Q. We want to hold an LGBT conference on our campus. How should we approach this?

A. Hosting an LGBT conference on your campus can be an incredibly rewarding experience but it is a LOT of work. Conferences which are targeting students do best with students in primary leadership roles but staff in campus LGBT offices/programs can certainly provide a lot of assistance in the planning and execution of a successful conference. This answer is one of our longest so we provide this "index" to the answer to aid those seeking suggestions for specific aspects of an LGBT conference.

Planning committee	Theme	Time line	Publicity
Call for programs	Registration process	Sample schedule	Housing
Logistics	T-shirts	Budget	Fund raising
Sliding scale	Keynote speakers	Entertainment	Evaluation

Planning committee

It is essential to get the core group of organizers together several months in advance of the event. It helps to have people on the committee who have specific tasks for which they are responsible. They can then work with their own smaller committee and report to the larger steering groups during regular meetings.

Some of the areas of responsibility might be: housing, program/workshops, keynote speakers, entertainment, registration, logistics, hospitality, fund raising, and publicity. It is a good idea to have two folks on the planning committee who aren’t responsible for any specific areas so they are free to pick up any pieces that might fall through the cracks. These folks may be considered the leaders of the planning committee, or conference co-chairs.

Some conferences have established email lists (listserv/majordomo) to facilitate their planning. This can be a convenient way to remind folks of meetings, ask for advice between big meetings, post updates that other committees need, etc.

Theme

This may seem like a finite detail, but it really helps to have the theme upon which to build the rest of the event. Pick something that reflects the interests of the planning committee as well as the audience you are shooting for.

Time line

A backward timeline is one that works well for this sort of event. Once you have the date for the conference chosen and the necessary rooms reserved, etc. work backward to decide the following:

When do you want to have the schedule finalized?

When do you want to notify presenters that they are presenting, how much time do you need to review program proposals?

When do you need final registration numbers?

How much time do you want to allow folks to register, when do you want answers on your requests for funding, etc.

This will allow you to have a workable calendar of events to work from. It is helpful to build in a little extra time into each step so that if you need to extend a deadline, everything after that is not too rushed.

Publicity

You can never start too early! Email lists, newspaper ads, press releases, mailings, radio spots, whatever you can think of — use! You can also have your event listed on a variety of web pages including NGLTF, the Consortium, etc. Be sure to register your site with the major search engines. Make sure each publicity "blast" focuses on a different aspect of the Conference (e.g., announcement that the conference will be held, announcement of keynote speakers, call for program proposals, looming pre-registration deadlines, etc.). That way, news organizations look at each release as a new story, rather than as one that is just being recycled.

A brochure about the conference can be developed for mailing and to distribute a meetings, to leave at LGBT-friendly businesses, to distribute a various supportive campus offices.

It is also very helpful to develop your own conference website. Ideally, the site would include an overview of the conference, a schedule of events, information on keynote speakers and any entertainers, a registration form (on-line preferred), housing information, travel information, volunteer recruitment, contact information for additional questions (email preferred). When workshops have been selected, abstracts for each program can be added to the web site. It is also useful to update the web site with the number registered, in order to encourage advance registration (especially if the facilities being used have a cap on the number of registrants that can be accommodated).

Your campus probably has some sort of public affairs office. They should be able to help you with sending out press releases but you may need to do some research for them about local/regional LGBT news outlets (which are unlikely to be on their regular distribution lists). Your campus may even restrict the sending of press releases to this office so make sure you know your campus protocol in advance.

Call for programs

The workshops are one of the most important parts of the entire event. These small group events allow folks to network with one another, develop presentation skills, share ideas, and learn from one another. Use a "backward timeline to make sure participants have enough time to get their proposals in to you and you have enough time to respond to their requests. Request a brief abstract that you can include in your program booklet to guide conference registrations in selecting programs/workshops. If you are going to have several reviewers, request people mailing in programs send multiple copies to reduce your copy expenses and work load.

Consider having this as an aspect of a conference web site. Participants can electronically submit their proposals. These can be sent to an email list (e.g., listserv or majordomo) of all program reviewers to ease distribution hassles of printed proposals. This can be an efficient way to quickly identify problems with a proposal and to invite the submitter to make some modifications.

Sometimes, people will submit very similar program proposals. You might consider inviting these folks to pool their resources and present a joint program rather than offer only one of them.

Make sure each program reviewer is using similar standards in selecting programs for inclusion in the conference. Consider if there are particular topics you want covered. If these are not emerging on their own, contact people and invite them to submit programs on these topics (these might be issues for people of color, HIV issues, lesbian health, advising LGBT student groups, fund raising, etc.). You may need to undertake some efforts to find the experts on these topics and convince them to present at your conference. Don't assume that one press release will be effective across class/race lines. Direct contact may be the only way that works.

