Tell me about your experiences with professional associations
December 31, 2022 7:26 AM Subscribe
I'm about to become president of a local chapter of a professional association. How do I make it a success?
I'm excited for the role but, frankly, I was asked to take it on because no one else was all that interested or qualified. I'm quite new to the chapter (been part of it less than a year) so I'm also learning chapter history, finances, goals, etc.
A few details:
- Current Board is only ~5 members. Ideally, we'd have double or even triple that.
- We put on 8-12 events/year. Some are social (e.g., networking events, happy hours), others are educational (e.g., Teapot Development Best Practices, New Innovations in Teapot Management in our Region)
- I don't have a good sense yet of membership, but we likely have ~200 people who attend our events or use our materials
My questions:
- If you're a member of a professional association or attend their events, why? What keeps you coming back?
- If you're a board member or leader of a professional association, why? What keeps you engaged, especially as a volunteer member?
- What else should I be thinking about to make sure this is successful for the members, and the board, and me, too?
I'm excited for the role but, frankly, I was asked to take it on because no one else was all that interested or qualified. I'm quite new to the chapter (been part of it less than a year) so I'm also learning chapter history, finances, goals, etc.
A few details:
- Current Board is only ~5 members. Ideally, we'd have double or even triple that.
- We put on 8-12 events/year. Some are social (e.g., networking events, happy hours), others are educational (e.g., Teapot Development Best Practices, New Innovations in Teapot Management in our Region)
- I don't have a good sense yet of membership, but we likely have ~200 people who attend our events or use our materials
My questions:
- If you're a member of a professional association or attend their events, why? What keeps you coming back?
- If you're a board member or leader of a professional association, why? What keeps you engaged, especially as a volunteer member?
- What else should I be thinking about to make sure this is successful for the members, and the board, and me, too?
I'm Chair of the Board of my professional association and have served in various membership roles throughout the last 15 years or so. In addition to the great points kimberussell makes above, I strongly recommend getting familiar with the governance mechanisms and regulations your group has in place. A lot of it probably comes down from your national organization, but there may be things that are left up to you in the local chapters. If you don't have policies on things like meeting management, conflict of interest, etc in place, it is a good idea to spend some time thinking about them. It's also a good idea to review your fiduciary duty and those of the board members and make sure everybody understands their responsibilities.
I know this is not the exciting stuff, but it's the kind of thing that can really bite you in the rear end if something goes wrong (ask me know I know...). It can also be a good team-building exercise when you start to work with your board in this new capacity.
Please feel free to Memail me if you have any specific questions I could help with.
posted by rpfields at 10:16 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I know this is not the exciting stuff, but it's the kind of thing that can really bite you in the rear end if something goes wrong (ask me know I know...). It can also be a good team-building exercise when you start to work with your board in this new capacity.
Please feel free to Memail me if you have any specific questions I could help with.
posted by rpfields at 10:16 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have been on the board of a few professional organizations and also a member of some. There were three things that I think drew people to the professional organizations: opportunity for learning, opportunity for networking, and, well, opportunity to party. Each of these organizations typically had a very social aspect to them, and people would travel to their annual meetings for a lot of "pool-side" networking. In fact, I just went and looked at one of the board's websites that I was on, and they are advertising a pool party as part of their annual event. Some of the boards were affiliated with professions that required further education and "credits", so the professional organization provided ample opportunities for those through workshops, sharing opportunities and their annual event. That was a huge selling point to members.
When I served on the board, it was for my resume - not just having it listed, but by being on the board, I was able to add additional skills to my resume, such as overseeing a financial audit.
As for your organization, I think you need to think a lot about recruitment to the board and the leadership ladder. Recruitment is two-fold, you can do a general outreach to the list - some people might not know there is an opportunity there - and then more targeted. I had both the experience of being recruited and just responding to a general call, so both can work to get people. As for leadership ladder, think about opportunities for people to engage with a small task, and then circle around to have them step up more each year. You'll have a lot of fall out, but 1 in 5 will develop into a full board member. Remember you are recruiting for your some-day replacement too.
posted by Toddles at 12:32 PM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
When I served on the board, it was for my resume - not just having it listed, but by being on the board, I was able to add additional skills to my resume, such as overseeing a financial audit.
