Building Nonprofit & Digital
Communities

ABOUT THE COMPANY

AB Communities is a boutique agency with a handful of non-profit clients. We work to advance the mission of your association, grow your membership and increase value to members. Or, we can connect you to more customers (even if you don't have a physical store).

With our social media and digital marketing expertise, we put a spotlight on the cool work you do, and find the people who want to buy/belong/donate.

In the nonprofit side of our business, ABC is not the typical “association management company.” (Many of us have worked there and seen the extreme margins.) Instead of a cookie-cutter approach, we honor each organization’s unique culture and values, and put effort into learning your specific industry. Our team is expert and skilled, not new grads being paid to 1/5th of what you are paying for them.

We believe in organic communities. There is a common bond that brought your group together, and this is the center of our attention, always. But even the most organic community will not thrive without strategic experts leading membership, marketing and outreach initiatives.

Yes, we know governance, 990 tax returns, non-profit laws and all the other “musts” to efficiently operate your association. Bottom line: we will keep you out of trouble while you lead this group to new heights.

But our specialty is growing and engaging communities.

Hence, our name: AB Communities.

“AB” is Angela Bedell, our leader, who has an amazing track record of growing membership, improving finances and drawing record attendance at conferences and exhibitions. She has led international membership drives and global events to record numbers (and profits).

We are a virtual team, who meet regularly via Zoom and in person. This means, your organization’s money goes into management of member programs and events (not overhead for a fancy office address).

We offer secure storage for archival of your critical documents and other items. We also have memberships at WeWork co-working spaces and can provide committee and board meeting rooms in most major cities.

MEMBERSHIP MARKETING

Your organization will benefit from the knowledge of AB Communities marketing professionals who specialize in creating strategically-focused campaigns that drive results.

AB Communities has a strong track record of growing membership and event attendance both in-person and virtually. In this ever-changing world of membership organizations, we are quick to pivot and adapt make sure members see the value in their membership.

We can design member recruitment and retention campaigns, facilitate organizational memberships or "partnerships", program and event promotions, strategies for brand awareness and thought leadership. While we have the technical expertise and will do the heavy-lifting, you will participate in shaping and approving all messages.

Angela Bedell, founder and CEO of AB Communities, has a strong track record leading of membership growth throughout her career:

AAFP: student membership from 3,00 to 23,000 in three years
NRHA: membership from 5,000 to 18,000 in one year, with 90% of it retained 10 years later
KCMS: membership from 650 to 3,400 in two years; creating the largest local physician society in the nation

Angela is a nationally-respected, nonprofit marketing expert. She served as Chair of the Marketing Council (5,000+ members) in 2012 for the American Society of Association Executives. In 1992, Angela became the youngest person in the country to ever achieve the Certified Association Executive status. (Yes, a very long time ago.)

COMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL MARKETING

By using tools that include LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more, AB Communities will help your association share your message, engage your community and garner support for your cause.

Our marketing and communication specialists will work with you to build a strong communications plan. This includes social media, member emails, newsletters and event notifications to enhance your brand visibility, engage members, attract new audiences and promote your organization.

Your website is still the "storefront" of your organization. AB Communities will keep all information current and will use communications to direct members to the website for more information on all things. We can also assist in a website rebuild if needed.

The AB Communities team also has a strong track record of upscaling communication vehicles into award winning publications.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

AB Communities doesn't just send out financial documents for you to unscramble and interpret. We will create a financial dashboard to help your board members fully understand where the money is coming from and where it is going. (Can you answer that question now?)

Take a look at the graphic below. Standard reports are typical "financial reports" from association management companies. But we create a true dashboard to keep you informed of what the organization has, what it is spending, what is owed and what is creating revenue.

The team of AB Communities includes two accountants, one of which is a CPA and has a Master’s degree in nonprofit administration and the other has over 15 years of experience in nonprofit financial leadership.

