As Affinity Strategies celebrates eight years of service, Daniel Hawley, Creative and Digital Director, has witnessed the incredible growth and transformation of the non-profit organization.
Hawley officially joined the team full-time in 2019, but his journey with Affinity started two years prior as an intern.
“I started as a college summer intern in 2017 helping create annual meeting materials,” said Hawley. “After graduating, I reached out to Liz and started working as a freelance designer in July 2018 and then joined Affinity full-time in February 2019.”
Not only has the team of Affinity Strategies grown, but they also have increased the number and variety of clients they serve.
“As Affinity has grown and managed more associations, I’ve seen many new faces join the Affinity team, all eager to bring their energy, expertise, and passion into their work supporting our clients. I’ve also seen a shift in the type of groups that Affinity supports,” Hawley stated. “When I was an intern, the majority of our groups were state-level physician assistant associations. Now, we manage a much wider range of healthcare specialties with both national and international memberships.”
When COVID forced companies to rethink their approach, the Affinity team thought creatively on how to thrive in a virtual setting.
“We’ve been successful hosting fully-virtual and hybrid meetings while still offering the same content as we would at an in-person meeting. We’ve also gotten innovative with the new opportunities we can provide virtually,” Hawley said. “We’ve offered educational webinars—both live and as enduring content—and found fun and new activities to keep attendees engaged during virtual conference sessions.’
In his role, Hawley leads the design team for the clients’ marketing campaigns to further their missions as an association.
“I direct client marketing campaigns for membership and events, and I manage our clients’ websites and membership management platforms,” Hawley said.
He noted, there is so much more that Affinity Strategies can offer clients than association management.
“We can help with meeting planning and facilitation, strategic planning, marketing, digital solutions, and much more! We can take our experience and expertise learned from managing associations and cater it to your specific needs,” Hawley said.
Looking forward, there is so much more to come, according to Hawley.
“I see Affinity evolving to manage all sizes of associations. With Affinity’s personalized approach to management, we can offer services to groups that would otherwise consider themselves too small for management,” noted Hawley. “That opens up opportunities for more specializations to receive the care and attention that larger groups would typically receive and in turn helps further those fields and improve care provided.”
So, what is the Affinity difference? Hawley noted it comes from teamwork and a special focus on our core values.
“The Affinity team truly feels like a family. We are all very involved in each other’s lives and are encouraging each other along in our work,” Hawley said. “We’re collaborative as we approach solutions for our clients and always willing to help out if somebody is stuck on a solution.”
He has made it his mission, along with so many other team members, to serve our clients with passion.
“Affinity grants me the opportunity to work with non-profit organizations that are making a difference in healthcare. We empower those that empower those that are improving and saving lives. We also help facilitate healthcare opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be available without associations.”
