and we are thrilled at this recognition of her and our team! Congratulations, Liz!
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Happy New Year – happy new law! The updated Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act RCW 24.03A began January 1, 2022 and has several changes for membership organizations. Don’t worry – most of it is good! However it will require some organizations to update their bylaws to be in alignment. So the question we’re asking is – what changed?
This guide quickly outlines some sections of the law that have been updated and modernized to reflect business these days (anyone still faxing and sending hard copy mail notices for special meetings?) Read below on the things most relevant to associations.
Five areas with the most relevant changes to ALL associations you should be aware of:
1. Communication Updates: Electronic communication is now the default
Over the past few years, numerous association bylaws began to include the ability to use email as acceptable ways to communicate and do official business. The new law brings us into the modern age and now sets email and other electronic means of communication as the default way to communicate and does not require a bylaw update to opt-in. It also outlines rules for virtual meetings (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc) that, well – let’s face it, is not going to go away. Considering associations span large geographic areas as opposed to one city, this update for teleconferencing is a welcome addition as we use these platforms for accessibility and better engagement (hello new Board Member possibilities!).
2. Voting Updates: Electronic board and election votes? You can do that.
What do your bylaws say? The updated law includes parameters for how to vote electronically and all AMI Executive Directors know the rules on how to do it successfully within the parameters of the law to make sure you are taking official votes whether on a board action item or via an electronic ballot for your membership. Electronic voting means more votes so we are thrilled with this official change and increased engagement.
3. Officers Updates: President, Secretary & Treasurer required, 5-Year Term Limits
The new law eliminates the Vice President position as required (you can still have it), leaving the President, Secretary & Treasurer as needed. Remember that one person can serve in multiple positions, except the President may not also serve as Secretary. It also updated that terms are a maximum of 5 years, however there is no limit on how many terms can be served.
4. Membership Updates: Several specifics around membership classifications, rights and obligations
There are too many updates in this section to delineate, but for the most part this updated section allows you to have more defined classifications of members and assign them very specific voting rights and obligations. We see this as a win for diversifying membership within associations. This can be used strategically if you’ve been on the fence about adding a new classification and not sure how to do it. All signs of this section point to your bylaws to specifically spell these items out, so this section may require you to do a bylaw update if you haven’t done one in awhile.
5. Annual Meeting Updates: Timing & Data
Ok, this alone may prompt many associations to update their bylaws and annual actions. Some associations have major conferences and choose to hold their annual meeting there – others are a bit more relaxed and hold it when they can. Although there are no penalties and does not affect the validity of votes eventually taken if not done on the time you denoted, there are certain things that are better with fixed regularity and an annual meeting is one of them. And not only do you need a general time that you’ll hold your meeting, you need to provide a member list with full contact information and voting privileges included in the announcement of the annual meeting. While this all sounds a bit tedious, it’s a great way to schedule in an annual check-in with your membership and be transparent about who your organization includes.
Beyond these five areas, there are other changes that may be relevant specifically to your association that you need to suss out – these were the most universal changes that I see affecting most if not all associations.
So the next question is, what do you need to do?
- Check your bylaws and articles of incorporation and see what needs to be updated in accordance with the new law. If it’s been awhile since your board has looked at your bylaws, your AMI Executive Director will schedule a bylaws review whether with your board or in a committee.
- Are your bylaws a long, boring document or heavy in “legalese”? No problem – your AMI Executive Director will add a 5 minute regularly occurring line item to every board meeting to educate on one important section of your bylaws over 2022 until you’ve gone through them all.
- And last of all, don’t worry – your AMI Executive Director will address these with you shortly in a bylaw update that is specific to your organization. Expect that to be coming soon from your staff at your next board meeting if there is anything that should be updated.
And if you are not a client of AMI, consider reaching out to us to talk about your bylaws and the full services management that we provide so you’re always on top of these vitally important legal updates. As a volunteer Board member you only worry about serving your purpose and your industry and leave it to us to make sure your association is always in compliance with best practices.
What should I look for in an association management company?
- CAE and ASAE
First, they need to subscribe to professional standards of the industry provided by the American Society of Association Executives, which is a clear list of professional attributes that any association manager ought to have. Next, a designation of CAE, a Certified Association Executive, showing that person as knowledgeable and understands the legal and other ramifications of managing not-for-profit organizations.
