Membership Resources: Articles & Guides

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Membership | Volunteers | Technology & Website | Communications | Events | Leadership | Fundraising

•   Small Membership Insight Survey Highlights
• This article offers highlights of key findings from our recent Small Membership Insight Survey, including an overview of: who participated in our survey; what a small membership organization looks like; budgets and funding sources; does size matter?; and the state of the small membership organization.
  
  Read Small Membership Insight Survey Highlights...

•  Wild Apricot Guide to Membership Database Selection
• Wild Apricot created this Membership Database Selection Guide to help small member-based organizations, associations and non-profits that are just getting started with formally managing their member data or are realizing the need to switch systems.
  
  Go to the Membership Database Selection Guide...

•  Tips for Building Membership Engagement
• This article offers tips, ideas and resources for leveraging key engagement touchpoints, including: engaging members through your website; enabling two-way communication and content promotion through online communities; and engaging members through social media.
  
  Read Tips for Building Membership Engagement...

•  How to Start a Club
• This article was created to help individuals or groups that are starting a club. It offers five steps to consider as you get started: Identify the Club’s Objectives; Determine the Club’s Structure; Define Your Membership; Outline the Financial Structure; and Develop Tools for Outreach and Engagement.
  
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• How To Manage Membership Renewal: Tips and tactics for small membership organizations
• This guide offers a snapshot of current practices as well as tips on how to: start the renewal process; determine the number of renewals; choose effective communications methods; and acknowledge renewals. It also includes information on: incentives and discounts; grace periods; automated renewal processes and thoughts on ongoing engagement and retention.
  
  Go to the How To Manage Membership Renewal Guide...

• Beyond Membership Marketing: Why Modernizing Your Recruitment Strategies is a Must
• Trish Hudson (Melos Institute) offers a real-life "teachable moment" that demonstrates why it’s so important to shift from "selling memberships...[to] 'inviting' members to become part of their distinctive community".
  
  Read Beyond Membership Marketing...

• How Crowdsourcing Can Help Your Non-Profit
• This Idealware article offers “the Whys and How’s” of crowdsourcing; outlines the opportunities for nonprofits to tap the power of crowds, and offers tips for ensuring crowdsourcing success.
  
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• Relevant Schmelavant….. Your Association Right Now Can Deliver Meaningful Experiences to Your Members
• How can your association stay relevant and deliver meaningful experiences to your members? Patricia Hudson offers tips on changing your perspective to change your association's outcomes.
  
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• What We All Can Learn About Membership from Ryan Crowe
• In this article, Patricia Hudson responds to a blog post by a recent graduate whose opinions, she suggests, offer some valuable lessons for those interested in ensuring that their association remains or becomes more responsive to members.
  
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• Recruitment is Easy, Cultivating an Engaged Membership Requires Finesse
• In this article, Patricia Hudson shares the three key lessons she’s learned about building member engagement within associations.
  
  Read Recruitment is Easy, Cultivating an Engaged Membership Requires Finesse...

• If You Build It...Will They Come? The future of member involvement in the electronic age
• This article from the Melos Institute offers strategies for member cultivation and engagement.
  
  Read If You Build It...Will They Come? The future of member involvement...

• Membership Development Planning: The secret to getting members active and engaged
• This article from the Melos Institute suggests that associations move away from for-profit marketing techniques for recruitment and retention and instead embrace a membership development approach which they outline.
  
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•  Volunteer Appreciation Guide
• This guide offer tips and ideas for organizations just getting started with or looking to refresh their volunteer recognition planning.
  
  Read the Volunteer Appreciation Guide...

•  Getting Started with Volunteer Recruitment
• This guide – which is designed for those new to volunteer recruitment for non-profits and membership organizations – offers tips and resources about recruitment planning, targeting, outreach, screening, follow-up and orientation.
  
  Go to Getting Started with Volunteer Recruitment...

•  Volunteer Recruitment Checklist
• This is a quick reference list of steps to take when getting started with volunteer recruitment for events, including: Pre-recruitment planning; Targeting potential volunteers; Screening and confirming a commitment; Follow-up and orientation of new recruits.
  
