Association News
New study report:
ASAE drops “& The Center” moniker
ASAE & The Center Boards approve historic,
future-focused change, create foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following a two-day meeting in conjunction with the 2010 American Association Day, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership Boards on March 25 approved a name change for the organization.
Based on a recommendation from a task force appointed by The Center Board, the organization’s name will become ASAE, with a tag line “The Center for Association Leadership.” In addition, the current 501(c)3 entity will become the ASAE Foundation, with a tag line “Advancing Association and Nonprofit Leadership,” to support the organization’s mission in the areas of research, leadership and innovation.
 “In our 90-year history, our organization has had several different names but we’re more than just a name,” said Velma R. Hart, CAE, chairman of the ASAE Board, national finance director/chief financial officer at AMVETS National Headquarters. “We always push ourselves to be the leader in the association profession and this name change will enable us to serve our constituents even better. The new name and the Foundation will help us position what we do for the association and nonprofit community more effectively than we have in the past and we also expect there will be less confusion about the mission of our organization with external audiences, who may not realize the tremendous impact of our sector.”
Although the changes are effective today, the organization will continue operating under its current brand with more information being released at the 2010 Annual Meeting & Exposition, August 21-24, 2010, in Los Angeles. In the upcoming months, ASAE staff will meet with the creative team at Ogilvy PR Worldwide to craft strategy for integrating the changes into the existing brand and infrastructure.
“These announcements follow a great deal of discussion by the ASAE and The Center Boards and we believe this is the best approach for the positioning of our organizations,” said Robin Lokerman, CMM, chairman of The Center Board, chief executive officer of Institutional Division at MCI Group. “The task force and both Boards believe that the name and the Foundation will better position our organization for future opportunities. This will also be a good opportunity for us to reach out to new groups as we’re expanding the reach of the association community.”
The Boards also approved the continuation of The Power of A, the awareness campaign launched by ASAE last year to promote the many ways in which associations and nonprofit organizations benefit American society. More information on the future of the campaign will be released at the 2010 Annual Meeting.
“Our advocacy efforts on behalf of the community are an ongoing part of our business and this work provides our members with a tangible example of how their investment in us benefits the association community,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV, CAE. “We also believe the campaign has merit on a broader scale. As we began to hear positive feedback on the clarity and strength of The Power of A premise, we decided to more closely integrate the messaging of the campaign into our overall communication platform, which moving forward, will encompass a broader range of audiences who need to learn about the power of associations.”
The Boards also continued the discussion on the innovation project, approved by the Boards in Spring 2009 to explore how ASAE can better serve small staff organizations. The project launched in Fall 2009 engaging a team of 11 volunteers and 12 staff in exploring how an innovation management process could work in the association community. ASAE would serve as an innovation champion for the association community, pursue innovation as a discipline and promote a culture diversity of thought, experimentation and learning and broad based collaboration.
For more information, read the letter from John H. Graham IV, CAE outlining the changes.
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The American Society of Association Executives is a membership organization of more than 22,000 association executives and industry partners representing more than 11,000 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in 50 countries around the world. The Center for Association Leadership is the premier provider of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association profession. Together, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association community. For more information about ASAE & The Center, visit www.asaecenter.org.
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