ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund Blog

Ms Tracey Brown
Foundation Business Manager
Royal District Nursing Service Foundation of SA Inc.

My current role is Foundation Business Manager with RDNS, I have been attending Madison Down Under for 4 years and find it truly worthwhile.  Each year I am able to create new relationships and reinforce new ones, these relationships have become vital over the years.

Attending the newly created Capital Campaign Track was a great experience on many different levels.  MDU is a unique event as the live-in aspect of the course ensures all attendees are able to share ideas and experiences that enhance all our careers as we are able to socialize together each day.

Winning the scholarship this year was particularly special as, although I have attended MDU in previous years, this was the first year I needed to fund my own education as I was new to the role with RDNS.  This meant two employees from RDNS were able to attend and gain the valuable education provided by this exceptional faculty both from North America and Australia.

My new role is managing the Capital Campaign for RDNS and this was an area I had no previous specialist training in.  I have been a fundraising professional for 6 years and this is the first role that is so specific.  This is why having the opportunity to attend and learn about this specific area of fundraising was greatly appreciated.

I have attended the Major Gift track a few years back and this specializing of the two distinctive types of fundraising was not only highly educational but extremely entertaining.  Never before have I been involved in a track that was so well planned and contained 100% relevant information.

The opportunities that these scholarships provide new and experienced fundraisers alike are vital to ensure the profession is filled with well educated individuals regardless of the size of the organisation they represent.

Thank you for the opportunity and thank you for continuing to provide others with same worthwhile experiences.

 

Danielle Hogan
Member Services Coordinator
Growcom

The Membership Roadshow was a fantastic opportunity to hear from two internationally acclaimed speakers Belinda Busoli and Mark Levin. 

The sessions were great and both Belinda and Mark were very open to answering questions and discussing issues faced in each of our associations.

In addition, there were a number of ideas presented that I could take back to my organisation for further thought and implementation, which made the day even more beneficial.

The main point for us as an organisation was segmentation. This includes ensuring our database is properly segmented to focus marketing efforts to specific target markets, and also offer benefits of true value to the right members. 

Whilst talking about segmentation it was interesting to learn about generational traits to explain how people work and what makes them tick.  The goal of effective segmentation is to allow you to focus your recruitment efforts not on prospects who are eligible to join; but on prospects who are likely to join.

The second take home point is in regards to keeping members. If your organisation is going to attract and keep members, it will have to somehow engage those people in the organisation, as people that are engaged will always renew.  This also ties in with segmented data – tailor events to suit interests of your members. If your members want networking events host networking events, if they want continued education provide continued education.  Following on from that, find out what your members already know, then don’t tell them that again.

Overall the day was a huge success and I look forward to attending other events in the future held by the Not for Profit Network.