--- title: "Wednesday Buzz: Plan an Impressive Meeting on a Tight Budget" id: "36819" type: "post" slug: "wednesday-buzz-plan-an-impressive-meeting-on-a-tight-budget" published_at: "2017-02-01T22:20:53+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T18:33:20+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/02/01/wednesday-buzz-plan-an-impressive-meeting-on-a-tight-budget/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/02/01/wednesday-buzz-plan-an-impressive-meeting-on-a-tight-budget.md" excerpt: "Learn creative ways to maximize your meeting budget. Also: Transform your association into a learning organization." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Budgets" - "event planning" - "event venues" - "Meetings" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Wednesday Buzz: Plan an Impressive Meeting on a Tight Budget Have you ever had a tight budget for an important meeting? Even though you may only have a beer budget, you’ve set champagne expectations for your attendees. The [Planning Pod blog delivers (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.planningpod.com/2017/01/17/10-innovative-ways-to-squeeze-more-from-your-event-budget/) [10 (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.planningpod.com/2017/01/17/10-innovative-ways-to-squeeze-more-from-your-event-budget/) [creative tips (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.planningpod.com/2017/01/17/10-innovative-ways-to-squeeze-more-from-your-event-budget/) that will help you to make the most of every dollar. Create a unique theme name to get people attracted to your event. “The best place to start here is to survey your target audience for the timely topics that interest or even frighten them (negative headlines actually pull better than positive ones),” says Planning Pod co-founder Jeff Kear. “Know their style and how they like to be entertained. And then serve it up with a title that will compel them to learn more.” Kear also recommends ditching the expensive hotels and conference venues, and encourages event planners to try out nontraditional venues. “Museums, theaters, municipal buildings, libraries, zoos, parks, mansions/estates, historical buildings, gardens, and ships all fit this category, as do some restaurants and bars,” he writes. In addition, Kear suggests developing alternate sources of revenue outside of tickets and donations. Create a sellable product—something like the concert T-shirt—that provides entertainment or particular value to your attendees. ### Future-Proof > How can your [#Association (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Association?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > become a Learning Organization to protect its future success? [https://t.co/Zq47TbRxpj (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/Zq47TbRxpj) > [#assnprofs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnprofs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#nptech (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/nptech?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — TopClass LMS (@TopClassLMS) [February 1, 2017 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/TopClassLMS/status/826801904566939648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) For an association to thrive into the future, constant learning has to be a central part of its process. According to WBT Systems, a learning organization “is more responsive to external pressures, has a faster pace of change within the organization, and is better able to innovate and remain competitive.” Is your association consistently adapting and changing strategies? WBT Systems points to these four key actions to help transform your organization: - create continuous learning opportunities - encourage collaboration and team learning - establish systems to capture and share learning - provide strategic leadership for learning Check out their article for [more in-depth advice (opens in a new tab)](https://www.wbtsystems.com/is-your-association-learning-organization/) . ### Other links of note **Improve your emails:** Wild Apricot tells us why our [emails are being ignored (opens in a new tab)](http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2017/01/30/five-reasons-your-sponsorship-prospects-ignore-your-emails) —and how to fix it. **Office chatter:** *CMS Wire* reveals how to [evaluate the right communication tool (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/pick-workplace-communication-tools-that-make-employees-lives-easier/) for your team. **Work-life balance:** *Harvard Business Review* takes a deep dive into how [organizations can help out working parents (opens in a new tab)](https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-best-ways-your-organization-can-support-working-parents) . (stevepb/Pixabay) [Raegan Johnson](https://associationsnow.com/author/raegan-johnson/) Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/raegan-johnson/) Tags: [#Budgets](https://associationsnow.com/tag/budgets/) [#event planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-planning/) [#event venues](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-venues/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [ArticleAtlanta: The Premier Convention Destination for Accessible, Connected, and Culturally Rich EventsSeptember 5, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/09/05/atlanta-the-premier-convention-destination-for-accessible-connected-and-culturally-rich-events/) - [ArticleA City on the RiseSeptember 19, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/09/19/a-city-on-the-rise/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) - [VideoMelvin Tennant, CAE, President & CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Welcomes You to Great Ideas 2026September 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/02/melvin-tennant-cae-president-ceo-of-meet-minneapolis-welcomes-you-to-great-ideas-2026/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F02%2F01%2Fwednesday-buzz-plan-an-impressive-meeting-on-a-tight-budget%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !