One of the silver linings in the ‘cloud’ of the pandemic is that associations can leverage the virtual medium to bring some of the industry’s best minds to members and do so inexpensively. To this end, MSAE is thrilled to launch our new Thought Leader Webinar Series. The series features a 90-minute webinar each month from some of the best association minds in the country. The content was explicitly hand-curated for Michigan’s association community, and each speaker was selected for their knowledge and experience.

Association CEOs looking to share perspectives and support fellow CEOs should plan to attend MSAE’s Executive Forum, October 18-20, 2020. The event is designed to allow chief staff executives the opportunity to explore issues that are top-of-mind for them while also learning practical strategies for leading associations through disruptive change - all in an intimate, informal setting. (Nothing sparks creativity quite like play, so there will be some group fun on the agenda, as well!)

Passing the Certified Association Executive exam is no small feat. The accomplishment represents months of study, preparation, nerves, and time management skills. For many holders of the CAE designation, it represents one of the highlights of one’s professional career. For others, it simply represents the start of a new chapter for advancement.

A first-rate lineup of speakers has been announced for MSAE's Virtual Meetings Symposium. Symposium speakers include national subject matter experts such as Rebecca Achurch of Achurch Consulting, Bucky Dodd from the Institute for Learning Environment Design, and Alex Plaxen of Nifty Method Marketing & Events. MSAE members lending proven expertise from the field include John Tramontana, CAE, of Michigan Veterinary Medicine Association, Kate Pojeta, CMP, of Event Garde, and Chelsey Martinez from the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators. The two-day virtual event is designed to sharpen virtual planning skills as well as provide practical tools and resources.

As events and meetings have gone virtual, event sponsors have had to change their approach to getting the most out of their sponsorship dollars. Adapting to virtual events has been a boon for sponsors who have brought innovative ideas to the new platform, proving that just because we can’t be face-to-face, doesn’t mean sponsors can’t see excellent ROI on their investments.

As is the case with in-person events, sponsors who lean into the event with energy and innovation will have far more success than those who remain flat-footed. Besides, it’s more fun to be part of the action, so why sit on the sidelines and hope for the best?

Here are five ideas to differentiate your business, fill your sales funnel, and get more out of your investment in virtual event sponsorships!

Event Promotion on Social Media

If you’re sponsoring a virtual event, let the world know about it! Write a blog post about the event and its importance to the industry and share it on social media. Create event-specific profile pictures for your social accounts in the weeks leading up to the event to let your audience know you’re sponsoring and attending. Your event promoters will love the help spreading the word about the event and will happily share your content with their own social media audience. It’s a win-win for sponsors and promoters alike.

There’s an awful lot happening in the greater environment that impacts associations. Here are three issues association leaders will want to be aware of:  

Temporary Payroll Tax Deferral

Several weeks ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order issuing a temporary payroll tax deferral for the employee portion of Social Security taxes from September 1 through December 31, 2020. The order applies to "any employee the amount of whose wages or compensation, as applicable, payable during any bi-weekly pay period generally is less than $4,000, calculated on a pre-tax basis, or the equivalent amount concerning other pay periods." The EO has created many questions for employers. How does one define an "eligible employee"? Is eligibility affected by employees holding more than one job, employees changing jobs, the employer opening or closing during the period, etc.? How are wages or compensation defined - inclusive of bonuses, vacation payouts, overtime etc.? While Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has said the order is voluntary, voluntary for whom - the employee or the employer? The US Chamber has stated that, in the absence of further guidance, it's unlikely employers will implement this order...

Every association professional has likely witnessed or contributed to the 'all in the family' style criticism that exists between local, state, and national branches of associations. (I liken it to the unspoken rule that exists in my family among the five siblings – we're allowed to criticize one another, but we become fiercely protective when an outsider criticizes one of us.) I'd been hearing some of this about the American Society of Association Executives this spring and summer as the society stumbled a bit in launching its annual conference. When ASAE canceled its annual in-person conference and shifted to virtual but kept the same pricing model, long-time supporters railed at ASAE's business-as-usual approach. They chided the society for missing the opportunity of the virtual event by not re-thinking pricing, engagement, etc.

If you joined us for our Annual Meeting on August 4, you know that we had some very exciting changes to announce. Perhaps the most important piece of business was the passing of the gavel from last year’s Chairman, Cynthia Maher, CAE, to Jared Burkhart, CAE.

On August 4, we had one of the most well-attended Annual Meetings in recent MSAE history via Zoom. The reasons for high attendance were many; we welcomed a new Chairman, new Board members, made changes to our by-laws, and had a nationally-recognized thought leader on organizational culture provide us with a keynote.