Conference season for professional membership associations and not-for-profit organisations is upon us. While planning often spans across many months of the year, if you’re yet to plan your Conference, or starting to think about a 2025 event, our how-to guide will cover all you need to know.
Value
Annual Conferences provide an invaluable platform for its members. They help to tackle pressing industry issues, meet with industry leaders, and build stronger professional networks.
The events often include educational sessions led by influential speakers and should feature exhibitions where industry suppliers can showcase their products and services. The funds raised from exhibitors can help to subsidise delegate costs or speaker fees.
Attendance Strategies
While Conference attendance is typically restricted to association members, it can sometimes be beneficial to open registration to non-members depending on your industry. Allowing non-members to attend can highlight the advantages of your organisation, in turn leading to new membership applications.
Hybrid Events
Hybrid events, offering attendance in both a virtual and face-to-face environment are becoming increasingly popular. Building your organisation’s event to accommodate for all will allow you to engage a broader audience, catering not only to those who can attend in person, but those who may need or prefer a virtual option.
The flexibility enhances accessibility and offers the opportunity to widen participation, attracting members and potential members from various locations without the constraints of travel. Including a virtual option can expand your reach and offer additional value to our member base.
Behind-the-Scenes
A significant amount of work goes into conference planning. Here’s a quick checklist to guide you:
- Budget creation
- Venue Selection
- AV and staging requirements
- Booking speakers and exhibitors
- Developing the agenda and program
- Preparing presentation materials and delegate packs
Consider reading our guidance on managing events and financial budgets.
On the day of the events, there are also considerable responsibilities for the organisation’s administration team:
- Catering to access and dietary needs
- Managing arrival times and presentation schedules
- Staffing the reception desk
- Facilitating network opportunities
- Resolving unexpected challenges
How We Can Help
While there are a huge number of benefits to being part of a professional membership associations management committee, it’s important to realise that there are heavy responsibilities. Many tasks can seem quite daunting or time consuming, which is why it’s important to work alongside a reliable administration management team.
At Cygnul we work in partnership with our clients and are seen as trusted advisors to the Board. We can undertake the full range of membership, secretarial and bookkeeping services as well as offering advice and support to associations around the UK. If you want to explore how these services could help your organisation, please get in touch with us.