Communications & Technology of TSAP
This page contains articles that describe areas of interest with the communications technologies and policies used in the administration of TSAP. Each article is a deep-dive into the use of that technology or an explanation of how member communications are handled by TSAP's Communications Committee.Voting in the Virtual World
Nonprofits that hold business meetings need a voting tool that is simple for members, secure for board or election use, and flexible for in-person, remote, or hybrid meetings. The best-known consumer-style options in this space are ElectionBuddy, OpaVote, Simply Voting, NemoVote, and MeetingPulse, each of which serves slightly different needs.
While Zoom meetings have built-in voting mechanisms, using the Raise Hands feature and using the Green Check Mark and Red X-Mark Reaction buttons, these cannot provide a secret ballot, as is required for most elections and some motion votes. For those votes, we use external online services which members can access through browser windows on computers, phones and pads.
These services can also be used with in-person meetings to aid in the management of votes, but obviously TSAP can use its own methods for teller committees and outer counting rooms.
This report is a survey of most such services, most of which can be used for reasonable costs, and even FREE for small votes. Recommendations by the Communications Committee will be added at the end.
MailChimp Keeps Us Informed
TSAP uses MailChimp’s email program to communicate to our 500+ members. Members do not have to do anything to get on the list. It’s a benefit of being a member of NAP and TSAP. The public cannot see emails openly and cannot “join” the mail list.
MailChimp posts are only sent for events and required bylaws required messages. We recognize that people are sensitive to receiving too many or the wrong emails. However, this channel IS the official notification method for send notices and alerts. An occasional holiday message may be added.
Messages are limited to only a few topics, so the title of the message tells you what it’s about. If you already know a topic, you do not have to respond or open the mail. But for those who want to pursue a topic, there’s always a message, an image, and an action button for each topic. Either the image or the button activates the link. In general, this action button opens a Zoom meeting or event registration or connects you to the TSAP website for a document. We make this process easy and infrequent.
There is no reason to reply to an email. If you want to use the image or action button to link to a promoted event, click the link. However, if you do have a question, you CAN reply and it will reach us quickly.
There ARE several possible issues that arise with bulk email systems. We’ll identify those here.
Virtual Business Meeting Etiquette
Business Meetings are held virtually nearly everywhere. TSAP, as well as Texas Units, District 6, NAP Electronic Associations, and NAP, hold electronic meetings. In the years since Covid shutdowns, nearly everyone has experienced Zoom. Many young people have never known life without Zoom.
Zoom hosts over 300 million daily meeting participants and over 9 million webinars annually. And, even more shocking, they report over 3 TRILLION meeting minutes! This technology is ubiquitous.
Many businesses run their activities as online meetings. And organizations across the Corporate, Government and Non-Profit sectors now handle business across wide areas virtually. Are they running effectively and correctly? But an equally important question is: How we can use Zoom to provide participants with the best experience? This article summarizes the rules that make Zoom meetings effective for all members.
Not all of the guidelines are printed here. Use any link and the link at the bottom to connect to our Technology in TSAP page on the website. Look for underlined links.
The underlying theme of these tools is to comply with the rules defined in Robert’s’ Rules of Order Newly Revised 12th Edition. Business meetings should run as closely as possible to an in-person business meeting as we can, (RONR 9:30-36).
The following are important points of virtual meeting etiquette to ensure members have the best meeting experience and are allowed to participate fully in the business of the organization. This document will be published as an Operational Policy for TSAP.