Blogs

A show of hands: Does anyone else feel a bit conflicted about virtual work? On one hand, I love that my home is close to my yoga studio, and I can finally make their 5:15 pm classes. But I do miss connecting with my colleagues daily in a physical office. And now that I am in the role of mentor at my organization, I see how the lack of daily interaction can hinder the development and "visibility" of my younger employees. That’s why industry events like CESSE’s ACCESSE Leadership Conference are more important than ever. I attended my first ACCESSE last year in Detroit, MI. While initially, I thought my excitement was from attending ...

by: KHÁNH VŨ, Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) As a nonprofit leader, I prioritize supporting my staff, recognizing that the most valuable resource of any organization is its people. This support takes various forms, with continuous learning and networking standing out as indispensable tools for organizational and staff growth and success. That's why we made the decision to send our entire team to the ACCESSE23 Leadership Conference in Detroit last year. ACCESSE offers a unique platform for development and networking, particularly beneficial for nonprofit staff across various levels in STEM societies and associations. ...

5.5 Things I Take Away from ACCESSE by: Jon Miller, Ecological Society of America Six years ago, I was starting a new job; I’d done the association thing before (I live in DC—they let you reach into a hat and randomly select a career pathway between government, contractors, associations, NGOs and fancy burger restaurants) but this was my fi rst time in a STEM society. On about my fifth day, our ED said, “I’d like to send you to this conference, help you get a better understanding of how these organizations work and get some ideas for the job.” I said, “cool, but it starts next week, and also what’s a ’Sess?’” I’ve now been ...

How Socio-Cultural Sustainability Fosters Unforgettable Events More than ever, delegates are considering the sustainability and authenticity of the business events they attend . Likewise, associations are committed to foster ing a welcoming community and advanc ing d iversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) . Incorporating s ocio - cultural sustainability into business events not only supports these DEI goals— it also satisfies attendees’ desire for a n authentic experience with a positive legacy . Socio ...

CESSE Members – are you aware that on May 28 th , the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced 12 Manufacturing Communities designated as part of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative. This Manufacturing Community Initiative http://bit.ly/Uhl2vT is led by the U.S. Commerce Department designed to accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing in communities nationwide. The first 12 Manufacturing Communities include: Southwest Alabama , led by the University of South Alabama Southern California , led ...

Hello All, Our association has a large number of members over the age 51. I have read a lot of articles that say the younger generation (recent grads and young professionals) are not joiners. We need to find a way to attract younger members. Does anyone have any ideas for a different type of membership campaign? Have you done a membership campaign that was particularly successful? Chris Jessee American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Reston, Virginia

Hello All, A few of our members (mostly international) have asked if they could pay their membership dues through PayPal. Currently AIAA does not offer this payment option. I have spoken with our accounting department and they have not considered this option. I have been tasked with doing some research. Does your Association offer PayPal as an option to your members as a payment option? If yes, how many members take advantage of this option? Are most of these members outside of the US? Do you think this is a great option for your members? Is this option convenient for your organization to manage? Any disadvantages with this payment option? If you do ...

When most people think about the average life time value of a member they quickly try to calculate the average length of membership and multiply it by the average dollars spent per member in a year. While this is the traditional method, it’s also a very narrow way of viewing value. A member may have never attended a conference or event and simply paid their annual dues but this does this mean they don’t provide any other value to the community. LTV needs to be more holistic and embrace not just dollars spent but value provided. LTV 2.0 is an emerging area which provides a more inclusive way of measuring who our most valuable members are. For example, I may ...

Hi folks... just wondering how your attendance levels are doing with the courses. AIAA PD course attendance decreased 20% in 2009 and is not looking good for FY10 either. If you are seeing a decrease in your attendance, what tactics are you doing to try to remedy this. I know some items are out of our control (i.e, economy). Thanks - hope to see you in Pittsburgh! Tricia