Greetings ASAE Community,

As we look back on 2024, we are deeply thankful for your trust, your support, and the meaningful ways you’ve engaged with us.

Your involvement has been the cornerstone of ASAE’s ongoing strategic journey to serve as the global home for association professionals—not just for today, but for the dynamic and evolving future we all face. Every success we’ve achieved this year is a reflection of your partnership and commitment.

Our strategy reflects the trends shaping our industry and the invaluable feedback you – our members – provide about what you need from your professional home. This alignment allows us to adapt as trends emerge and your needs evolve.

In our current Fiscal Year 2025, we are focusing on four key areas: Artificial Intelligence, Conscious Inclusion, Strategic Leadership, and Workforce Development.

• In AI, we introduced a new program this year called the AI Summit that offered association professionals remarkable insights into the transformative power of AI. We also established the Association Coalition for AI, ensuring associations are empowered to implement AI responsibly while contributing our collective voice to public policy discussions.
  
  
• In Conscious Inclusion, we welcomed our 2024-2026 DELP class, advancing their journeys into leadership. We also relaunched ReadyMe with enhancements to better prepare future leaders and announced a new Future Leaders Professional Development Scholarship.
  
  
• In Strategic Leadership, we launched the Association Governance Institute (AGI), a pivotal initiative to promote excellence in governance practices. We also formed new partnerships and collaborations with other industry organizations to address the myriad changes, trends and challenges we’re facing today.
  
  
• In Workforce Development, our advocacy efforts achieved significant progress toward expanding the use of 529 savings accounts for professional credentialing costs, enabling more individuals to access vital credentials offered by associations. We also released the most definitive research on the economic impact of associations to date, which quantifies the Power of Associations for policymakers, the media and other key audiences.

 

These priorities shaped our programming, new product development, and the resources we provided to you this year. They are just the beginning of our ongoing efforts to meet your needs and empower the vital work you do.

This year’s ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Cleveland was a testament to the strength of our community. Under the theme, “In Unity, We Thrive,” we celebrated the Power of Associations and the collective impact we make in amplifying voices and driving meaningful change. During the meeting, we were thrilled to unveil the host cities for our Annual Meeting & Exposition through 2034. This forward-looking announcement enables attendees to plan ahead and ensure their continued participation in ASAE’s flagship event for years to come.

As we look ahead to 2025, we are already working together to address the challenges on the horizon. Soon, we will be launching a tax coalition to defend the tax-exempt community against potential legislative threats. This effort goes beyond associations, touching the very core of the industries, professions, and communities we serve. We invite you to join this coalition and add your voice to the collective defense of our sector as Congress prepares to consider major tax legislation. Read more about the coalition and sign up here.

Nothing embodies our forward-looking vision more than ASAE’s recently announced plans to relocate our headquarters in early 2026 to a dynamic and vibrant new space at 1101 K Street, NW, in the heart of downtown Washington, DC. This thoughtfully designed space will be tailored to meet today’s needs while positioning ASAE for an innovative and thriving future. It will provide an exceptional environment where our staff, members, and partners can collaborate and flourish. We can’t wait to welcome our extended ASAE family to our new home in the near future!

Above all, thank you for being an integral part of this journey. Representing and serving this diverse, innovative, and impactful community is both an honor and a privilege. Together, we fuel progress in every corner of society, and we are inspired by the work we accomplish as one community.

From all of us at ASAE, we wish you a joyful holiday season filled with peace and hope. We look forward to continuing this journey with you in 2025 and beyond.

 

Warm regards,

 

 

Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE

President and CEO