For the past seven years, AH has hosted its Leadership Forum—an exclusive event for AH client partners—featuring content for association leaders on everything from, yes, leadership, to volunteer and member engagement, technology, communications, and more. And while the two-day event covers significant ground on all these topics, we’re often inspired to think deeper, bigger than what we can cover there. Leadership Forum sparks ideas that lead to further discussion, or the question, “What’s next?” This is where leaders are looking ahead for the innovation that will shape their industries.
When we think of innovation we think Apple, Microsoft, Nike. What we don’t think is non-profits.
So why is innovation important to non-profits? For the same reason it’s important in the corporate space. It’s a club everyone wants to be a part of, and one where people are willing to pay. Innovation drives growth and elevates our associations’ industries, cultivating brand awareness and making others want to be a part of it.
Innovation is a core value at AH and we instill those core values in the work we do for our client partners. Innovation has a seat at the table during any strategic discussion and it shows itself in surprising ways at times. As our client partners’ industries evolve, we too must evolve the products and services we provide to ensure their industry association can meet the needs of its members.
I am certain that no one could have predicted that an association of HVAC cleaning professionals would lead the broad HVAC industry with cutting edge technology and implementation of immersive learning experiences using virtual reality training for its members. But they did! AH client partner, NADCA, the HVAC Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Association launched the industry’s first-ever virtual reality module in 2019, following up with a second in 2020.
Virtual reality (VR) is not new (although the technology changes often) and in fact the NFL, BMW and Walmart are just a handful of large companies who have been utilizing VR to train players and employees, respectively. How does an association get in the game? They innovate.
AH is furthering the conversation—gathering research and insights—with the Innovation Series, a new content initiative launching this month. The series will include in-depth discussions on everything from rethinking membership models to the next-level SEO strategy creating membership value with website redesigns, the new rules of digital communication, and even rethinking content trends across your organization.
Innovation is at the core of what we do at AH. We analyze trends, we employ Foresight and we know that no idea is off the table if it brings value to the industries our clients support.
Sign up to receive the AH Advance, AH's monthly eNewsletter, and get access to content like the Innovation Series.