  Go to the Volunteer Recruitment Checklist...

• Recruiting, Mentoring and Retaining Volunteers
• This Volunteer Development Cycle Fact Sheet is designed to help you design a volunteer program that is right for your group.
  
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• Volunteer Recruitment Quick Tips
• This is a helpful resource for those just getting started with volunteer recruitment.
  
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• The New Volunteer Manager: The First 90 Days
• This eBook covers a broad range of activities for new volunteer managers to try during their first few months on the job including “21 big picture tips to rock your volunteer program.”
  
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• Facing Some Inconvenient Truths About Committees
• This article from the Melos Institute offers strategies for effective committee development and management.
  
  Read Facing Some Inconvenient Truths About Committees...

• A Matter of Design - Matching Volunteers Using Job Design
• This discussion paper/manual by Volunteer Canada introduces job design, identifies the problems it may help to address and offers helpful hints to match volunteers to appropriate positions.
  
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Technology & Website

•    Wild Apricot Membership Software Selection Guide
• Wild Apricot created this guide to help you choose the best software for your business or professional association, charitable or volunteer organization, club or community group.
  
  Go to the Membership Software Selection Guide...

•    Understanding Online Payment Services
• If you are considering moving to an online payment process, this article will help you understand the terminology; how the process works; and take you through an online payment transaction.
  
  Read Understanding Online Payment Services...

•    How to Select an Online Payment Service Provider
• Once you’ve decided to take online payments on your website, this article can help identify the key criteria to consider when selecting a payment service provider. It also includes a Payment Service Selection Checklist (Excel spreadsheet) you can use to evaluate service providers.
  
  Read How to Select an Online Payment Service Provider...

•    Getting Started with Online Surveys
• This article, designed for those who are new to online surveys, offers tips on: setting objectives; identifying the right online survey tool; and crafting effective online surveys (timing, content, promotion, etc.).
  
  Read Getting Started with Online Surveys...

• Search Engine Marketing Guide for Associations and Nonprofits
• This is a great resource for organizations just getting started with or who want to know more about Search Engine Marketing: what it is, and how it can be used to increase your online visibility, target potential constituents, and drive more visits to your website.
  
  Go to the Search Engine Marketing Guide...

• A Few Good Online Survey Tools
• This Idealware article explains what online survey tools can do, what type of features might be helpful and they offer an overview of the following online survey tools.
  
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• A Few Good Web Analytics Tools
• This is a great article for individuals or organizations just getting started with website analytics or metrics.
  
  Read A Few Good Web Analytics Tools...

• Do You Need A Donor Management System?
• Do you have doubts about your non-profit’s current donor management system? Idealware/TechSoup have developed this Step-by-Step Decision-making Workbook to "walk you through the process of assessing your needs, comparing them to what you have, and determining the benefits — and the costs — of moving to a new system."
  
  Read Do You Need A Donor Management System?...

Communications for Membership & Non-Profit

•  The Nonprofit Content Marketing Cookbook
• This e-book offers ideas and guidance for brainstorming nonprofit content and creating a plan to produce and distribute that content across all of your communications channels.
  
  Read The Nonprofit Content Marketing Cookbook...

•   How To Write Effective Meeting Minutes
• This article offers tips and information for volunteers and/or staff of small non-profits and membership organizations who are new to the task of preparing meeting minutes for committees or Boards of Directors.
  
  Read How To Write Effective Meeting Minutes...

•  Getting Started with Annual Reports
• A practical resource offering general guidance for individuals tasked with producing an annual report for the first time. It includes thoughts on: why organizations create annual reports; what to include; tips on telling stories and using visuals; thoughts on the types of formats.
  
  Go to Getting Started with Annual Reports...

•  Annual Report Checklist
• A list of questions to help guide those new to annual reports get started with annual report planning.
  
  Go to the Annual Report Checklist...

