Blog posts and articles on Leadership and Social Media topped the active topics at AssociationJam.org this month, in terms of the numbers of submissions, views and reader votes. Events and Fundraising came in close behind, followed by Membership, Technology, Volunteers and the catch-all “Other” category. Here’s a look at the most popular links submitted to “AJam” in March 2010:
Membership
A Different Way to Look at Lost Members
Summer Faust | Acronym
Conventional wisdom says to ask your members what the association could be doing better, to convert them to loyal long-timers. But, sometimes, you have to wonder if that's really as simple or even worthwhile as it sounds.
Events
Why Meeting Agendas are Important
Bill von Achen| Best Practices for Business
It’s amazing how many otherwise competent executives will ad-lib their business meetings, when a simple meeting agenda, distributed in advance, is perhaps the most important tool for ensuring a successful and productive meeting.
Leadership
The Radical Choice
Jeff De Cagna| Principled Innovation Blog
Now more than ever, you cannot be certain you know what the most radical choice may be…
Volunteers
Turning Volunteers into Leaders: One Warm Coat
The KooDooz Blog
How a "leaderless" nonprofit turned volunteers into leaders won national media attention, and increased donations by 24% over the previous year: a video interview.
Fundraising
Two stories tied for the top spot in the Fundraising category:
Turning One-Times into Repeats
Jeffrey Cufaude| Jeffrey Cufaude, Idea Architects
Businesses and associations need to do a better job of tracking and courting "LYBUNTS" (“Last Year But Not This” donors) and one-timers, with a stellar product and more personal interactions; “and a little marketing incentive certainly can't hurt."
Nurturing Donors Online is NOT Magic
Fran Simon| 140+: In The Moment
Online fundraising will take more than a "Donate Now" button on your website, but it's not magic. Getting donations online does, however, require some effort, some creativity, and a few key tools.
Social Media
The Power Of Twitter Or Why You Should Run Your Association Like A Bakery
Chris Bonney | Vanguard Technology
"Yet another company that apparently knows how to broadcast, but not really engage on Twitter," Chris Bonney thought – but not so! What can associations learn from this real-world "case study" in one-to-one marketing?
Fun
10 Fun and Totally Random Resources for Nonprofits
Heather Mansfield | Nonprofit Tech 2.0
Tools and sites to help put some pizazz in your internet content – from BrainyQuote to the WayBack Machine.
Technology
Two stories tied for the top spot in the Technology category:
Building a Non-Profit Website with Wordpress – from Scratch
Timo Luege| Social Media 4 Good
What would you do if you could build a non-profit website from scratch?
3 Good (Free) Online Image Editors
Wild Apricot Blog
Three good free web-based photo editing tools, from easy-to-use to more complete: two come with Firefox add-ons for quick screen captures.
Other
Simplify
Judith Lindenau| Off Stage
Desk overloaded? Too many projects uncompleted? Here are some tips to bring closure to open projects.
Do you have something to say to Associations?
If you’ve got a stand-out blog post, article, presentation, video, or other online resource to help associations and non-profits be more effective, we invite you to submit your links to AssociationJam.org and vote for your favorites. Follow @associationjam on Twitter to see which stories make it as #ajam front page news!