your virtual seat awaits

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Your Virtual Seat Awaits:Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening

By Kari Dunn Saratovsky October 6, 2011



2 Your Virtual Seat Awaits: Key Takeaways from Planning and Executing a Virtual Convening

About the Millennial Donor Summit& Convening Partners 3

Introduction 4

Visualizing the Virtual Venue 6

Online vs. Offline: Preparing for the Big Day 8

The Date is Set, but Who’sGonna Show Up? 10

Keep It Social 11

Preparing Your Speakers: Test…

Test…Can You Hear Me? 13

Preparing Your Participants:Hello… Is Anyone There? 14

The Cost: Perception and Reality 15

Final Takeaway: Making a VirtualConference Pop 16

Table of Contents

From top: Stephanie Vidikan participates in the virtualconference; the “auditorium” of the Millennial Donor Summit; Barbara Bush presents on the Global HealthCorps; Jean Case interviews with Raymund Flandez




ABOUT THE MILLENNIAL DONORSUMMIT

On June 22, 2011, the Case Foundation, Achieve and

Johnson Grossnickle and Associates (JGA) convened aday-long virtual summit highlighting the latest trends in

giving and engagement by the Millennial Generation.

The Summit was an opportunity to bring together CEOs

and executives across sectors for a cross-generational

dialogue about how organizations can work better with

the next generation of volunteers and donors.

The virtual convening was an effort to broaden the

dialogue around Achieve and JGA’s second annual

Millennial Donor Survey (www.millennialdonors.com), a

nationwide study focused on the engagement and giving

habits as well as preferences of Millennials. Through the

unique format, participants were able to attend anywhere

they had online access and watch presentations live or

come back later to catch ones they may have missed.

By the end of the one-day convening, more than 1,000

people representing 100 organizations across the

country had participated in the Summit.

The following report explores some of the biggest

takeaways and lessons learned from running a virtual

summit from the perspective of the organizers. It is

meant to be a resource and learning tool for those who

may be interested in experimenting with new

approaches to traditional conferences.

CONVENING PARTNERS

The Case Foundation, created by

Steve and Jean Case in 1997, invests

in people and ideas that can changethe world, with the ultimate goal of

making giving back a part of everyday life. We create

and support initiatives that that leverage new

technologies and entrepreneurial approaches to drive

innovation in the social sector and encourage individuals

to get involved with the communities and causes they

care about. www.casefoundation.org

Achieve is a consulting firm thatprovides expert guidance and delivers

strategies to strengthen donor

relationships and increase fundraising performance.

Achieve works with nonprofit organizations on millennial

engagement, donor acquisition campaigns and multi-

channel fundraising programs.

www.achieveguidance.com

Johnson, Grossnickle and

Associates (JGA) has been

providing authentic, strategic philanthropic consulting

services to non-profit clients since 1994. JGA’s team of

senior consultants offers client-focused, highly

customized philanthropic consulting services to private

colleges, independent schools and large cultural and

community organizations. JGA specializes in capital

campaign counsel, feasibility studies, philanthropicassessments and development audits.

www.jgacounsel.com

About the Millennial Donor Summit & Convening Partners

http://www.jgacounsel.com/

http://www.jgacounsel.com/

http://www.achieveguidance.com/

http://www.achieveguidance.com/

http://www.casefoundation.org/

http://www.casefoundation.org/

http://millennialdonors.com/




INTRODUCTION

On the morning of June 22, 2011, laptops and desktops

across the country booted up as hundreds of people

began to fill the virtual halls of the 2011 Millennial Donor

Summit (MDS11). The Summit, a collaborative effort

between Achieve, Johnson Grossnickle and Associates

(JGA) and the Case Foundation, brought together more

than 1,000 participants representing 100 organizations.

From academic institutions to small community-based

organizations and corporate entities to nonprofits, the

Summit was created in an effort to spotlight the unique

characteristics of the rising generation and to help

nonprofit executives better understand how to attract

and engage Millennials in their work.

MDS11 was the first attempt at a completely virtual

convening for the conference organizers. While we had

all tried our hand at a variety of online and live streamed

events, from tutorials like the Case Foundation’s Gear

Up for Giving and CaseSoup episodes, or webinars like

Achieve’s Access, we knew this would be a different kind

of experiment, and one that was on a much different

scale and level of complexity. The word “experiment”

became our mantra—and as we progressed throughout

the day we quickly realized that the participants

generally felt they were in on this little experiment with

us, which helped refine our techniques.

