It’s time for the 2018 Nonprofit Technology Conference!
On April 11th- 13th, professionals across the nonprofit tech sector will gather to learn about the latest tech-related developments, build new skills, and network with their peers from across the country and the world.
Are you going? If so, we’ll see you there!
Regardless of whether it’s your first time or you’ve attended since the get-go, a conference like NTC can be overwhelming. Expect a packed house (over 2,000 attendees!), dozens of sessions to choose from, and a non-stop activities schedule.
Without a plan, it’s easy to miss out on something that may be useful to you and your organization.
Have no fear; we’re here to guide you through all things #NTC. Follow these bullets to get the most out of your conference experience.
Make A Plan
Have you ever gone to a conference, gotten your information at the registration table, and then got your first glimpse at the schedule? It’s a lot to take in, right?
Maybe you ended up going to whatever sessions your co-workers picked, or wandering from session to session. At the end of the day, instead of feeling empowered, excited, and focused, you may have just felt “meh.”
Don’t let this happen to you!
To get the most out of your conference experience, plan your schedule ahead of time.
First things first, decide what you want to get out of the conference.
- Do you want to meet other professionals dealing with the same challenges you are?
- Do you want to learn more about specific technical advances?
- Do you want to find a mentor, learn a new skill, or find an answer to a technical problem?
Identify what success looks like for you and build your plan out from there.
Put an end to aimless wandering before it starts by reviewing conference materials ahead of time. The NTC agenda is online, so you can start thinking about what sessions, trainings, and speakers you’d like to attend now.
Another way to be proactive is to introduce yourself on the conference’s online forum, and check out tips from other conference attendees, find someone to split a hotel room with, and connect with presenters.
Even if you’ve already given some thought to which sessions you’d like to attend, do yourself a favor and take another look what’s being offered. Since registration for the conference is full, spots in some sessions may be scarce. Choosing an alternate session can help ease the disappointment of not getting your first choice.
If you are attending with someone else from your organization, take a few minutes and compare your plans. You’ll get more value out of the conference if you don’t attend the same sessions and just regroup post-conference with key takeaways.
A Schedule Snapshot
Aside from the general sessions, meals, and casual networking time slots, you’ll spend the majority of your time at #NTC in breakout sessions.
It’s best to choose breakout sessions that closely align with your role. Thankfully, the conference offers multiple sessions under each category.
Breakout Session categories include:
- Featured: The main session of the breakout
- IT
- Fundraising
- Leadership
- Marketing/Communications
- Program: General industry-specific sessions
- Connect: Perfect times for mixing and mingling
Just because you’re a fundraiser doesn’t mean you must limit your schedule to only fundraising-related sessions. Always take a look at all your options before setting your agenda.
Don’t forget about all the pre-conference events and after-hours receptions. As you can see, there’s a lot going on at #NTC.
Network
A conference is more than attending sessions, of course. It’s also a great opportunity to network.
#NTC is always full of interesting people with experience and information to share. And YOU are a big part of that equation. You are an interesting person with experience and information to share, so make some connections while you’re at the conference.
Networking often happens on the fly at conferences, but you’ll get so much more out of it if you’re deliberate. Just like you plan your session attendance, go ahead and plan your networking. Block out time on your schedule to connect with people and organizations that can help you professionally.
The best thing about networking at conferences is that you already know you have things in common with virtually everyone there. Knowing this makes striking up a conversation with strangers a lot easier.
If you struggle with networking, try out some conversation starters like:
- What new tech have you tried at your organization this year? How did it go?
- What sessions are you most excited about?
- What are the biggest challenges at your organization?
In addition to good old-fashioned chatting, NTC provides a lot of opportunities to meet people with similar interests, including:
- Birds of a Feather lunch tables
- Dine Around: Small gatherings at nearby restaurants every evening
- Self-Organized Community Events, like museum outings, hikes, happy hours, board game nights, a knitting meetup, and more
A Networking Checklist
Before the Conference:
- Introduce yourself on the NTC forum
- Choose which Birds of a Feather lunches you’ll check out
- Sign up for a Dine Around group
- Choose a self-organized community event or two to attend, or propose your own
- Put a great big stack of business cards in your bag
- Write down your conversation starters
- Identify opportunities in your schedule for networking
- Mark the sessions you’re eager to attend, including backup selections
At the Conference:
- Greet people at every session you attend
- Attend a Birds of a Feather lunch
- Attend self-organized events
- Exchange business cards with people you interact with
- Mention people you meet and key session takeaways on social media
After the Conference
- Connect with the people you met via LinkedIn, making sure you send a personalized request.
- Send thank you notes to anyone who provided you with helpful information, speakers whose sessions you really enjoyed, and people who organized any self-organized events you attended.
- Send along helpful information to people you met, as you encounter it.
Capture Value
It’s easy to experience information overload at conferences. The only way to make sure you retain the valuable information that’s thrown at you from all directions is to take notes. Whether you capture your notes with a pen and paper or sync everything digitally through Evernote or another note-taking platform, just make sure you take them.
Your notes will be a lot more useful if you organize them a little. We’ve all experienced that sinking feeling of looking at a page of scribblings, and having no idea what we meant. Avoid this dilemma by taking a quick look over your notes immediately after a session, and filling in the gaps before you forget. If you’re using a note-taking app, tag your notes right away.
In addition to your personal notes, take advantage of the collaborative notes that are available for each #NTC session. Participants can add to a shared Google Doc, so don’t forget to check this out. Each session also has a hashtag for discussion in social media, so you can continue the conversation and connect with other participants online.
Don’t Forget To Eat: Conference Self Care
While you definitely want to get the most out of this fantastic conference, three days of constant activity is a lot. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to get exhausted, crabby, and brain-fried by Friday afternoon. Take care of yourself during #NTC by:
- Drinking water (not just coffee!)
- Getting an adequate amount of sleep each night
- Wearing comfortable shoes
- Building in some downtime
- Eating regularly
Have Fun, Learn Lots!
Have a great time at #NTC! Remember to:
- Identify what success looks like for you
- Make a plan ahead of time
- Use the technical and networking resources #NTC provides
- Take notes in a way that will make sense later
- Take care of yourself
- Have fun!