As for your organization, I think you need to think a lot about recruitment to the board and the leadership ladder. Recruitment is two-fold, you can do a general outreach to the list - some people might not know there is an opportunity there - and then more targeted. I had both the experience of being recruited and just responding to a general call, so both can work to get people. As for leadership ladder, think about opportunities for people to engage with a small task, and then circle around to have them step up more each year. You'll have a lot of fall out, but 1 in 5 will develop into a full board member. Remember you are recruiting for your some-day replacement too.
posted by Toddles at 12:32 PM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Came to agree with Toddles .
One trade organization , that I've been a member of for years , grew massively.
From regional , to national and now has some international components.
For their events there were always 3 parts: business, education and social.
They don't have be all equal.
When I was younger it was the business component that I cared about. Now that I'm semi retired the social aspect has increased appeal .
The members come from industry, governments and academia ,with industry highly dominant. But the connections to academia were useful for all parties. Those connections were worth making.
They also offer a seperate student membership and the odd event geared for them. But that part is very small. It is industry dominated after all.
Many members were also members of regulated professions with mandated continuing education. So the educational credits were sought after.
Apart from having short talks and lectures some would be organized as short courses lasting a day or more .
Usually would be organized as a theme. 3 talks on this subject in the morning. 3 or 4 talks on another theme in the afternoon.
The talks ranged widely. Anything from some highly technical matters , to liabilities ,government regulations taxes, ( and tax loop holes) enviornment , security regulations, financing etc
posted by yyz at 2:32 PM on December 31, 2022
One trade organization , that I've been a member of for years , grew massively.
From regional , to national and now has some international components.
For their events there were always 3 parts: business, education and social.
They don't have be all equal.
When I was younger it was the business component that I cared about. Now that I'm semi retired the social aspect has increased appeal .
The members come from industry, governments and academia ,with industry highly dominant. But the connections to academia were useful for all parties. Those connections were worth making.
They also offer a seperate student membership and the odd event geared for them. But that part is very small. It is industry dominated after all.
Many members were also members of regulated professions with mandated continuing education. So the educational credits were sought after.
Apart from having short talks and lectures some would be organized as short courses lasting a day or more .
Usually would be organized as a theme. 3 talks on this subject in the morning. 3 or 4 talks on another theme in the afternoon.
The talks ranged widely. Anything from some highly technical matters , to liabilities ,government regulations taxes, ( and tax loop holes) enviornment , security regulations, financing etc
posted by yyz at 2:32 PM on December 31, 2022
Best answer: Writing and speaking opportunities.
Don’t be afraid of expensive events. Lots of members would rather pay $100 for open bar and apps at an interesting place than go to a peer’s grim conference room for free.
Connect people with regional and national association conference opportunities, including buddy systems for new attendees who might otherwise be neglected or overwhelmed.
Get sponsors! Members’ employers and (especially) vendors have budgets, but often have to be asked.
posted by MattD at 4:04 PM on December 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Don’t be afraid of expensive events. Lots of members would rather pay $100 for open bar and apps at an interesting place than go to a peer’s grim conference room for free.
Connect people with regional and national association conference opportunities, including buddy systems for new attendees who might otherwise be neglected or overwhelmed.
Get sponsors! Members’ employers and (especially) vendors have budgets, but often have to be asked.
posted by MattD at 4:04 PM on December 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
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For the professional association that I'm a member of, it's all about education and networking. I love that I can learn from people just like me to become better at my job. Webinars, in-person meetings all gave me credits I could use to apply to take a professional exam last year. I meet people who do what I do, so I don't have to explain what I do over and over (example: *I* am not a teapot developer, but I work at the association for people who *are* teapot developers.)
I volunteer with them because I can do different things than I do at my day job. At my day job, I work with membership, but as a volunteer with the professional organization I help plan the meetings. Completely different but fulfilling and valuable. I volunteer because I want others to be able to have the same positive experiences that I have at the organization.
Some people will volunteer to put it on their resume. They are valuable too, but make sure that there's a healthy mix between people who want the line on their resume and people who are passionate about the mission.
You're in a great position because your organization is smallish. You can randomly pick 20 email addresses from the rolls and send them a note asking them what they would love to see {association} do in the next 2-5 years. You can also pick 5 or so emails from members who aren't members anymore and email asking them why they left. Not everyone will answer, but some will and they'll have some good gems for you to take back to the Board.
Many associations have had a very rough few years. I think the first questions you and the board should discuss are "How did COVID affect our members in 2020-2021, how is it still affecting our members, and what can we do to help them through these changes?"
Good luck in your new role! Please, please MeMail me if you want more.
posted by kimberussell at 9:01 AM on December 31, 2022 [3 favorites]