With more than 1,500 clubs and 185,000 members, a membership drop of 2% year over year for 15 consecutive years can really impact your bottom line, leaving you with a crisis on your hands. Rick Rangel, Director of Growth at the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) had chapters that were drowning. NCGA was at a crossroads. They’d been doing the same thing over and over again with their clubs and expecting different results. Rick realized they weren’t giving their chapter leaders the tools they needed to be successful. - Club officers found one-off tools on their own, and their data did not automatically flow up to HQ. - Onboarding processes and value propositions differed from club to club. - Chapter websites were a huge pain and branding issues were rampant. - On average, club officers easily put in 40 hours every quarter, volunteering their time and energy, so burnout happened often. Sound familiar? From off-brand chapter websites to AWOL officers, Rick shares his chapters-in-crisis experience. Tune in to find out what tools, tips, and tricks he used to prevent major mayhem. Under Rick’s helm, NCGA has been able to correct course, now seeing 6% membership growth year over year since 2016. Regardless of your components' structure, you’ll benefit from the CRP advice we share in this webinar. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j73G4s5L4FM Brought to you by 2019 CEX Sponsor: memberplanet (https://www.memberplanet.com/)

1. From off-brand chapter websites to AWOL officers, Rick shares
his chapters in crisis experience. Tune in to find out what tools,
tips, and tricks he used to prevent major mayhem.
Brought to you by 2019 CEX Sponsor: memberplanet
Chapter Chat: How A CRP
Turned Around A 15-Year
Membership Decline

2. Got chapters? We’ve got solutions. Billhighway gives your
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sharing your mission.

3. Meet Our Speakers
Rick Rangel
Director of Growth at
Northern California Golf
Association (NCGA)
Peggy Hoffman
President & Executive
Director at Mariner
Management & Marketing

4. Our Shared Purpose
To build community and connect
component-based organizations and
component relations professionals (CRPs).

5. October 26, 2020
Registration opens April 1st!
visit www.leveragechapters.com

6. Poll Question
What chapter crisis has your
association experienced?
(Check all that apply)
• Financial Mismanagement/Fraud
• Leader Succession & Volunteer Issues
• Outsourcing & Hiring Nightmares
• Federal & State Compliance Issues
• Natural Disaster
• Cybersecurity
• Legal Issues
• Website Disasters
• Data Privacy Complaints
• Other

7. Let’s Chat
Type in how you dealt
with that crisis…

8. Today’s
Agenda
Overview of NCGA01
02
03
04
05
Chapter Website Disasters
Struggling Chapter Leaders
Succession Planning Issues
Chapter Crisis Toolkit
06 Wrap Up

9. Public Membership
1,500 clubs
185,000 members
NCGA
Overview

10. NCGA Journey
Membership down
15 consecutive
years
Chapters didn’t have
tools
Our in-house solution
OLD
Many using a
mishmash of tools
Member onboarding
inconsistent
Consolidate disparate
systems to 1 product suite
Enable information to
flows both ways
seamlessly
Create consistency in
onboarding members
Boost Communications
Reduced overall costs
Consolidated tech
platform:
Memberplanet
Managed roll-out
Roadshow
Beta onboarding
Membership SWOT Tech Wish List Solution Roll Out

11. Chapter
Website Disasters

12. Challenges Threats to a Chapter Website
Branding that’s not aligned with National’s.
Lackluster membership marketing copy, for example, a boring
list of membership features, not benefits.
Poor usability: members can’t join or renew online, can’t register
for an event online, and can’t access contact information for fellow
members.
Poor functionality: misses on key issues of security, SEO and
speed; may lose registration.

