I’ve been running AAUW branch web sites for more than 15 years. Recently, I’ve followed three rules –

1. Don’t register a domain name for the branch when a subdomain of the state’s domain will do
2. Use wordpress.com for hosting when that’s sufficient
3. Use Google Apps for hosting e-mail, calendar, docs, etc.

So I’ve been running tarheel.aauwnc.org from aauwtarheel.wordpress.com for some time. Rule #3 means setting up a Google Apps account that it tied to the domain and allows for addresses like info@tarheel.aauwnc.org. (Dreamhost.com – my regular hosting service – offers that for free with a really easy setup.)

That’s all worked like a champ. But one of my goals for this year was to “hide” the “wordpress.com” in the branch’s web address. For instance, when someone typed tarheel.aauwnc.org into their browser it would show up–but with the address of  aauwtarheel.wordpress.com. Since we’d gone to all the trouble of having branch-level e-mail addresses, that just looked unprofessional.

I’ve been going around in circles with Dreamhost support for weeks. The problem seems to be that rules #1 and #3 conflict with the way that WordPress.com sets up web hosting:

• If I want info@tarheel.aauwnc.org to work (using Dreamhost MX records to pass the mail to Google), I couldn’t set up aauwtarheel.wordpress.com so that it appears to be tarheel.aauwnc.org (with a CNAME record at Dreamhost)
• If I want aauwtarheel.wordpress.com to appear to be tarheel.aauwnc.org (setting up the CNAME record), I can’t have addresses like info@tarheel.aauwnc.org (because there’s no way to set up the MX records after adding the CNAME at Dreamhost and WordPress.com doesn’t offer MX records on a subdomain)

I considered the option of registering a new top level domain (e.g. aauwtarheel.org) since that’s exactly how openupaauw.org is working and it’s fine, but aside from violating rule #1, that would mean setting up the e-mail all over again.

What I ended up with was creating yet another subdomain, site.tarheel.aauwnc.org, and paying the $12/year to have it be the primary address on WordPress.com — i.e. aauwtarheel.wordpress.com now looks like site.tarheel.aauwnc.org. Nothing needed to change in the e-mail setup. (You might ask why I didn’t use www.tarheel.aauwnc.org — well WordPress.com strips all “www” prefixes.)

In summary:

• tarheel.aauwnc.org still works as the web address of the site — but now it looks like site.tarheel.aauwnc.org instead of aauwtarheel.wordpress.com
• All the e-mail addresses that have been set up still work

Does anyone have a better way to solve this problem?

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately on “social media strategies” — particularly for AAUW. But in taking down a flyer from the bulletin board, I realized a large part of my interest in social media is as a “collaborative learning” tool — same idea, of course, just a different emphasis.

The piece I had on display was from iCohere and had these tips:

• Create a concise purpose statement
• Define members’ roles
• Establish expectations and timelines for participation
• Set expectations around renewed content
• Ensure privacy
• “Seed” the site
• Facilitate through role modeling
• Launch the community after an in-person meeting
• Conduct special online events
• Directly enlist members’ participation
• “Push” content to less active members
• Recognize exemplary members

So how many of those strategies do I follow? Well, now that I’ve typed them out myself, perhaps things like AAUW NC on Facebook and the BBVX Wiki (bbvx – one step beyond, get it?) will get incremental improvements.

For more of this wisdom, see, for example, www.icohere.com/CollaborativeLearning.htm and other articles on that site.

The AAUW Starter Kit was mailed earlier this month to all branches, and is now available online at aauw.org (see the link highlighted on the home page or go to the Member Center and look for the Starter Kit link).

It includes an overview PowerPoint — great for sharing with branch boards. One item, though:

“AAUW will not host discussions of candidate qualifications; that must be done in separate member-generated venues.”

So, members, what are your thoughts on this? Is something like election2009.bbvx.org needed again? Is someone thinking about hosting “virtual candidate forums”? Would another strategy be better for candidates?

Do we need something like the voter education so many branches do for public elections — or is this election just not worth the effort?

AAUW branches are, in my experience, quite fiscally conservative. The notion of getting a debit card for the branch may seem to open financial issues that the branch just doesn’t want to address. However, in my branches we’ve had one for years without any issues, and if the general financial oversight procedures are sufficient, your branch may find one helpful, too.

Applying for a card has been a simple process. Check with your bank to find out what their processes are, but for us, it was simply a matter of having one of the people who was already on the account’s signature card apply. She needs to give her own social security number (though the account doesn’t show up in any credit reports I’ve checked for my SSN). Both her name and the branch’s appears on the card.

You may or may not need a “PIN” for the card. Since our financial policies prohibit writing checks to cash, we decided we didn’t need the pin: we don’t make any ATM transactions, and if we’re using it for local purchases we always have it run as a “credit” card. But check to see if the PIN might be needed for online banking transactions or other things that streamline the financial processes.

What are the benefits of having the card:

1. We can use the card for online payments and avoid extra reimbursement complications when online payments are the only/best way to make a payment. For example some ongoing services such as a web site might require an online payment. As another example, consider Shop AAUW.
2. The card has been absolutely fabulous to pay members’ dues using the Membership Payment Process (MPP). A new member can be on the national rolls and connected to the branch in about a week, much faster than when using payment with a paper check. Besides, it saves the effort of using the USMail and the cost of a stamp to send in the payment.
3. We use the card to “verify” our account with PayPal. Having a PayPal (business) account in the name of the branch, and tied to the branch bank account, allows you to accept online payments (via credit card, not just from those who also have PayPal accounts). Think how this might make things simpler in accepting dues or registration fees. Yes, PayPal gets a “cut” of the transaction, but you could increase the fee charged online to cover this — or, go along with the rest of the world and just consider this a “cost of doing business” that’s built into your budget.
4. The officers who are authorized to sign checks and who expect to have an ongoing need for making purchases in the name of the branch can use the card instead. Their personal funds aren’t used for branch projects, and the branch saves the effort involved in writing them reimbursements. Those reimbursements may get complicated if your policies say someone cannot write a reimbursement check to herself.  Of course, those who spend the branch’s money should expect to document it just as carefully if they use the card as they would if they were requesting reimbursement — but the bank statement will at least show a card number that can be tied back to an individual and a vendor.

Of course, as with all things financial, good policies and good oversight go a long way towards making this work — but do consider whether this would be a good tool for your branch.

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