Happy Monday! I’m still reveling in an amazing weekend that included  a music festival, sunshine in the park, dancing and running, and I can already tell it’s going to be an awesome week.

In what’s rapidly becoming a bit of a Monday tradition, I’ve got a few awesome presentations/slideshows to share with our readers. I love discovering these resources and I hope small staff association professionals can learn from them!

You guys have heard of Groupon and other group-buying coupon sites, right? Well, drumroll please … Philanthroper is the same thing, but with charities!

Basically, the concept is that the site works with one charity a day and tries to convince as many people as possible to donate just $1 to that particular charity.

Another interesting thing to note? Philanthroper is interested in small charities. In its own words:

[W]e’re interested in nonprofits that make $1 million or less in revenue a year who are doing something really exceptional—bringing tangible change. [...] We look at their 990s (tax returns), read whatever information is out there and actually talk to these groups to really understand their mission from their perspective.

I think the idea of helping out organizations in need and inspiring a large amount of people to contribute is admirable. The site is pretty small right now — there are currently no ads — but hopefully it will gain traction in the coming months.

Also, the site claims to “never take a cut from your donation.” They’ve partnered with myPayy, which takes just one cent out of every dollar in transactional fees and Philanthroper keeps nothing.

Would your nonprofit be interested in participating in Philanthroper?

For the life of me, I could not decide what to write about today. I know, I know … possible topics are endless, but after catching up on the weekend’s blog posts, tweets and finally watching the whole Kanye West/Taylor Swift debacle from last night’s VMAs, I felt a bit … spent. I decided to briefly catch up on news from New York Fashion Week for inspiration, and saw this result during a Google News search:

That headline screamed out at me. High on ideas, but low on business: could that apply to your association?

Too often, people write about how important it is to think outside the box. But sometimes having too few ideas isn’t the problem.

Maybe your association’s problem isn’t a lack of (buzzword alert!) innovation. Maybe you have tons and tons of amazing ideas, but are having trouble executing them. Maybe, for whatever reason — lack of manpower, lack of money or lack of board support — your association just can’t get things going.

To get as much support as possible, it’s crucial to explain why your idea will benefit the organization and how it will bring value to your members. Don’t get discouraged. I think a sometimes-overlooked and -underrated part of implementing an innovative idea is a clear strategy. Identify what tasks are necessary to achieve the goal. There may be three tasks, or there may be 30. Have a defined straetgy with a timeline designating certain tasks to certain people. Maybe you don’t complete each objectives within your specified timeline, but don’t get discouraged.

One of the most important things you can do is keep track of your progress and compare it to your strategy. If you get too far off-course, maybe it’s time to reevaluate and redefine your plan. There’s nothing wrong with a little revision here and there. As plans unfold, reality can set in. However you adjust the plan, though, don’t let your association be all ideas and no business.