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A PROGRAM OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION
 

IOM Blog

August 7, 2015

How to Host a Conference Without Busting Your Budget

When hosting a conference, costs can quickly escalate and a revenue generator can quickly become a costly decision. The below suggestions are some helpful ways to keep your costs low without decreasing the quality of your event.

1. Catering

  • Choose items that can be charged upon consumption. Do you often have large amounts of food remaining after breaks or meals? Work with the location’s catering manager to choose items that can be purchased based on consumption. More items than you think can be purchased this way. These items tend to be individually packaged such as yogurts, granola bars, and bottled juices and soft drinks. Ordering this way can save money and food waste.
  • Serve Water in cambros or jugs. A great way to save money on bottled water service is to request cambros or jugs for water service. To still allow attendees the convenience and portability of bottled water, you can still easily and (most importantly) affordably provide cups, lids, and straws. You can purchase in bulk from companies that supply items to restaurants. Check out http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ for some great prices and tons of options.

2. Transportation

  • Transportation can be extremely costly with expenses such as fuel charges and shuttle coordinators. If your locations are close to your venue and are not running for multiple hours, ask your transportation provider if they will charge you the shuttle rate as opposed to the hourly rate.
  • Is your event on the smaller side? If so, maybe rethink hiring shuttle coordinators and assign a trustworthy volunteer to that responsibility.

3. Speakers

  • Are your members’ experts in their field? Invite them to facilitate a session. Be careful to choose speakers who are engaging and that will bring interesting and educational content.

4. Underwriters

  • Reach out to your members and vendors and encourage event sponsorship.
  • Below are a few resources for fun and innovative sponsorship options.
    • 7 Unique Sponsorship Ideas You’ll Wish You’d Thought Of
    • 10 Fresh Sponsorship Ideas
    • 10 Sponsorship Ideas for your next Event
    • 10 Hot Association Meeting Sponsorships

The most important aspect of running a well budgeted event is to make educated decisions and consider the risks and benefits of the choices that you make.

 

Shelby A. Parish
Shelby A. Parish, IOM,CAE, CMP
Former Senior Manager, Institute for Organization Management
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Shelby Parish, IOM, CMP is former senior manager of Institute for Organization Management, a four-year educational program on nonprofit management of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Parish oversees society state partnerships, sponsorships, scholarships, and registration system management. She also works on various aspects of the program’s logistics, including catering, transportation, and special events. Parish also manages the Institute summer intern program. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in political science and a certificate in public policy.

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