I earned the ASAE Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 2015. It took ten years of waiting because the CAE Commission didn’t allow Consultants to take the exam in previous decades; they decided to change that rule in 2014, which meant the May 2015 exam was the first opportunity for consultants to give it a shot. I took that shot and I was one of the candidates who passed the first time.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."

This week's message: Is ASAE Becoming Like Cable TV?

Like many people, I have a cable television subscription. Comcast, while the bane of my existence when it comes to customer service, provides me access to hundreds of channels that include local stations, premium channels, and basic cable channels. Out of the hundreds of channels available, I probably watch less than 10% of the options. But I have the options and can explore many areas of the service. My account includes all of these choices if I use them or not.

It's this week's Rogue Speak message in audio format! I share more thoughts on the new CAE Registered Provider program. What do you think?

In my message of July 27 (“The Ethics of Competition”) I shared my thoughts about my past participation as a CAE Approved Provider in the previous program and why I thought it was important to be part of it. At the time I joined the previous CAE Provider program, I was excited about the step towards requiring ethics education for CAEs. In that message, I also shared my concerns about the new program.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak." This week's topic “Nonprofit Management: The Lost Profession”.

As I see all the postings on social media and online communities about my colleagues and fellow nonprofit management professionals heading off to the 2023 ASAE Annual, I am sorry that I won’t be there. My schedule and personal obligations didn’t allow me to fit this in, which is disappointing to me because I will have to wait another year to see many people I only see at this meeting. And a personal favorite event of mine is cheering on all the new CAEs which I will do from a distance.

When my company joined the ASAE CAE Approved Provider program in 2019, we were excited to offer one of the first ethics courses for nonprofit professionals created specifically to fulfill the new ethics requirement for CAE renewal. I personally felt adding an ethics requirement was a strong step forward for our profession so I showed my support by supporting the provider program.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak." This week's topic is: “Has Our Profession (Nonprofit Management) Lost its Way?”

I framed this title as a question because I have a lot of questions about the state of our profession, and I’m sure there are people in our profession of nonprofit management who think everything is fine and dandy. The status quo is continuing so why worry? We are going along the same way we always have. The same tired beliefs are passed around and unfortunately repeated to newer professionals. We are practicing acceptance in a bad way because it is leading us to stagnancy.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak."  This week's topic is: “Standards of Conduct and Their Importance”

The topic of the moment is artificial intelligence (AI) and why we need rules, regulations, and guidelines for its behavior. Debates are happening nearly constantly as experts pick sides (for or against AI) and researchers from both ends of the spectrum make arguments and give examples from their research and experience. Based on what I’ve seen and learned, most commenters think some rules are necessary even if these rules are basic.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. This episode: the author reads her weekly Rogue Speak message.

We are about three weeks away from the CAE Exam period for May 2023, and the excitement is building. While there is always some tension and sometimes stress in prepping for the CAE Exam, there is a lot of energy in the community as our nonprofit management colleagues demonstrate their commitment to their profession.

Last Saturday, I completed the course work for the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential -- which focuses solely on 501c3 organizations -- by successfully passing the exam. I became interested in this credential when I saw a colleague’s post on LinkedIn about her accomplishment of earning their Advanced CNP credential.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. This episode: the author reads her weekly Rogue Speak message.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. This episode: the author reads her weekly Rogue Speak message.

Last week, the CAE Exam results for December 2022 were released. There were many happy individuals who not only celebrated but breathed a sigh of relief! The waiting is over and all the hard work paid off.

Today we are about one month away from the start of the December 2022 CAE Exam period, which runs December 1 – 14. If you are taking the exam next month, you have already prepared by joining a study group, working with a study buddy, or taking a course. Heck, you may have done all these things!

Association management is a vocation; it is a profession; and for an increasing number of people, it is a career choice. It is a craft which requires a complex mix of skills, knowledge, and experience, dexterously combining knowledge of association culture, structure, and politics, with a whole spectrum of professional expertise, ranging from strategy and advocacy to marketing and event management, and everything in between.