Most people have never heard of a CAE, a Certified Association Executive. That’s probably because there are less than 3000 of us in the world! It is a certification awarded by the American Society of Association Executives and has been for 59 years. Association managers don’t have to be CAEs, but those that have chosen to earn their CAE designation have shown years of professional development, must have had a college degree, must serve as a CEO or COO of an organization. Having taken the time to become a CAE shows that an association manager has prioritized the professional association management field as their specialty and field of knowledge.
Some larger organizations and not-for-profit membership and other organizations, particularly in the United States, don’t often see very many CAEs, and this is because they are large enough to employ people who have their own designations in their own specific field of endeavor. For example, perhaps the Red Cross national headquarters has five CPAs in their accounting department. They may not have any CAEs on staff. But their CEO or COO could be a CAE, and that’s reflective of the breadth of knowledge in running an association, versus the narrower field which is included in association management.
- Errors and Omissions insurance
Next is insurance. Your association needs to be covered. Does the association management company you are considering have an errors and omissions insurance policy? Is it large enough for your association?
If you hire an independent contractor, they may not have any insurance. They may oversee all your funds, your reputation, your website as an asset, and they may make mistakes. They may abscond with all your funds. They may not renew your website domain, and you’ve lost that asset. You have no assurance that your association is going to be covered for any of those items, and you may have no recourse, versus an association management company that does have an errors and omissions policy that covers you.
- Size of company
You’ll want a company that’s big enough to handle your needs, big enough to have a variety of specialists. One person simply can’t be good at everything. One person can’t be a great financial manager, people person, event planner, writer, et cetera. You also want a firm that is small enough, or focused enough, on your association so that you get personal service, and you’re not just a number in their list of clients. This is a matter of personal preference, but we recommend a firm with at least 5 team members.
- Dedicated executive director
Another question to ask when you’re looking at and weighing various association management companies against one another is asking the questions, who will be my executive director? How long will I have that executive director? May I choose my executive director? What happens if our executive director isn’t working out?
When not-for-profits choose to partner with an association management company, it’s a long-term relationship. It’s difficult to make a switch. It’s time intensive to develop the RFP and develop the new relationship and get it into top notch working order.
You are entitled to choose your executive director and to make sure that that relationship is working for all parties involved. It’s important to note that, of course, the contract is with the association management company, not the individual who may be serving as your executive director. Your executive director becomes a keeper of historical data and develops a relationship with your members and your leaders and becomes essentially the face of your organization. It’s essential that that relationship last as long as possible. Having an executive director for any less than several years is not good for the organization. An association management company ought to be ensuring you that, to the best of their ability, that is their intention.
- Employee quality
Of course, the quality of a good association management company is the quality of its team. Some questions that might help you understand the quality of the team you’re thinking of hiring are: Where do you get your employees? How much do you pay their employees? What skill set do their employees have? What does your hiring process look like? How long does your average employee stay with your firm?
- Ownership quality
Who are their owners? How long have they been owners? Are they building a business to sell or are they in it for the long run?
Look at the focus of a company and why they’re in business. Are they in business to serve the organization or to serve themselves? Does an association management company that you’re considering take pride in the industry and try to provide the best service honestly and transparently? Or is it difficult to get answers and interact with their staff?
These are all questions you can ask current customers of an association management company. Or as questions for an interview. The reason an association management company is in business sets high-end association management companies apart from those that are not concerned with professional management, but perhaps simply administration.
- Quality of their intake process and questions
Most association management firms have a list of specific questions to ask a client so that we have a great idea of exactly what needs you have, how often events occur, and what your expected outcome for all tasks are. This requires the association leadership to reflect on how often do we want to do newsletters? How long will those newsletters be? Will there be advertisers? And SO much more!
Going through the process of hiring an association management company, or sometimes switching between association management companies, helps a board and the leadership clarify their needs and where they want to take the organization, and what the membership needs.
If an association management company doesn’t ask you in-depth questions about every facet of your organization, whether its governance, membership recruiting, membership retention, communication, technology, et cetera, then there is no way for them to understand prior to contracting what your organization is focused on or what it needs.
Personally, I like to look at a budget. Some prospective clients think that association management company simply want to look at the budget to see how much an organization is paying for management services, but in my opinion, a budget is the spine of the organization. By looking at your budget, an association management company can make sure that the scope of the work they will be doing is totally accurate. A budget is totally reflective of what an organization is doing, and to what level they’re doing it.
