Black Lives Matter is more than a global movement. It’s deeply personal, fraught with potential missteps and easy to get wrong. At Community Brands, we realize it’s too important not to try. We proudly affirm that Black Lives Matter and to commemorate the anniversary of Juneteenth and to support a dialogue around racial justice, Community Brands Nonprofit Solutions is the exclusive sponsor of a special event hosted by The Nonprofit Times: The Role of Nonprofits in Racial Equity Moderated by: Paul Clolery (Editorial Director, NPT Publishing) Monday, June 22 | 2pm ET Joining the panel will be ..read more

14 MIP Fund Accounting Sessions! 8 MIP Hands-On Lab Sessions! 7 Fundraising Sessions! Keynote Speakers! Opening Reception! Universal Studios Celebration! Networking and More! Xperience 2019, the Community Brands user conference, is fast approaching in Orlando, November 10 through 13! And, the value our customer attendees will gain this year is unmatched, not to mention the savings you’ll receive by attending as many training courses as you can fit into your schedule! Here’s what one attendee said about last year’s event: “What was NOT to like? Very organized, great vendor expo, phenomenal re ..read more

In the real world, we experience just-in-time learning every day. Think back to the last time you Googled a question and got the answers you were looking for … that experience was just-in-time learning in action. This expectation of receiving specific, applicable information that can be put to use right away also applies to how your members expect to interact with your continuing education content. Just-in-time helps a learner in the moment of need. To meet that need, education needs to be available anywhere, anytime. In our Member Professional Development Study, we found that desire to learn ..read more

As the Millennial influence continues to grow, younger learners are redefining education programs, innovation in technology, and content development and consumption. That doesn’t mean a complete departure from what your organization has been doing, but it means a fresher take and possibly a reprioritization on your initiatives. This conversation must be grounded in data and understanding. It is true, perception is reality, but it’s the perception of how potential learners (specifically Millennials) feel that should be important to organizations. Who They Are Also known as Gen Yers, Millennials ..read more

Access to incredible speakers is one of the top five reasons to attend conferences, according to a HuffPost article. We couldn’t agree more! That’s why we’ve lined up some inspiring orators to be our keynotes at Community Brands upcoming user conference Xperience, set for November 10 through 13 in Orlando, Florida.   Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:  Jean-Paul (JP) Guilbault, President and CEO, Community Brands Opening Keynote, Monday, November 11: Join JP Guilbault as he kicks off Xperience 2019! Our very own leader will talk technology, trends, and corporate culture, and set the t ..read more

The Community Brands team is heading to ACLEA’s 55th Annual Meeting in Chicago July 27-30. This year’s theme is, “Winds of Change,” with programs designed to inform on the latest industry shifts and trends and give attendees the tools to make a difference in their organization. Here are some of the sessions I have circled on my agenda.   Session: Effective SMEs: How to Help Subject Matter Experts Facilitate Learning  While subject matter experts bring experience and immeasurable knowledge, they are not always the best experts in facilitation. Oftentimes being a subject matter expert does not m ..read more

Last year at this time, I wrote a blog and shared the definitions of fraud, and whether incidences were unintentional and/or intentional. My observations here are similar; however, what has changed is the uptick in fraud incidences, due to the increase in nationally-based nonprofit organizations. In this blog about fraud, let’s look at the latest trends, the top three impacts from fraud, the fraud prevention and detection checklist, and a few helpful resources to bookmark.  Fraud Trends and Impact to Nonprofit Organizations In a journal article April 2018 edition of Nonprofit Management and Le ..read more

Perhaps your association started out small with just a few courses. Now, you’re ramping up education opportunities for your members and need a solution for managing your content. Or, maybe you already have an LMS, but you’re just not satisfied with what it offers.   What should you consider?   Begin with the end in mind. How does your association plan to grow? You want a system that can handle your current needs, while being easy enough to scale for future growth.   Establish your prerequisites. Develop a list of technology criteria you will need to meet member expectations. Keep in mind any i ..read more

Financial leaders know the annual budget is critical for understanding where your nonprofit organization is going and how you’ll get there. A poorly developed budget can diminish opportunities and threaten your success. But a well-planned budget will position you, your team and organization in the right spot. In this blog, we’ve included helpful tips to make sure your fiscal year starts off right. We recently polled 179 nonprofit finance and accounting professionals to get an update on how they’re managing their budget lifecycles. Please see below for the breakout of functions/roles of our res ..read more

Client success initiatives have become very popular in the software space over the last five years. Client/customer success is defined as, “a business methodology of ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes while using your product or service. Customer success is relationship-focused client management, that aligns client and vendor goals for mutually beneficial outcomes.”   Client success best practices involve understanding an organization’s key performance indicators and measures of success and proactively guiding them on how they can use your solution to meet their goals.   Working ..read more