Winter is a great time to organize your personal goals and visions and set your priorities for the New Year. The same thing goes for your Membership Organization. Here are some tips on how to get organized for the remainder of the year.
7 Tips to Use Right Now
RE-EVALUATE GOALS
Chances are, you started out the school year with some really ambitious goals–that’s great! However, now that you’re in February and realizing there’s only 4 months left in the school year, you may have to re-evaluate.
You may have heard grumblings from parents on something that isn’t going right, or maybe you had a new challenge brought to you by the principal. This is a good time to sit down and see if you’re on track to meeting your goals or make a new plan to meet them.
IDENTIFY TOP PRIORITIES
We know there are so many great ideas flowing in your member organization but not enough time to get to all of them. After you re-evaluate your goals, set your top priorities to support those goals. Figure out the best use of your time and efforts and make sure they align with meeting your goals. If one of your main goals was to increase member engagement, make sure you have an appropriate event to support that.
MAKE PLANS FOR BOARD TRANSITION
It’s never too early to start planning for your board transition. Most likely, you have set best practices for election times, board transition and transfer of records. However, this is a good time to evaluate and make any changes.
Set aside time for outgoing members to meet with incoming members and make sure you have a good method for record-keeping and passing on information and lessons learned to ensure a smooth transition.
PLAN FOR VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION AND TEACHER APPRECIATION
April 7 – 13 is Volunteer Appreciation Week and Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6 – 10. Make a plan to host a breakfast for your volunteers or recognize them in some way. Surprise the teachers with something new and different and use help from your Volunteer Coordinators and members. We have tons of great ideas on our Pinterest board.
CHECK-IN WITH YOUR PRINCIPAL/PRESIDENT
Nonprofits have the greatest chances of success when they maintain open communications with the principal/president of the organization. Use this time to meet with her/him and go over new goals and top priorities plus any plans or materials that need approval.
UPLOAD NOTES FROM PAST EVENTS
To ensure that smooth board transition, make sure you upload detailed notes on first semester events while they’re fresh on your mind. No detail is too small. These notes won’t just help the incoming board, they’ll help boards for years to come. Include things that worked and didn’t work and even a list of extra supplies and where they can be found.
REVIEW YOUR WEBSITE CONTENT
Make sure you take some time to reorganize your website and include up-to-date information. This is a great time to make changes or try something new.