- Available list of happy clients
Be sure to talk to your prospective associations existing clients and find out how satisfied the leaders of the organizations are. Do they get reports when they request them? Is all the communication clear and transparent? Or are they told, “No,” when they ask for special reports or special services?
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When associations start, they quite often don’t need staff; all the work is done by volunteers. However, as an association grows, they realize they need help. There are three main options for these groups. First would be an independent contractor. This is a person who will do what you want, get paid a flat rate or an hourly rate, pay their own taxes, pay their own office expenses. Nice and easy. The next option is an employee or employees, requiring you to provide infrastructure and the associated financial and legal responsibilities around retirement, vacations, et cetera. The third is to hire an association management company, which is also an independent contractor but offers numerous people with numerous specialties to ensure that work is done at the highest quality level.
What options do you have to manage your organization?
- Volunteer-run
Many not-for-profit membership organizations are trade organizations, which means that the personalities and the skill levels and specific knowledge that each member and each leader have are virtually the same. If you have an association of technological members, that will be the focus and the sweet spot for the members offering their volunteer services. They may not have the knowledge around financial management, people management, contracting with facilities, et cetera.
Some very successful not-for-profit organizations now have begun assigning competencies to every board position. For example, the treasurer is required to be a CPA. The secretary is required to be a lawyer, Membership committee chair must be a salesperson et cetera.
The reality is that most organizations simply don’t have the bandwidth or the interest in requiring their board members to have these kinds of competencies. So, it’s essential that each board looks at the reality of how likely it is that they will have these competencies, and simply be able to say, “We will never be able, from the membership, to have someone who’s very knowledgeable about new tax laws, or very knowledgeable about new website designs, or very knowledgeable about what’s new in holding events and event attendance and activity to draw attendees to the events”
- Independent contractor (person)
If you’re very small, you don’t need anything more than an independent contractor who will do a few assorted tasks for you every week. Probably less than ten hours a week, not very technical, and can be accomplished by that independent contractor individual quite easily.
- Association management company
An association management company is a perfect alternative for mid-sized associations that don’t have the need for dedicated space, want to save money, and still have control over the product that they offer their members. Contracts with association management companies ensure that the work you need to have done is clearly spelled out, unlike employee arrangements often are.
- Employee
If you have a lot of specific oversight needs, you might want to choose the employee model. In my opinion, if you choose the employee model you ought to need and hire several employees. This requires an association with a larger workload (not necessarily membership size) because having one employee and all the associated risks and costs doesn’t make financial sense for an organization that’s small.
When it comes to having access to specific skill sets, unless you have numerous employees, you will find that the employee model might struggle to produce quality products and events. An association management company specifically hires those sorts of specialists, because we know that those are the needs that every organization has.
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Many volunteer leaders have a skewed expectation from their staff, whether that staff is employee, independent contractor, or an association management company. Some leaders expect too much, expect us to be miracle workers or read peoples’ minds, but more often what I’ve seen over the last 35 years is that leaders expect too little. They don’t really understand the role of staff and what they should expect from that staff.
If you have a board of directors or committee chairs who are frustrated that they can’t get their work done or they don’t have the data needed to understand what’s going on in the organization, that’s a major red flag to know you need to sit down with staff or you need new staff, whoever they may be.
You should always expect to receive information about your organization when you request it, in a timely manner. You should expect staff to complete tasks in a timely way, not be emotional, not give excuses, and not make a committee or a board member or a member’s experience in your organization painful or frustrating or negative.
Your staff is the face of your organization. Any staff that you have should be gladly providing information quickly to members and leaders and offering solutions for problems that arise. If you find yourself wondering, how many members do we have? How much money is in the bank? Did that event make money? Did our newsletter have any advertisers? Those are all questions that mean that you need better staff. Even though it can seem daunting to start the process, there are many tools available through you, a lot through the American Society of Association Executives at no cost to help you seek new staff and develop an RFP for that process.
Professional association management transitioning from your current management, whether an employee, independent contractor or another management company, can make that transition painless and happen relatively quickly. So, don’t delay.
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Trying to figure out what you’re going to do for a profession? Do you love people? Do you love activity and doing a wide variety of tasks every day? Do you like to take on responsibility, challenges and answer questions?
If so, Association Management, as a profession, might be for you. Dealing with people, helping them find their way through challenging projects or exciting events is an integral part of what we do in Association Management.
