In these days of web-this and Internet-that, sometimes we are inundated with too much information. E-mails get lost, meeting appointments get erased, deadlines forgotten—and all can be fixed with a very simple, easy-to-use tool: your own website. I know—you don’t care to learn HTML programming and all of the other techie stuff that goes along with a website. But with membership-based software you never have to see a single line of HTML code, nor do you have to deal with any obscure formatting. A number of membership/database management software providers are out there, like StarChapter, resultsplus!, Aptify Membership, and Blackbaud Netcommunity, to name a few. I use Wild Apricot, a company that offers a variety of free, easy-touse website templates that are no more difficult to use than Microsoft Word. (Disclaimer: I have no interest in this company, nor do I receive any discounts, monies, or benefits from them. I just think it rocks.) Among a few common problems that many biomedical groups suffer, one of the easiest to rectify is the lack of a robust, updated website. Often websites are started by biomeds who want to learn HTML programming, but who get bored after a few months or years. Their ennui is compounded when they realize that the ongoing maintenance of a traditional website requires specialized knowledge, making it difficult to hand off the operation to another volunteer. The creator often gets stuck with the site long after he or she would like to give it up and often becomes the bottleneck who impedes the site’s updating and addition of features. A small website can include features such as notifications and reminders of upcoming events or meetings, when key team members are on vacation, and other information that impacts operations. When proper technology is implemented, a good website for a nonprofit volunteer association can be organized so that anyone in the association can easily manage different aspects of the site’s functions, including membership lists, registration for meetings and other events, and communication with members and nonmembers. And the site can—with a very short learning curve—be easily transferred from one volunteer to another. Usually there is no contract, and monthly costs are based on the size of the organization’s membership. Currently, a number of biomedical associations use the Wild Apricot system. This system, like many membership-based software programs, offers online demos or free trial periods. To find the right software for your membership group, try to prioritize some of the following needs your group might have: • Membership management, including customizable levels of membership features like members’ ability to self-join online and processing online renewals (no paper membership forms) • Dues payments or registration for events via credit card processing or PayPal • Automatic renewal notices • Member search functions • Status reports sent to administrator • Event management, including multiple online registration levels for members, nonmembers, and vendors, and automatic reminders to registered participants • E-mail blasts that include links to a variety of files to any subset of membership • Automatic log of e-mail blasts • Templates for websites that include a membersonly pages and blog features • Unlimited administrators • Costs and fees based on size of membership and selected features So, to streamline your biomed department’s communications, membership database, and events scheduling and registration, consider creating an organizational website.