Reinventing the wheel?

Does each successive board reinvent the wheel?

Every director no doubt has a vision of leadership that is unique and personal. On the other hand, the association has a time-honored heritage that it has followed over the years. How to reconcile the two?

One way is with overlapping boards, so that new directors serve consecutively with older ones. This will help forestall a "change for change's sake" mentality.

Passing the baton from one chief to the next, while still having long-standing directors represented, assures your association that the board will honor what works while also working to improve what does not work so well, or could just plain use an "update."

Paid administrators or executive directors are there to keep the continuity so that the changes brought in do not interfere with operations. Hired administration, whether on staff or contracted (as we are), are the organization's history channel.

A change in command does not have to mean a complete change in the way things are done. If the organization has been running smoothly, its day-to-days should be left to the administrators.  

Succession planning is essential for any board. It assures that the association's legacy is preserved. New processes can be added, old ones replaced, as long as the mission survives. Planning for the future growth of the association needs to go beyond the transitions at the top.

Renewing should be easy

You've done everything to keep your members happy, now make sure they can show their appreciation to you by renewing easily  Renewals should be a simple process. When they are, members will reward you with their loyal and continuing support. Clear, easy-to-follow instructions are always appreciated. No one wants to spend hours trying to figure out what's next.  Your website renewal process should make re-joining easy and transparent. Always give members an option to send in a check.   Outline all the steps necessary in simple, bulleted directions. For instance: 1. log in with your user id, and password 2. if you cannot remember your password, one will be provided quickly and easily 3. choose the renewal option from the menu at the side of our site 4. use the auto-fill information from your current profile 5. proceed to check out. Members don't want to have to fuss to renew their membership. Make it simple.

Year to year rollover renewals vs Calendar year renewals? Which works best?  There are advantages in managing calendar year renewals, but really, since we are looking for "Best Practices," year to date renewals are a better way to go.  Here's a few reasons why: Members don't feel gypped when they sign up in February because they will get a full year of benefits through the following February. Your cash flow is spread out over the course of the whole year as members sign up every month. You never have to scramble to make pro-rated offers to spur new prospects into joining your group. The one advantage in having calendar year registration is that all your members have the same membership expiration and renewal dates.  Membership may vary month to month, of course, but prospects won't wait for a better time to sign up because your doors are always open to them.

Clean Lists | Management Services

Our clients are the leadership and boards of trade and professional associations. We want to offer them helpful resources that will guide them in their leadership roles.

Leading a voluntary organization is not easy, but our web site aims to assist you in fulfilling your roles. We have nearly 30 years of experience in providing guidance, back office support, and assistance to boards of directors.  Here are just some ways we can alleviate the chores and lighten the  load for volunteer boards and club management:     acting as the front office, by providing an address, email address, and phone number to which members and interested parties may turn for assistance,     offering members the superior level of customer service they expect.     web maintenance functions including posting events to a web site,     and making changes to published programs when needed,     providing attendance counts for events to organizers,     adding comped attendants to the lists and emailing lists to venues for security,     coordinating emails regarding attendance or cancellations to registrants.     notifying participants of changes in dates, venue or cancellations, and     issuing credits to members as needed,     assisting members in navigating a group’s web site or registering for an event,     preparing name tags, and lists for events along with applications for membership,     providing accurate instructions to organizers along with the lists of paid attendees,     reporting on event expenses to the treasurer and requesting that payments be made to any vendors involved,     responding to all queries within a reasonable time, generally no more than 24 hours after receipt       encouraging callers to participate as members and extolling the benefits of the club,            depositing checks when they are received and reporting on these transactions to the treasurer, Although not a part of our standard retainer packages, we can staff your registration table at some events for an additional fee.  Two efficient and experienced greeters will welcome your registrants, introduce them to members of your group's management, take payments at the door, and answer questions about your organization. Our offices in the heart of New York City are headquarters for your organization. Clean Lists Associates, Inc. 380 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1700 New York, NY 10168 Phone: (212) 551-1013 Fax: (212) 551-1107 Visit us also at https://sites.google.com/site/wellserveyou/ and at https://sites.google.com/site/cleanlistassociatesinc/

Thanks, Clean Lists, for a job well done

Clean Lists' Customers Applaud Their Work We believe our years of experience managing associations will help us answer all of your questions and take care of all of your needs. For more information about our services, click here. For more recommendations of our work: Thanks To Clean Lists for a Job Well Done! Here are some testimonials from our clients: Tamara and Burt, Many thanks for your well organized and efficient efforts that helped make last night's Marketing Committee event a big success. I don't know why we didn't find and work with you before. We are a better club, in part, because of your good service and professionalism. You can quote me. Best regards, Peter Subject: RE: Thanks to Clean Lists for a Job Well Done!  Tamara and Burt, I echo Peter's words.  You are a great resource and we are all so glad that we found you.  This was my first event since your team came into the picture.  I had done events for 4 years during our pre-Cleanlist days.  So, I can certainly say that you bring a professionalism and support to the picture that makes a very big difference in how efficiently we can implement programs and how we are perceived by our audience. Thanks,  Bonnie Do you have any comments? Please send us an e-mail at: cleanlists@gmail.com Would you like more information? We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or would like more information about us and our services. You can reach Tamara Beck or Burt Beck at: Clean Lists Associates, Inc. 380 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1700 New York, NY 10168 Phone: (212) 551-1013  and visit https://sites.google.com/site/cleanlistassociatesinc/  or https://sites.google.com/site/wellserveyou/