I was asked recently by a board member, who I’ve known for many years, How I spent the other 5% of my time at work (Implying 95% was event management, which is nowhere near the truth!) Association Management includes a lot of events and event planning, but also involves financial management, communications, administrative tasks, governance, legislative focus, or anything else that the association you oversee managing may focus on.
Association Management requires you to be very organized in order to juggle 20 to 40 balls at any one time! If you can focus on details, are genuinely interested in people’s experiences, and love throwing parties association management might be a profession for you. It requires patience, understanding, diligence, and tenacity but it is never boring and very rewarding!
If you tend to put your opinions and feelings ahead of others, this is not the industry for you. We bite our tongues a lot. We try to understand what people’s needs are and help them achieve the goals – whether personal or professional – that they’re trying to achieve through their membership and their organization.
Working with associations and people closely helps you develop an understanding of their industries and build relationships that you never would have had the opportunity before. You’ll notice that it’s easy to admire and be interested in the people that do various types of jobs that you would have ever considered of doing yourself. The people component is the most rewarding piece of our work. Getting to know them and helping them feel that they made a difference in the course of their organization.
]]>Whether it’s promoting an event, contracting with a facility for an event, writing or producing a newsletter, talking to members, dental seo and websites by prodentite helping leaders, whether they’re board members or committee chairs accomplish what they need to get done, financial management, governance or public relations, staff is busy working on each association’s unique needs.
Most of our staff serves as the Executive Director or CEO for each of the not-for-profit organizations they manage. However, we do have several staff who perform specific tasks. For example, our receptionist answers the phone for all the organizations (nearly 40 corporations) never knowing when she picks up the phone who may need what services. Our Marketing team designs websites, newsletters, brochures, engaging e-mail blasts, logos and other collateral materials clients may need on an ongoing basis.
Additionally, our financial management team, who’s busy reconciling, invoicing, and analyzing data for each not-for-profit clients.
We also have a dedicated events department who coordinates special events, such as auctions, golf tournaments, poker tournaments, and other fundraising events. All the AMI staff work on coordinating events, whether it’s from initial planning, contracting, promotion, registration, implementation, and making sure that everyone who attends the event has a great time and accomplishes what they need to have done.
Occasionally we get to welcome client leaders or members into our office, which is a great time for us, as face-to-face interaction cements our understanding of their organizational needs, and strengthens our relationship.
We are here to serve the members of each organization we work with. We support the leader’s vision for success and ensure that the decision makers can use their time efficiently in leading their organizations. Leaders communicate their vision to us, and we make it a reality by proactively accomplishing the tasks to turn it into reality. We believe in responsiveness, transparent communication and cutting-edge industry best practices.
Proactivity
Being proactive is an understanding between the leadership of an organization and AMINC staff. Occasionally leaders will try to micromanage/be involved in every decision, but we are not simply bookkeepers or secretaries, as professional association managers, we are deeply knowledgeable about non-profit membership organization association management best practices. We communicate this with leadership so that we can move faster and achieve more.
We are here to reach out to leadership and make recommendations of the best ways to objectives and what tools and timelines need to be employed to ensure a group’s goals are achieved.
Responsiveness
Responsiveness is crucial in this industry. In our firm, every email, every phone call, and every request that comes in is answered in 1 business day at the latest. A lot of companies think that if you respond to an email or a telephone request within a week, that’s good enough, but in our fast-paced day and age, that’s not good enough. When a member or a leader has a need, a question, a task to be done, it needs to be done sooner rather than later.
Transparent Communication
Having a dialogue with a leader about their expectations and how often to communicate back and forth is crucial. We’re playing a game of volleyball. If we hit you the ball and we don’t get it back for two weeks, that does not allow us to be successful in managing an association, an event, or any of the tasks that need to happen. By establishing trust, regular and timely communication on both sides, and clarity around the expected outcomes, we can move forward much more quickly and with minimal leadership involvement or time commitment.
Cutting edge best practices
Every organization is run by volunteer leaders. These volunteer leaders have jobs, some of which allocate time towards the not-for-profits, but not normally. They also have families, lives, hobbies hopefully, and quite frankly, even though their association may be towards the top of their list of priorities, the time they can dedicate to it is minimal. Making sure that all the latest knowledge and tools are shared with and implemented with each of our clients to make the most of their limited time is something that we focus on strongly. Worst case scenario, they get to choose between a few options, but we save clients the research.
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