Conference planning team

Please go to http://test.nccommunities.org/register and try out the conference registration forms. They are all on the test site, so you won't do any harm. I think the forms contain the information we want to collect. Let me know what you think should be changed.

Payment through PayPal is set up, so you want to check the box that you'll pay by check. If you don't check the box, it will go into PayPal but you get lots of chances to go back. If you DO go through and confirm the payment, your credit card will be charged and the payment will go to the RTPnet account.

I've updated http://nccommunities.org/conference-timeline Surprisingly, we are on schedule! I added a lot of info and links about what's happened so far. When we get done, I think this file will be the history. Judy

Tani asked about RTPnet's previous conferences. RTPnet conferences focused on collaboration among nonprofit organizations, individual volunteers, and corporations to bridge the Triangle's Digital/Human Divide. Looking at the agendas, we are still talking about the same basic problems.

All the notes and stuff are at http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/projects.html#conf

Here are some highlights:

2005: http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/conf05/website/schedu...
- Corporate volunteer programs
- Free computer equipment and training (including GCF Learning)

2004: http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/conf04/summary.html
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools: Lessons Learned, Home Loaner Project, Parents have to buy in to having this tool in the house. ...
- Future for NC Information Infrastructure Networks
Meeting Needs for Recycling
- Tech LinkUp: a service that links together technology needs and resources to support nonprofit organizations. (didn't work out)

2003: http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/conf03/summary.html
- Developing Basic Computer Skills and Making It Fun!
- LEARN North Carolina
- Getting Connected through CTC LinkUp (became Tech LinkUp, didn't work out)
- Computing Equipment for Nonprofits, Schools, Homes

2002: http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/conf02/summary.html
- Community Technology Center Startup Resources -- reusing computers, Connect 2 School
- Free online teaching materials
- Volunteerism: What It Takes To Run NCCU's Programs (and info about their TOP grant)
- Help Desk Startup (a good idea that didn't work out)
- Collaboration and Brain-storming: Breakout Sessions

September 2001: Community Technology for NC (CTNC), regional conference at NCCU, Terry Grunwald:
http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/ctnc/ctcconf/homepage...
http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/ctnc/ctcconf/homepage...
http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/ctnc/ctcconf/agenda.html

March 2001: http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/conf01/rtpconf.html
 - Programs for Children, Teens, and Senior Citizens
- Using Technology to Teach Adult Literacy
- The Role of Community Technology in Welfare to Work Transitional Programs
- Developing Computer Competency After School to Earn a Computer

2000: http://www.ibiblio.org/rtpnet/archives/conferences/conf00/rtpconf00.shtml
- 21st Century Learning Centers, Raleigh
- Family literacy: teaching parents to use computers to help their children learn
- Managing volunteers

Here are my notes from the Logistics Committee point of view on the Friday Center walkthrough.

Sean, Leandra, Judy, Tani and I met with Donna Fitzgerald from the Friday Center.

• For now, Judy is the primary contact with Donna for all directions from our group that affect the work of the Friday Center staff -- but Donna is willing to answer questions from others.

We decided this would be the "NCTech4Good Conference" -- tagline TBD

• Judy will let Donna know that we're calling this an NCTec4Good conference, not an "RTPnet" conference (though PIN, Inc., is the fiscal agent)
• Judy will talk to Warren Fuson about the accounting setup to make sure that he, the organization's treasurer, has this on his radar.
• Judy has scanned the contract and event plan. Find those at http://nccommunities.org/content/budget (in the resources section of this site). The Event Plan, in particular, is an outline of the day.

Things for the participants' packets

• Map of the area of the center we'll be using
• An agenda with times that takes into account the Friday center times for shared breaks and lunch (http://www.fridaycenter.unc.edu/fc/fcfood.htm)
  • Morning break: 30 minutes from 7:30 - 11:00 (drinks and food)
  • Afternoon break: 30 minutes from 1:30 - 4:30 beverages, 2-4 food
  • Lunch option to start 11:30 - 1:15 in the shared dining room.

Registration forms -- I think we'll need 3

• One for the main, all-day conference
  • Needs a question about dietary restrictions (Donna can work with about anything; special plates can be prepared for vegans and those with specific allergies (e.g. gluten). Very specific requests can be handled by allowing the person to bring their own food.
  • Needs a question about whether they plan to stay for the reception
• One for the reception (for those joining us "after work")
• One for the sponsors/exhibitors
  • Friday Center charges for exhibit table: $30 to nonprofits, $100 commercial. No money can change hands, in any event.
  • Whether they'll need electric. [This was more of an issue when we thought the sponsors were going to be in the Willow Lounge. I didn't note whether all the locations that we're now talking about -- in the atrium near the main door and our registration table have electric.]
  • Time frame. [They may set up as early as 7:00. We talked about having them out by 6:00 - maybe earlier? We vacate the main rooms 5:00 - 5:30, and the reception is 5:00 - 7:00]
  • Let them know the table is 3x6
• We talked about setting up small groups to go to dinner later -- if this seems feasible, perhaps all three forms need that checkoff.

