Helpful Websites

During the recent Region and State Presidents Meeting the experience of some of our chapters in managing their own events using commercial websites was discussed. These enable groups to do such things as create calendars, link them to event announcements, send invitations and collect payment with credit cards (in advance).

One is "eventbrite" at http://www.eventbrite.com. Using this website you can set up an event registration page, send out invitations and accept payment using credit cards. The fee to you is 2.5% per paid ticket ($0.99 minimum, $9.95 maximum) and you can roll that in to the price of your event so it's all transparent to your attendees. Actual credit card payment is through "Paypal" or "Google Checkout" which will require you to set up an account there. But once done, it's taken care of.

Another is "membermanager" at http://www.membermanager.net. This is a more complete suite of tools with which you can do such things as build a welcome page, a master calendar of upcoming events and links to your registration process. Some chapters may find it useful and the up-front cost affordable.

Still another was recommended by an AFA state president This one is "Free Conference" at http://www.freeconference.com. The site offers two kinds of free teleconferencing (for the host; participants have to pay whatever long distance charges are incurred to access the conference number) and a premium version to an 800 number at 10 cents per minute per line, billed to the host. The company recommends not using cell phones, however, for many this would be the obvious alternative to paying the long distance charge.

If there are other sites you have found useful for chapter or state operations and would like to share, please e-mail Jim Simpson (jsimpson@afa.org) so we can share those with everyone. A short thumbnail of your experiences and helpful suggestions would be appreciated.
 

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