Tuesday Buzz: How to Wrap Up Your Event

Event professionals know that a meeting isn’t over just because the attendees are heading for home. There’s a lot of work left to do to make the most of it.

For instance, you may already be sending out thank-you notes and post-event surveys to attendees, but make sure to also send handwritten notes to sponsors and presenters.

“Personalize these notes as much as you can,” writes Callie Walker in a MemberClicks post  (opens in a new tab). “Reference their specific session, their specific sponsorship tier, or even a particular conversation you had with them.”

Prolong the use of your event app by uploading presentations to it. “This depends a little bit on the type of event you had, but if it was educational in nature and featured a variety of breakout sessions, make sure those presentations are available and accessible, at least for a little while (especially if you told attendees they would be),” she says.

And be sure to schedule a thorough debrief with your team to go over logistical and financial details.

Don’t Be Misunderstood

MT @jsheinsius  (opens in a new tab)
What is #overhead  (opens in a new tab) at #nonprofits  (opens in a new tab) and how wrong it is to have only one % as #benchmark  (opens in a new tab) because of the different earning models: https://t.co/HRh6CtlD2c  (opens in a new tab)

— Nonprofit Quarterly (@npquarterly) March 13, 2018  (opens in a new tab)

Lots of people understand the basics of how for-profit companies work, but many are in the dark about nonprofit operations, especially considering the vast diversity of groups in the sector.

In a new Nonprofit Quarterly article  (opens in a new tab), Ruth McCambridge argues that this lack of understanding can be harmful to nonprofits. For example, some critics incorrectly assume that high “overhead” costs mean a nonprofit isn’t directing enough of its donations to programs.

“Nonprofits themselves should become geekier and more communicative about the fascinating world of nonprofit business models, so these misunderstood stepchildren of the larger economy can be seen as the stars and models of great management that they very often are,” writes McCambridge.

Other Links of Note

Interns are a valuable resource. The Capterra Nonprofit Technology Blog reveals how to make the most of them  (opens in a new tab).

There are so many social media tools out there to try. Here are a few recommendations from the Wild Apricot blog  (opens in a new tab).

Are we overthinking SEO? The HubSpot blog suggests that your Google ranking doesn’t matter as much as you may think  (opens in a new tab).

(Kenishirotie/iStock/Getty Images Plus)