13. • 90% of clubs didn’t have a website
• No clue what was on the websites
• Branding and alignment issues
• Onboarding process inconsistent
• Member join/renew process inconsistent
(lots of abandoned carts)
How did you solve this issue?
NCGA’s Website
Disaster Story

14. memberplanet Site Builder Solution
Drag-and-drop functionality for ease of
use, varying officer skills and officer
transitions.
“Zones/areas” to push updates from
National down to clubs/chapters.
Deep analysis on 23 different platforms. Found
a solution that consolidated one-off tools &
reduced costs
Created mobile-optimized templates for
club officers to choose from

15. • Chapters design & manager sites, but
adhere to affiliation requirements
• Set expectations, but provide
resources/services to assist
• National manages chapter websites
(additional HQ staff)
• Provide template & requirements checklist
• Host a platform that provides chapter
website, but chapter can manage
(AMS/CMS)
#1 Website Hosting
& Microsites
Pick the scenario based on your
National-chapter relationship:

16. • Share website resources in your chapter
leader hub or portal (examples below)
• Provide a How-To Guide for Chapter
Websites like American Student Dental
Association does.
• Share a Chapter Leader Quick-Start Guide to
Website Management like Sigma Theta Tau
International Honor Society of Nursing does.
• Provide a sample list of membership benefits,
focused on impact (not features)
#2 Website Training
& Resources
Don’t assume chapters know what
to do (even younger members).

17. • Safe storage (National backup) for web
content management system
• Website hosting & domain registration info
(expiration dates & credentials)
• Software subscription status
• Requirements related to security, speed,
SEO, etc.
#3 Website
Checklist or Self-
Assessment
As part of their annual report, ask
chapters to complete a checklist
that includes:

18. Expired Website
Domain
Consult this
information on the
ICANN website
Dealing with Chapter Website Disasters
Poor Website
Copy
Triage the situation.
What absolutely
needs to be fixed,
updated, or deleted?
Technology
Provide technology or
guidance on tech or
checklist
Consulting
Provide an annual
website audit as a
chapter consulting
service. Provide make
recommendations for
improvements and
action plan

19. Let’s Chat
What’s the root cause of your
chapter website crisis?

20. Struggling Chapter
Leaders

21. Chapter leader isn’t suited for the job
Lack skills, aptitude or just not “leadership material.”
Types of Chapter
Leaders
Chapter leader tries to do it all
Chapter superhero. Control freak.
Chapter leader doesn’t have enough time
Can’t dedicate enough time.

22. Poll Question
What type of struggling chapter
leader have you dealt with?
(Check all that apply)
• Chapter leader not suited for the job
• Chapter leader that tries to do it all
• Chapter leader that doesn’t have enough time

23. Challenges NCGA’s Officer Challenges
• Average club officers volunteers ~40 hrs. per quarter.
Volunteer burnout high!
• Officer expectations:
• Time traveling
• Attending quarterly meetings
• No knowledge-base (articles, resources) and relied on a
hodgepodge of systems that didn’t work.
How did you solve these?

24. Set expectations:
• 10 regional face-to-
face meetings every
other quarter
• Monthly club officer
newsletter
NCGA Leadership Solutions
We now invest in the success of our chapter leaders immensely; $80k line-item budget to train.
Provide resources:
• Roadmap guide to
success
• Webinars
• Training videos
In-house support:
Dedicated Brand
Manager for 3,500 club
officers to contact. Role
is to be out in the field.
Be their voice - get
feedback from the
grassroots level.
Provide tools:
Work with memberplanet
to provide customized
support site for admins

25. Coach: It’s better to coach a teachable moment. Leader-to-leader better
than staff-to-leader.
Set up the convo: Point to specifics (missed deadlines, decrease in chapter
activity, unusual actions, etc.)
Check-in: Later check in with the leader. Ask questions, listen, offer advice &
make a plan. Arrange help from other leaders.
Improvement: If the situation doesn’t improve, take more extreme measures.
How to Deal with a Chapter Leadership Crisis

26. Simply dummy text of the printing and
typesetting industry when an unknown
printer took a galley of
Assess your reporting, data entry & admin
processes. Consider implementing technology
that makes it easier for chapters to share data,
dues & reporting with HQ.
Relieve the Administrative Burden
Be open, objective & have necessary skills.
Vet Prospective Leaders
Should know what getting into & expected of
them.
Set Expectations
Encourage them to share the work with fellow
members.
Teach Leaders to Delegate Work
It’s not “one and done.” Use evergreen content
(webinars, videos, recordings), in-person training,
weekly/biweekly leadership newsletters, online
community, monthly calls or web meetings.
Provide Continual Leadership Training
Chapter bylaws should define why & how officers
can be removed.
Establish Last-Resort Policies
How to Prevent a Leadership Crisis