Registration process

If at all possible, allow folks to register for the conference via the conference web page as well as through traditional mail in registration forms. Ideally, credit cards can be used to facilitate registration and to avoid the problem of bounced checks (there is a 3% surcharge for a credit card usage so this needs to be built into your budget). If you take credit card numbers via your web site, make sure that you can create a "secure site" -- consult your computer center. If not, alert people that this form of submission is not secure. Try to create an on-line form that people can print and fax you if they prefer.

Make sure to develop good instructions on payment processes and time lines. Also establish a process for folks to check in once they arrive at the conference site. You’ll want to have their name badge and other conference materials available for them when they arrive. Many conferences have found it helpful to provide plastic or cotton bags for registrants which can hold their program booklet, maps, updates, and any give-a-ways that you have collected for your participants (see t-shirts below). You can sell ad space on the side of the bag or get a business or organization to sponsor the bag.

Sample conference schedule:

The following is the schedule from the 1999 Northwest Regional Queer Conference

    Friday, April 23

    Saturday, April 24

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Morning keynote with Donna Red Wing

10:45 a.m. - Noon Workshop 1

Noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch break

1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Workshop 2

2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Workshop 3

3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Afternoon break

4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Workshop 4

5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Dinner break and networking

8:00 p.m. - Midnight Dance celebration

    Sunday, April 25

10:00 a.m. - Noon Closing brunch with keynote by Kevin Jennings

Housing

Attendees may want a variety of housing options. You can work with local hotels/motels to offer conference rates. There may be on-campus housing available in residence halls either through conference housing or lounge spaces. The cheapest option is to provide "community housing" where participants can stay with folks who live in town, on campus, etc.

Logistics

Details, details! These include things like room reservations, walkie talkie rentals (very helpful); maps of the campus and of the building(s) being used; catering; signage; technical needs for workshops (e.g., overhead projectors, video monitors, laptop projector; requesting tables for registration, hospitality; technical requirements for any entertainers; etc. Logistics also needs to determine the capacity of the conference, that is, the maximum number of people that can be registered. This may be dictated by fire codes for the room in which the keynote speaker is presenting.

One of the committees needs to create a program booklet for your registrants. This should have a welcome letter, perhaps greetings from the president or chancellor of your campus, the conference schedule, and descriptions of each program. This is also a handy place to have announcements about other facets of your conference (e.g., food service information, shuttle buses, public transit, emergency contact information, building maps). As noted below, your program booklet can also include ads (as an additional revenue source for the conference).

Do you expect most registrants to drive to the conference? If so, be sure to notify your campus parking office. They need to know that there will be extra vehicles in the lots so that they can adequately staff their parking lot booths (if there is a charge for parking). If all lots require a permit, ask if there are provisions for getting permits for conference attendees and try to mail them in advance (ask on the registration form if they plan to drive to the conference) or have them at the registration tables. Perhaps your parking office would support the conference by providing a reduced fee for conference attendees if there is a fee for parking.

If you anticipate registrants will be traveling to your campus by plane or bus, can you make arrangements to shuttle them from their hotel/motel to the conference site? This can be via a van or private cars or, if the budget allows, a bus.

Travel and hotel arrangements for the keynote speaker(s) and entertainer(s) also need to be arranged well in advance to ensure availability of flights and rooms. Someone may also need to pick up these folks at airports and transport them to/from the campus and their hotel.

Security may be an issue. Be sure to notify your campus police force (or campus security office) about this event so that they can be prepared. It might be useful to meet with them so that they can be better prepared if you are planning a very large conference.

Make sure to notify your campus telephone operators so they know where to direct calls about the conference that reach their switchboard. If there is a campus information office, make sure that they have all the information available about the conference. Invite the campus newspapers to cover the event -- both with advance stories as well as reporting on the conference itself.

T-shirts

You could include t-shirt costs into the cost of registration, or allow folks to purchase them separately. Because not everyone will want a t-shirt, the latter option may be the most sensitive in terms of keeping costs down. An order for fewer shirts may, however, increase the cost per shirt. If you over-order the quantity of shirts you plan to sell, you may lose money on this aspect of the conference.

Sometimes gay/lesbian owned businesses will give you a price break on the t-shirts in exchange for a free ad in your program booklet and a thank you from the stage. Keep in mind, the more complex and multi-colored your design, the more expensive the t-shirt printing will become.

