I attended the DMAW List Bazaar on May 9 with three of my Avalon colleagues — to hear what’s new in the list world, and to talk about innovations in acquisition strategy. 

 

At this year’s conference, a large focus was on the Internet; specifically, how the web can help grow donor files and provide valuable customer service outreach. Carie Lewis, Deputy Director of Online Communications at the Humane Society of the US (HSUS), gave a great keynote speech about her organization’s adventures in social media. Some takeaways and advice:

Recently, Allison Porter, Dara Igersheim, and I attended the 2013 American Museum Membership Conference (AMMC) in Atlanta, which draws museum staff from all over the country, and from varying sizes of museums, for a packed agenda on all facets of membership.

 

One of the areas discussed at this year’s conference was how, as membership professionals, we are also customer service professionals, seeking to acquire, engage, and retain our customers/members/donors – something arts organizations, in particular, do well.

I had the opportunity to attend this year’s NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network) Conference recently, along with my colleagues Barb Perell and Jamie Natelson. As usual, the Conference was a stimulating mix of best practices discussions, new ideas, and strategies for how nonprofits can take advantage of technology. Some highlights:

I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Direct Marketing Association (DMA) annual conference recently with my colleagues Rick Malchow and Jackie Biancolli. Some of the key takeaways for us:

This was a special Creating Change conference that my colleagues Margaret Romig, Bill Tucker, and I attended this January.  While it was my third, it was also the 25th anniversary of this amazing conference.

 

Officially, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change Conference is the “largest annual gathering of activists, organizers and leaders in the LGBT movement.”  But that does not even begin to describe what this conference is about. 

I attended the Direct Marketing Association of Washington’s (DMAW) annual meeting recently, and came away with some interesting opinions on where the US economy is heading, and how consumers will react – all critical information for direct marketers.

 

Anirban Basu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Sage Policy Group, Inc., delivered a spirited and fascinating keynote address. He’s an economist, and took us through the ups and downs of the past few years, where we are now, and where we are going, economically speaking:

Several Avalon clients presented at this year's 2012 Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference, held in National Harbor, MD. The Avalon clients represented on these engaging panels were the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the League of Women Voters, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The Direct Marketing Association of Washington’s Social Media Day was a terrific opportunity to see what’s on the cutting edge of social media – and think about how new tools and applications might translate to the nonprofit world.

As its website explains …Netroots (Internet + grassroots) refers to populist campaigns and movements sparked, promoted and conducted over the Internet….Think of the Netroots as a big political family. We may not agree on everything, but common threads connect us…

This year’s Netroots Nation conference featured progressives from all over the country, energized by the presidential election year, and ready to fire up the grassroots to organize and communicate online in new and exciting ways.

Earlier this month, I attended The National Breast Cancer Coalition’s (NBCC) Annual Advocate Summit, where more than 600 breast cancer advocates came together to share their Breast Cancer Deadline 2020^® work. As NBCC.org puts it, “Not content to just talk about it, advocates gave rousing presentations that included videos, photographs and stories of incredible actions they have taken at the state and national levels during the first year of the [Breast Cancer Deadline 2020^®] campaign.”