27. Let’s Chat
What’s the root cause of
your struggling chapter
leaders?

28. Chapter Leader
Succession
Issues

29. Vacant Leadership Positions
Empty leadership ladder. No one wants to step up.
Succession Issues
Recycled Leadership
Same old faces. Stale leadership. Risk of burnout.
AWOL Leader
Chapter president vanished. Other officers hesitant
to step in.
Unexpected Departure of Leader
Illness, death, personal emergency…can be hard to
fill position quickly depending on notice.

30. Poll Question
What type of leadership succession
issue have you faced?
(Check all that apply)
• Vacant Leadership Positions
• Recycled Leadership
• AWOL Leader
• Unexpected Departure of Leader

31. • Chapter leaders go AWOL—
happens all the time.
• Volunteers experience burnout.
• Results in disbanded & closed
clubs.
How did you fix this?
NCGA’s
Succession
Issues

32. Mandatory
notification
• In 2020, made
mandatory for clubs to
notify of chapter
chairs.
• Turned off member
services if didn’t
• Notice sent through
multiple channels
NCGA Leadership Solutions
Invested in
communication:
• Track which officers
open communications.
• And act if open 3
emails & miss a
meeting, know who to
try & reengage.
Platform to track
engagement:
• Internal dashboard
(transactions/month)
• No. of
communications per
month
• Using data to increase
open rates
• Increased
participation at events
Leadership
development training
& incentives:
• Offer free golf, gift
cards, stay-and-play
packages at resorts
• Reward the behavior
they expect from
officers

33. Give Leader Support
• Provide resources & understanding.
• Help leaders make the ask to
members to stand up & contribute.
• Help the chapter conduct an
emergency leadership recruitment
campaign.
• Look for people with leadership
experience.02

34. Leadership
Dev
Build a leadership
pipeline. Leadership
scouting should be a
continual activity.
Preventing a Leadership Crisis
Leadership
Culture
Create a positive
experience focusing
on benefits of service.
Support & encourage
accessible
volunteering.
Practical Matters
Invest in tech that
alleviates the admin
burden. Assure chapters
follow financial and
operational best
practices.
01 02 03

35. Let’s Chat
Why isn’t there an interest
in leadership?

36. Words of Advice from CRPs
Continue working on your relationship with chapters
Invest in time-saving technology
Provide online training & how-to resources for chapters
Create chapter policies & procedures
Offer chapter consulting services or find local professional services
Use a chapter checklist or self-assessment
Host monthly peer education/networking sessions
Provide a budget to match chapters
Develop scalable templates

37. What tools do you already have in your toolkit?
Which ones could be sharpened? Which ones
are missing?
What policies/procedures do you need to
create/update?
What kind of relationships do you need to
start making?
Wrap Up & Recap
As a components relations professional, you
have to become a quasi-expert in many areas.

38. Let’s Chat
What might you do tomorrow with the
ideas we explored today?

39. Need more crisis management solutions?
Check out our series of blog posts on
common chapter challenges…just search
“Chapters in Crisis!”
Visit:
https://www.billhighway.co/associations/res
ources/
Chapters in Crisis
Blog Series

40. www.billhighway.co/associations/events
Tap Chapters as a Member
Engagement Channel
Workshop Coming Soon!
Brought to you by 2019 CEX Sponsor: Community Brands

41. CEX 2020
Monday, October 26th,
2020
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM EDT
Happy Hour to Follow
Grand Hyatt
Washington
1000 H St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
$199 Pricing
$199 Early Bird Pricing
$249 Regular Pricing
Registration opens April 1st
www.leveragechapters.com

42. Thank You!

43. Questions?