Happy Friday! Tomorrow is Derby Day, so a few of us in the office got dressed up in our Southern finest and are rocking some hats, sundresses, seersucker and bow ties. (Look for photos on our Facebook page later!) Anyone else celebrating the Derby with a mint julep or two?

Anywayyyy … without further adieu, here are a few of my favorite blog posts from the past week. Share some of yours, as well!

1. I found a new blog this week via Jeff Hurt on Twitter, and I loved this post about why people really join associations. Every once in awhile, it’s good to remind ourselves why people join membership organizations and what they hope to get out of them – everything from professional development to social interaction is included here.

2. This week’s What if Wednesday from Jeffrey Cufaude discussed terminology and language – specifically, declaring a “truce” on arguing about whether “purpose” or “mission” is the right choice, among other words. Jeffrey writes, The meaning (or in so many cases, lack of meaning) behind them is what we need to address.

3. It’s no secret that many membership organizations are broken down into silos. This week, Dave Lutz wrote about the importance of breaking down silos and working toward transparency. I think the “silo mentality” problem is less likely to occur in small-staff organizations, but this is still definitely worth a read.

4. Cindy Butt wrote this week about addressing criticism about your association’s service in social media. I think her post raises some important points, such as monitoring your association’s name, being open with staff and members about your efforts and create your own case studies.

5. Over at the aLearning blog, Ellen Behrens wrote about a few more LMS options for associations on a budget — definitely a good read for smaller organizations. She discusses a lot of good options for association learning and shares comments and quotes from those who have tried them out. Great post, Ellen!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

How does your organization help new employees transition into the organization?

Even in smaller associations, it’s crucial to welcome the new staffer well and have a smooth onboarding process.

Some tips:

• After an offer has been accepted, send the new employee reading materials such as the marketing plan, membership programs or anything else pertinent
• Additionally, include a FAQ on the organization in the welcome e-mail so you can eliminate some common questions and let the new hire start off on the right foot
• If possible, include a “who’s who” area on your organization’s internal website with names, photos and titles. (This is especially important if the organization is a bit larger.)
• Send out a welcome e-mail to the entire organization, and include some background information on the new employee. Highlight his or her’s past work accomplishments.
• Host a welcome breakfast or lunch with the new employee.
• Have an employee handbook — either online or offline. Keep in mind that an online version will be easier to update and change.
• Provide a list of people to meet with within the organization, as well as key members and volunteers
• Provide technical training for whatever technology your organization utilizes
• Be clear about objectives — especially during the first week — and review them periodically. The first three or four months at a new job are all about finding your footing and making sure priorities are clear.

I think it’s important to not make a new employee’s first day all about paperwork. Encourage them to start developing relationships with colleagues and learn more about the organization, including cultural practices. If your organization engages in Casual Fridays, be sure to tell the new guy before he shows up in a suit. Invite them to social outings. There’s much more to working than just knowing how the office functions and where the printer is.

How does your organization welcome new employees?

Whether you’re a casual social media user, a seasoned early adopter or staunchly viewing the scene from the sidelines, you may have heard about the changes Facebook announced last week during its f8 developer conference.

Fairly recently, Facebook changed how users connect with businesses, organizations and public figures through fan pages – now, we’re no longer “fans” of something, but we instead “like” it.

This set the groundwork for Facebook’s new Open Graph, which should be useful to businesses and organizations that want to provide a more personalized Web experience to users.

Here’s how social media blog Mashable put it:

On Facebook, users are connected to people they know, as well as public figures, services and products they like; Facebook’s new platform will allow websites and apps to share this information with each other.

For example, the Internet Movie Database already has “Like” buttons set up for every movie on the site. Soon enough, most other websites will have similar plugins installed. Now, when you “like” something on CNN.com or IMDB.com or any other website with the plugin, it will be shared with your Facebook friends.

Every time you “like” something on the Web, Facebook will know about it, and learn more about you in the process.

Although having a more personalized Web experience sounds like a good idea, Facebook is in the business of sharing your personal information with any other sites it wants, which isn’t so great in my book. Essentially, by slowly integrating its “Like” button into every aspect of the Web, Facebook is ensuring it’s here to stay.

But what does this mean for associations? Well, it will be easier than ever for members to share content on their profiles, so it may be prudent to add the plugin to your content pages. If members want to share information about the organization on their Facebook profiles, let them go for it.

Facebook is slowly integrating itself into every corner of the Web, so ignoring it doesn’t seem like an option anymore.

If you’re wary about Facebook sharing your information with other sites, find out how to disable its Instant Personalization features here.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after using Facebook for more than five years, it’s to always keep my privacy settings in check. Facebook doesn’t shy away from sharing its users’ information, so you should always double-check what you share there and how that information is being used.

What do you think about Facebook’s latest changes? Will it change how your organization uses (or doesn’t use) Facebook?

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Calling all ATL association professionals!

Just wanted to remind readers that we’re hosting a lunch event at the Atlanta Fish Market at noon tomorrow, April 28!

We’re psyched to meet association professionals here in our home city, and we’re psyched to chat about technology, social media and the MemberClicks solution. In addition to the free lunch attendees will enjoy, everyone will be entered into a raffle to win four Braves tickets to the team’s June 19 match-up against the Kansas City Royals. Sweet!

So if free food, networking and learning about cool technology sounds like a fun afternoon, we hope you’ll join us!

The Atlanta Fish Market is located on Pharr Road in Buckhead, close to Peachtree Road.

If you’re interested, head on over here and sign up!

Tick tock.

In less than one month, on May 15, an estimated one-fifth to one-quarter of nonprofits will lose their tax-exempt statuses with the Internal Revenue Service.

Could your organization be one of them?

According to a New York Times article:

The federal legislation passed in 2006 required all nonprofits to file tax forms the following year. Previously, only organizations with revenues of $25,000 or more — or the vast majority of nonprofit groups — had to file.

The provision gives the IRS the power to revoke the tax-exempt status from organizations that failed to file for three consecutive years.

Unfortunately, a spokesperson from the IRS said notifications probably wouldn’t be sent out until January. Donors to the affected organizations will still be able to take a deduction for gifts – but only until the organization receives a formal notice.

Smaller organizations are the ones most likely to be affected, which could present lots of problems, especially for those who rely on volunteers.

Organizations that lose their tax-exempt status will have to reapply with the IRS – and could actually owe the IRS money if they haven’t filed in the last three years.

For more information, take a look at the IRS’ website explaining the provision.

Thanks to Rebecca Leaman for the tip.

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