Comments on: How to arrange a conference or event on a shoestring budget.. http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/ Ireland's Venue Finder Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:52:09 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Ho Ho Ho! Christmas Parties on a budget… tips on how not to look like scrudge! « Corporate Event Venues, Venue Finder Ireland http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-435 Ho Ho Ho! Christmas Parties on a budget… tips on how not to look like scrudge! « Corporate Event Venues, Venue Finder Ireland Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:52:09 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-435 [...] most obvious one is to negotiate hard – but avoid hard balling too much on the food or you will find you notice it in the [...] [...] most obvious one is to negotiate hard – but avoid hard balling too much on the food or you will find you notice it in the [...]

]]> By: How to negotiate rates with venues and win all round! « Corporate Event Venues, Venue Finder Ireland http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-35 How to negotiate rates with venues and win all round! « Corporate Event Venues, Venue Finder Ireland Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:32:30 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-35 [...] How to arrange a conference on a shoe string budget! [...] [...] How to arrange a conference on a shoe string budget! [...]

]]> By: Ciara Feely http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-20 Ciara Feely Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:02:52 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-20 Delighted I found a Lazy B like yourself so Neil. Do feel free to give me a call or send an enquiry through the website to mulitple venues. Would appreciate any feedback you have on the usability of the site too as I am always tweaking that! Ciara 353 (0) 26 21015 Delighted I found a Lazy B like yourself so Neil. Do feel free to give me a call or send an enquiry through the website to mulitple venues.

Would appreciate any feedback you have on the usability of the site too as I am always tweaking that!

Ciara
353 (0) 26 21015

]]> By: Neil Ward : Giving some link-love to Irish start-ups http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-18 Neil Ward : Giving some link-love to Irish start-ups Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:32:04 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-18 [...] A Conference Venue, which is exactly what I was looking for for ages.  They’ve even posted a brilliant blog post on how to do a conference on the cheap!  Exactly the service to use if you’re a lazy bastard [...] [...] A Conference Venue, which is exactly what I was looking for for ages.  They’ve even posted a brilliant blog post on how to do a conference on the cheap!  Exactly the service to use if you’re a lazy bastard [...]

]]> By: Neil Ward : Lessons from Obama (part II) - Fundraising http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-17 Neil Ward : Lessons from Obama (part II) - Fundraising Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:25:20 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-17 [...] just as equally to non-profit organisations as it does to political parties).  Sure, you can organise a conference on a shoestring budget, use free blogging software to give yourself an online presence or shop around to find a cheap [...] [...] just as equally to non-profit organisations as it does to political parties).  Sure, you can organise a conference on a shoestring budget, use free blogging software to give yourself an online presence or shop around to find a cheap [...]

]]> By: Daragh O Brien http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-16 Daragh O Brien Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:43:37 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-16 Ciara Having run a number of 'shoestring' events in Dublin (via www.iqnetwork.org) I agree with everything you've written. One additional comment I'd add is for voluntary organisations who are looking to run events they should consider tying the event registration to their CRM system (and there are oodles of good open source ones - I find CiviCrm to be pretty good, particularly with its integration with Drupal). That allows you to see who your return delegates are (good word of mouth publicists). It also allows you to very quickly give potential sponsors a breakdown of what type of people attend your events. It also gives you the chance to follow up on the conference to get constructive feedback. Also, on the subject of sponsorship, one approach that we have used successfully in the IQ Network (the Irish Community of the International Assoc. for Information & Data Quality) is to actively seek sponsorship in kind - for example access to a sponsors mailing list rather than cash up front. The more bums on seats you get at the event the better chance you have of getting cash support for the next one. And finally.. if it is a regular event (ie annually or bi-annually) it is worth considering selecting a dedicated venue and negotiating a standard package and layout etc. We would provisionally book the following event at lunch on the 'live' event and then confirm the booking once sponsors/speakers are confirmed. This was good for two reasons, One, it is really stress relieving to just be able to pick up the phone and give the 'go code' and know that the set up will be 95% as you need it on the day. Also, the easier you make it for venue managers to cater to your needs the more open they are to negotiating discounts (partly because they'll have been able to pre-book some of the services etc. for you). Ciara

Having run a number of ’shoestring’ events in Dublin (via http://www.iqnetwork.org) I agree with everything you’ve written. One additional comment I’d add is for voluntary organisations who are looking to run events they should consider tying the event registration to their CRM system (and there are oodles of good open source ones – I find CiviCrm to be pretty good, particularly with its integration with Drupal).

That allows you to see who your return delegates are (good word of mouth publicists). It also allows you to very quickly give potential sponsors a breakdown of what type of people attend your events. It also gives you the chance to follow up on the conference to get constructive feedback.

Also, on the subject of sponsorship, one approach that we have used successfully in the IQ Network (the Irish Community of the International Assoc. for Information & Data Quality) is to actively seek sponsorship in kind – for example access to a sponsors mailing list rather than cash up front. The more bums on seats you get at the event the better chance you have of getting cash support for the next one.

And finally.. if it is a regular event (ie annually or bi-annually) it is worth considering selecting a dedicated venue and negotiating a standard package and layout etc. We would provisionally book the following event at lunch on the ‘live’ event and then confirm the booking once sponsors/speakers are confirmed.

This was good for two reasons, One, it is really stress relieving to just be able to pick up the phone and give the ‘go code’ and know that the set up will be 95% as you need it on the day. Also, the easier you make it for venue managers to cater to your needs the more open they are to negotiating discounts (partly because they’ll have been able to pre-book some of the services etc. for you).

]]> By: Damien Mulley » Blog Archive » Conferences - Spend your ticketmoney on building your own http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/how-to-arrange-a-conference-or-event-on-a-shoestring-budget/#comment-14 Damien Mulley » Blog Archive » Conferences - Spend your ticketmoney on building your own Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:30:09 +0000 http://findaconferencevenue.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-14 [...] Renting a room for a day costs anywhere from 500 euros to 2000 euros and charging people a modest sum to go would cover all costs. In fact there’s probably a business in “buying” off-the-shelf conference packages from hotels for a standard fee. Ciara too has a guide on running a conference on a shoestring. [...] [...] Renting a room for a day costs anywhere from 500 euros to 2000 euros and charging people a modest sum to go would cover all costs. In fact there’s probably a business in “buying” off-the-shelf conference packages from hotels for a standard fee. Ciara too has a guide on running a conference on a shoestring. [...]

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