Budget

The following is a sample budget from the 1999 Northwest Regional Queer Conference. It is merely a sample for you to build your own:

Expenses
	Facilities		$5,300
	Catering
		Friday evening snacks	$400
		Saturday morning continental breakfast	$600
		Saturday afternoon break	$400
		Saturday night dance	$550
		Sunday morning brunch	$1,200
	Speaker's fees
		Honorarium for 4 speakers	$3250
		Travel for 4 speakers	$1750
		Hotel for 4 speakers	$440
		Meals for 4 speakers	$300
	Entertainment
		DJ	$150
		Wymprov	$600
		Rec Center	$140
	Printing
		Posters	$455
		Participant packets	$550
		Evals, etc	$40
	Misc.
		Decorations	$100
		Name tags	$100
		Banner	$300
		Walkie Talkie rentals	$250
		Bookstore vendor fee	$50
		T-Shirts	$875
		State car	$50
	TOTAL		$17,850
Income
	Registration		$7328
	Student Senate		$3,968
	LGBTA		$3,154
	Equity Foundation		$1,000
	Gay Health Network		$500
	Multicultural Center		$500
	Cultural Forum		$300
	P.A.R.T.Y. Fund		$250
	Associated Students of the UO		$100
	Basic Rights Oregon		$100
	Gill Foundation		$100
	CSWS		$100
	Counseling Center		$50
	Law School		$50
	Women's Center		$50
	PFLAG		$50
	Res. Life		$50
	Office of Multicultural Affairs		$50
	Romance Languages		$50
	History Department		$50
	Women's Studies		$50
	TOTAL		$17,850

Fund raising

In order to keep the cost of the conference as low as possible, try and offset the cost of registration with fund raising. Look around your campus for potential co-sponsors (the president or chancello'rs office, women’s centers, multicultural centers, humanities centers, counseling centers, academic departments, other student organizations, student government, administrative offices, etc.). There are also national and regional foundations which offer grant opportunities for events such as this. Check with the grant writing office on your campus for more info on how to write grants, etc.

You can also do an advertising component to your program booklet. Local LGBT-owned and -friendly businesses and organizations can be solicited to purchase ad space as a way to support the conference. It is suggested that you require advance payment for these ads, as collecting post-event can be quite difficult. It is also useful to only accept camera ready ads unless you have a graphic designer on your conference committee who can create ads (and be sure to charge a fee for creating ads). Make sure not to set your rates too low. With the age of the Internet, consider seeking ads from businesses which advertise or do business on the World Wide Web as well.

Sliding scale

If possible, build a sliding scale into your registration fee. This will be a way to make sure that you are being as inclusive as possible by allowing low income folks the opportunity to attend the event.

You can also give discounts for early registration. This will give you some cash flow to help with expenses for brochures, deposits, etc. It also helps to spread the registration flow over a greater period of time.

Keynote speakers

Consider the cost/payoff ratio to having big name speakers at your event. It may help to draw folks in if they see some names they recognize, but it could also substantially add to the cost of the conference. Local authors, entertainers, politicians, etc. offer a good way to cut down on costs while having some "experts" on hand. Keep in mind that fees are negotiable for most speakers. Don't assume that the first figure suggested offered is what you will have to pay.

Often if you can contact a speaker directly, you may be able to avoid the fees that their agent would charge you. Consult people in the campus activities office on your campus for advice on booking speakers and for specific contract requirements/limitations that may be in effect for your campus.

Entertainment

Entertainment at the conference can be a critical aspect of any student conference's success. You should assume that many students will be under 21 and so will legally not be able to visit any local gay/lesbian bars in your area (if there are such bars). A singer, a comic, a theatrical presentation, films, and dances are all options. Again, get advice from people in the campus activities office on your campus about booking performers. Fees are often negotiable. Tell your entertainers to consider this as a showcase where they can be checked out by students from dozens of campuses (if your conference is targeting dozens of campuses) who may want to bring that act back to their own campus. This can sometimes convince performers that this amount of visibility makes it worthwhile to lower their fee. Make efforts to find out about technical limitations of performance space you have reserved. If you anticipate trying to bring a more theatrical group, do you have a performance space that provide adequate seating, given the size of your expected registration? It is likely that not all registrants will come to evening entertainment events if you are in a large urban area. But, if you are in a more rural area with few other options, it is very likely that the vast majority of registrants will be looking to you to help fill their evening. Offering multiple options can be helpful in meeting a variety of needs/interests (e.g., concurrent video presentations with a performer). You might also see if your campus art gallery might consider booking a LGBT exhibit in tandem with the conference (e.g., the Love Makes A Family photo-text exhibit) and have extended hours to accommodate conference attendees.

If you host a dance, consider any security needs that may be involved to limit "crashers" from attending the event or from harassing your registrants.

Evaluation:

It can be very helpful and rewarding to have participants complete a conference evaluation form. This can be detailed or can be a simple one page form. This may guide you to avoid problems should you undertake another conference and it can be a chance to participants to express their thanks if they thought the event was well done. The latter can be a real boost to tired conference volunteers.

This answer was written by Stephanie Carnahan, former Director of the Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Educational and Support Services Program, University of Oregon. Supplemental information was added by David Barnett, former Director of the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Planning committee	Theme	Time line	Publicity
Call for programs	Registration process	Sample schedule	Housing
Logistics	T-shirts	Budget	Fund raising
Sliding scale	Keynote speakers	Entertainment	Evaluation

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