•  Communication Planning Guide
• This article by Wild Apricot is designed to help the staff and volunteers of small non-profit and membership organizations that are just getting started with supporter communications and engagement planning.
  
  Go to the Communications Planning Guide...

•  How to Create a Blog
• If you are looking for a channel to provide timely updates about your organization and mission and/or you want to encourage interaction and dialogue with your constituents, then a blog may be right for you.
  
  Read How to Create a Blog...

•  Refreshing Your Email Newsletter
• Is an email newsletter part of your communication mix? You might want to step back and take a good look at your e-newsletter to be sure it is meeting your objectives.
  
  Read Refreshing Your Email Newsletter...

•  How to Start an Online Forum
• A forum is an online discussion site or place on your website where your members or supporters can post messages and others can view and reply to these messages, and it can be an effective engagement tool.
  
  Read How to Start an Online Forum...

•  Getting Started with Membership or Non-profit Publicity
• Since taking on your organization’s publicity efforts may seem like a daunting challenge, we’re offering some guidance that will help you get started as well as some tips for getting your message out and taking advantage of low- or no-cost online and off-line publicity channels.
  
  Read Getting Started with Membership or Non-profit Publicity...

•  Beginner's Guide to Social Media
• Wild Apricot developed this beginner’s guide for organizations just getting started on their social media journey. It offers: an introduction to the types of social media available; some guidance for how to get started; establish social media goals; and build your online presence.
  
  Read The Beginner's Guide to Social Media...

• Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Online Communications
• This Idealware article is a good starting point if you are new to website, email or social media management.
  
  Read Measuring Your Online Communications...

Events

•   Inspiring Volunteers For Event Success
• Since an event's success is often dependent on a network of volunteers, here are some tips and ideas for: recruiting the right team of volunteers; welcoming and orienting volunteers; and ensuring their efforts are recognized.
  
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•   Building Event Attendance
• Here are some tips for refreshing your events to make them more appealing (especially to Generation Y) to help build attendance.
  
  Read Building Event Attendance...

•  Event Planning Guide
• This guide offers a broad-strokes overview of event planning for members, volunteers and staff who are new to event management.
  
  Go to the Event Planning Guide...

•  Event Promotion Guide
• This Guide is designed to help the staff and volunteers of small non-profit and membership organizations that are just getting started with event promotion – offering tips and ideas for low or no-cost event publicity.
  
  Go to the Event Promotion Guide...

• 5 Events Tips - The Big Event
• This e-book offers a good overall introduction to fundraising event planning for organizations just getting started or individuals new to this type of event planning.
  
  Read 5 Events Tips - The Big Event...

Leadership

•  Secret to Getting Boards to Address Critical Issues
• Is a ‘dead moose’ hindering your board’s progress? This article explains the importance of using tools to provide volunteers and staff with essential personal leadership skills and tools (such as the Ground Rules PDF in the article) to ensure that meetings address critical issues and move your mission forward.
  
  Read Secret to Getting Boards to Address Critical Issues...

• Leaders Aren’t Born, They’re Trained
• This article from the Melos Institute offers an overview of what is essential in developing an effective leadership program.
  
  Read Leaders Aren’t Born, They’re Trained...

• The Plan - Your Tool to Generate Participation and Achieve Productivity
• This article from the Melos Institute suggests that an effective plan can be a valuable tool to guide and manage your leadership team toward high performance.
  
  Read The Plan - Your Tool to Generate Participation...

• Today's "Board Orientation" Just Isn’t What It Used to Be!
• This article from the Melos Institute offers a new perspective on and tips for approaching board orientation, including creating custom agendas.
  
  Read Today's "Board Orientation" Just Isn’t What It Used to Be!...

Fundraising

• Getting Started with Email Fundraising
• This Idealware article offers an effective outline of email fundraising basics
  
  Read Getting Started with Email Fundraising...

• The Online Fundraiser’s Checklist
• This e-Guide from Network for Good would be helpful for organizations with staff and/or volunteers who are new to online fundraising.
  
  Read The Online Fundraiser’s Checklist...