IVRPA Financials image with captions.png

CONFERENCES AND VIRTUAL EVENTS

2020. 2021. Ugh. Events were canceled and many organizations had their record lows for revenues and engagement.

Not our clients! Not even in a global pandemic.

Thanks to quick planning and a flexible work culture, all AB Communities client's moved their events to virtual, all were very successful with record-breaking attendance.

Board meetings, committee meetings, networking events, webinars, educational programs, awards dinners and conferences -- lower your stress and increase engagement by workign with us!

Our skilled staff crafts one of a kind events tailored to your industry and organization's needs. Meetings and events are integral to membership associations because they build comradery, introduce you to new colleagues, provide education, invite robust discussions and hopefully brings a little fun to everyone's beyond stressful lives.

We take the stress off of you by:

creatively and strategically planning for an exceptional experience AND profit margin
securing and negotiating an appealing, interesting venue
organize CME accreditation marketing and promoting your event (we have a track record of growing meeting attendance and revenue by 150% or higher)
managing seamless registration for a powerful "Welcome" to attendees
meeting packets, name badges and gift bags - oh my!
organize meeting activities to enhance the member experience
sell and manage sponsorships and sponsor participation at the event
professional photography and videography to capture the event
set-up and run the technical side of online live and recorded webinars and meetings edit, post and promote recordings of events

BOARD & LEADERSHIP

In partnering with AB Communities, your board members will find leadership to be a rewarding personal and professional experience.

AB Communities staff can handle the minutes, agenda-building, chasing down reports, gathering data for good decisions -- pretty much whatever you need.

But what we also do:

create an agenda that looks exciting, and clearly relates to the strategic priorities
handle scheduling and communications so everyone's able to show up, prepared
assist Chair in establishing trust, avoiding "group think," encouraging meaningful discussion and staying out of the (boring) weeds
guide the board on decision making that aligns with the mission and is compliant with their Bylaws.

Your leadership can take advantage of our vast information on best practices, benchmarking metrics, creative ideas and proven methodologies on a broad spectrum of strategic, managerial, organizational and business issues.

We will help your organization recruit new volunteers to feed a leadership pipeline and assure a “deep bench” for future committee members and officers.

ADMINISTRATION

AB Communities is well versed in managing small non-profits to larger international groups. We will take care of the day-to-day tasks to keep your organization running smoothly.

Other things we can do if needed:

provide a physical address and phone number for your organization
follow-up to emails and phone calls inquiries to the organization
manage membership database and directory
records retention
archival of important photos, publications, awards, etc.
manage grant and alternate funding applications and follow-up
keep the organization compliant with the state and federal nonprofit laws and regulation
work with the organization's lawyer or assist in securing a lawyer (if needed) for guidance

MEET THE TEAM

Majority of team members have a Master’s degree, 10+ years work experience, incredibly professional demeanor and are rock solid dependable.

Angela Bedell, MA, CAE will serve as Executive Director. She has led 15 non-profit

organizations to extreme membership and financial success. She has two marketing degrees, done the PhD coursework for a non-profit Doctorate, and has owned a dance-fitness studio. Her cv/resume is being sent along with the proposal.

Jefferson Blair – Veteran management consultant (Deloitte, Anderson) and digital media

specialist. He creates info graphs, engaging webpages, beautiful GIFs and meaningful social media.

Emily Whalen – Director of Membership & Education. Emily is a database wizard and keeps seamless tabs on dues and retention. She initiates large group membership contracts and leads membership campaigns. She is also a master at creating and managing memorable events big and small, in-person and virtual.

Natalie Moynihan – Director of Community Engagement. With over a decade of pharma experience, Natalie excels at sponsorship and advertisement sales and customer service. She is also a pro at creating professional and visually interesting websites and brand re-design.

Mike Curtis – photographer and videographer extraordinaire.

Jennifer Jaeger - our finance guru. She has an especially impressive record of nonprofit financial reporting and managing grants for c3 organizations.