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The Single Biggest Opportunity for Associations Today?
When I was speaking with the nice folks at Naylor for Association Adviser TV, they also asked me to address: What do you think is the single biggest opportunity for associations today? My response? Addressing…
Read More →Five Tips to Write Better
I write a lot. Obviously, reading this, you know about the Spark blog (which started in 2008, long before Spark was even a twinkle in my eye, as the independent association blog Thanks for Playing)….
Read More →Next-Gen Membership
I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by the nice folks at Naylor for Association Adviser TV. One of the questions they asked me to address was: What are the top three things that…
Read More →Mission Driven Volunteering: Where Do We Go From Here?
From the new Spark whitepaper, The Mission Driven Volunteer, written with Peggy Hoffman: We know that switching to a mission driven model of volunteering isn’t easy. However, the era in which members had ample time…
Read More →Who’s Doing Mission Driven Volunteering?
From the new Spark whitepaper, The Mission Driven Volunteer, written with Peggy Hoffman: The Maryland Association of CPAs realigned all their volunteer roles along a grid where the X-axis represented high value to members and…
Read More →What Is Mission Driven Volunteering?
From the new Spark whitepaper, The Mission Driven Volunteer, written with Peggy Hoffman: A number of research studies and innovative volunteer-supported projects…provide us with a new working definition for volunteerism: giving one’s time and talent…
Read More →Problems with the Current Model
From the new Spark whitepaper, The Mission Driven Volunteer, written with Peggy Hoffman: The current model of volunteering in associations, based on standing committees, is broken, leading to: Difficulty recruiting volunteers Do-nothing committees Poorly attended…
Read More →Announcing: The Mission Driven Volunteer
I’m excited to announce the third Spark white paper – The Mission Driven Volunteer – co-authored with Peggy Hoffman, CAE, President of Mariner Management. This week, I’ll be blogging about the contents of the whitepaper….
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In Order to Advance, Sometimes You Have to Retreat
Next week will mark one year in business for Spark Consulting. Thanks to the advice of several wise friends who’ve been down this road before me, I scheduled my first “get outta Dodge” corporate retreat,…
Read More →10 Tips for Creating an Effective Marketing Piece
I’m headed to Providence to speak at CESSE this week, and one of the sessions I’ll be participating in will be an idea swap where we’ll be sharing marketing materials. I’ll be facilitating the discussion,…
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