Signs (the Center has easels for the signs in the building)

• Tani has had good experience with VistaPrint -- ordering one offs (free) and paying only shipping and handling
• Signs for parking to help people skip the first right into the park-and-ride and take the right *after* the Friday Center into the main parking lot. NCTech4Good branding means we can order those now.
• Pointing the way to the reception in the Willow Room (to the right). We'll probably need people to help those arriving for the reception find us because there will be a much larger reception in the main atrium starting at about the same time.
• Directions to breakout rooms
• Titles of the break out sessions

Other things we'll need the day of or otherwise affect what we do the day of

• If we have at least 75 registrants, they'll supply a "day office" at no additional charge
• We can request easels (for signs) and to hold flip charts. If we want PostIT flip charts, we need to bring our own. They can supply regular flip charts ($7/each), but we'd need to bring painter's tape to put it up on the wall.
• They have wifi in all the rooms. They'll set up one of our laptops in the main room on the smart podium. If we need laptops connected to the room projectors in the breakout rooms, we need to let them know that. If we use one of their laptops, it's a $150 charge.
• We may move chairs, but moving tables is their job -- $100 reset fee. We should plan to avoid this.
• Lunch will be at tables of 8. We may want to set some up as "lunch with ... " as they do at the NC Center for Nonprofits. We can't, though, break things up into different sized groups.
• Layout for the reception area -- 3 each of 3x6 and 2x5 tables.

I've got the latest version of CiviCRM (3.1.2) installed on http://test.nccommunities.org/
Log in as demo with password demo. Click CiviCRM.
I created a report for attendees for the conference and put it on the dashboard -- cool!
In the bar across the top, click Events, then Dashboard. Go ahead and register, if you want. You can get out of PayPal and return to CiviCRM without paying.

If you'd like to donate to PINInc, go to http://test.nccommunities.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=3. I set the minimum to $5.

If you have a login on test.nccommunities.org, I can give you some admin privileges so you can poke around. I've got CiviCRM sample data on the site and some folks come in to explore the sample data, so what I'm adding gets put in along with all that stuff.

I've posted a section of surveys and reports in Resources at http://nccommunities.org/surveys-reports

The 2009 NTEN Community Survey Report might help with questions for our survey. I also found the NPower report executive summary interesting, especially "Paper and spreadsheets are two of the most widely used methods in nonprofit areas such as event planning, donor and volunteer management, constituency documentation, etc."

The purpose of this meeting to do initial planning for a local conference

Agenda:

11:30 - 11:35: Review and modify agenda (http://nccommunities.org/agenda10feb11)

11:35 - 11:55: Discuss and decide --  intended audience, NetSquared local camps, one conference or two, date(s), places(es). Reference: http://nccommunities.org/node/206, especially http://nccommunities.org/node/206#comment-40
Our decision here may change the rest of the agenda

11:55 - 12:00: Review and modify timeline (http://nccommunities.org/conference-timeline)

12:00 - 12:30: Establish committees -- what they'll do, who's on them, who's leading:
- Finances: establish fees, online registration process, handling payments, scholarships(?)
- Program: topics, speakers, session length
- Sponsors: we have space for a max of 8 tables
- Logistics: room setup, nametags, registration table, sponsors tables, publicity, info on local hotels and restaurants for people who might
stay over
- Website with online registration (Drupal and CiviEvent?)
- Other?

12:30 - 12:45: Conference theme, name, tracks, any keynote speakers?

12:45 - 1:00: Online collaboration, NCCommunities special interest group, http://nccommunities.org/conference-team for ideas and discussion
- What do the committees need -- their own special interest groups? Forums?
- Build materials in the resources section, http://nccommunities.org/conference

1:00 - 1:05: Schedule next meeting or wait until we get farther along?

1:05 - 1:30: Any special considerations? What did we miss?
If there's time, identify possible topics and presenters, identify potential sponsors

Idealware has just announced "Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits: Fundraising, Communications and Outreach".

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/idealware-field-guide-to-software-for-nonprofits/7974642

I've recently added several sections to the resources section at http://nccommunities.org/conference

Note in particular the timeline.