Summer is a time to relax, but your association’s work doesn’t stop when the weather gets warm. In fact, summer is the perfect time to reflect on what’s happening within your association behind the scenes and promote your association to the public. Everyone seeks some sun these next few months, so here at Easter Associates we put together these five tips to make your association shine!

Visual marketing is a key component of communication with current and prospective members. Without it, an association will fall behind in the marketing battleground amongst other businesses and organizations who are utilizing this tool. At Easter Associates, we know you want to operate your association in style, which is where Ronnie’s role as an in-house graphic designer comes in.

Properly filing your taxes and managing your finances is an important part of keeping your association running smoothly (and legally). Even though we handle the numbers for you here at Easter Associates, knowing what goes on behind the scenes gives you a greater involvement with your association. So, allow me to share the steps our staff takes to offer you financial services.

If you are a member of an association, you likely joined to take advantage of the benefits offered. Associations bring together likeminded folks with individual skills to help them become the best versions of themselves in order to advance the profession as a whole. Associations provide the “pick and shovel” work, so their members can reap the benefits of strength in numbers and perform the legwork for all that would be overwhelming for just one. As you look at your association, or consider joining one, take a look at these membership benefits to offer and/or to enjoy.

As someone who has worked in the hotel industry and been with Easter Associates for almost 20 years, this cancellation complication has been on my mind heavily. The way I see it, there are two main outcomes of a conference that associations will struggle most with due to cancellations: finances and networking. In-person events are one of an association’s primary revenue sources.

At Easter Associates, we pride ourselves on delivering a wide variety of services to our clients. One of the most important is lobbying and government relations. Being a successful lobbyist is a specialized skill, and Easter Associates’ staff excel at familiarizing ourselves with the issues facing our clients’ industries and acting as an advocate for their positions.

Managing an association of any size is no easy task, especially if you don’t have the right association management system (AMS) to keep track of all the moving parts. Here at Easter Associates, we utilize a specialized association management system that was developed in-house.

Successful membership emails disseminate information, increase attendance at events, and generate new membership while enhancing member loyalty. Are your association’s emails accomplishing these objectives?

As we approach the end of 2020, year-end planning for your association should be top-of-mind to prepare for the new year and stay on track with your organization’s goals.

I watched my dad create and grow Easter Associates, and now as President & CEO I’m honored to keep the tradition going. When Peter Easter started our company in 1976, associations throughout Virginia grappled with the time consuming and tedious aspects of managing their organization. Now, 44 years later, association leaders have even more responsibility because of competition, financial demands, technology trends, additional modes of marketing, and more.