Perhaps it's important to note that online conferences

are not an entirely new way of convening and have been

attempted in different formats with varying degrees of

success for many years now. The American Cancer

Society hosted a “virtual gala” using the platform Second

Life, and last year, the American Red Cross

experimented by simultaneously convening people in-

person and around the country to focus on social media

and its impact on disaster preparedness. Today, there

are a handful of conference providers that have entered

the online market space and the technology is advancing

in ways that make it possible to incorporate nearly all of

the facets of an in-person convening into a virtual

setting.

While some will argue that an online convening could

never replace the value of the relationships built, and the

networking opportunities that stem from being in the

same physical location at the same time—there is a

strong argument to be made for keeping costs and trave

expenses at a minimum and involving individuals from a

wide spectrum of backgrounds and industries who may

not be able to otherwise participate.

Introduction

Virtual “lobby” at MDS11




The Millennial Donor Survey was the perfect topic on

which to experiment in this type of virtual setting. For the

past three and a half years through the Case

Foundation’s Social Citizens initiative, and through

Achieve and JGA’s Millennial Donor Survey, much has

been written about the rising generation and the many

ways they are changing our institutions. We knew a

virtual convening was very much in line with how

Millennials are comfortable connecting, and that often

the Millennial voice and presence is left out of more

traditional in-person conferences, since older, more

senior staff have the budget to attend gatherings and are

usually the ones shaping the content. The Summit

allowed us to bridge that gap and create a dialogue that

was inclusive of different perspectives in terms of age,

demographics, geographic location and other important

factors.

“We knew a virtual convening was very much inline with how Millennials are

comfortable connecting, andthat often the Millennial voice and presence is left out of more traditional in-

person conferences.”

Introduction

Virtual“auditorium”atMDS11




VISUALIZING THE VIRTUAL VENUE

If you have never participated in a virtual convening, it

may be difficult to envision what you’re getting yourself

into. Technology has advanced in a way that allows for nearly all of the components of an in-person gathering to

take place online. We’ve included some screenshots in

this report to help you visualize the experience of a

virtual convening, but here are the main elements that

made up MDS11:

Plenary Sessions & Breakouts: Plenaries

were scheduled so they were the only event

happening during that time period. Plenaries

allowed a speaker to present on a topic and then

invited Q&A from the full audience. Breakout

sessions were conducted in a similar format, but

several smaller sessions were taking place

simultaneously and participants could choose to

stay in one for the full 45 minutes or hop around

to different sessions. Recordings of all the

plenaries and breakouts were made available to

registrants for one year following the Summit.

Exhibit Hall: All participants had an opportunity

to connect with vendors and organizations in a

virtual exhibit hall. The booths look just like

booths you might see in an in-person exhibit hall

and featured branding and customized

structures. Once “in” the hall, attendees could

ask questions, video chat one-on-one or simply

browse around and pick up virtual swag like

codes for discounts or brochures and

information.

Lounges: Virtual lounges were set up near the

exhibit hall area and coordinated by different

sponsors or organizations. During a pre-

determined time, conversations on various

topics took place in the lounge area and were

open to all participants.

Virtual Briefcase: Registrants were also given

a virtual briefcase to download session

materials, PowerPoint presentations and

contacts they could reference after the event.

Visualizing the Virtual Venue




Sample Agenda

MDS11 Agenda

8-9 EST Check-In and Expo Hall

12:30-1 EST Break - Expo Hall: Lounge Discussions -Chronicle of Philanthropy, NTEN, AFP, CaseFoundation

9-9:30 EST Making the Most of MDS11 Angela White, JGA and Derrick Feldmann,Achieve

1-2 EST Breakout Session: Engaging Beyond theDonation Microvolunteering Revolution: Jacob Colker,Sparked Innovating Social Change: Erica Williams, Societyby Design A New Generation of Philanthropists: DanielKaufman, One Percent Foundation

9:30-10 EST Opening Plenary: Building a Movement Heidi Adams and Phil Hills, LIVESTRONG

2-3 EST Plenary Panel Discussion: The GenerationalDivide Wendy Harman and Suzy DeFrancis, AmericanRed Cross David Smith and Michael Weiser, NationalConference on Citizenship Moderated by Kari Saratovsky, CaseFoundation

10-11 EST Breakout Session: Exploring the LatestMillennial Research Millennial Habits: Stephanie Padgett, Mojo Ad Millennials and Brands: Matt Britton, Mr. Youth Millennial Donors: Angela White, JGA

3:00-3:30 EST Break - Expo Hall: Lounge Discussions -Chronicle of Philanthropy, NTEN, AFP, CaseFoundation

11-11:30 EST Break - Expo Hall: Lounge Discussions -Chronicle of Philanthropy, NTEN, AFP, CaseFoundation

3:30-4:00 EST Closing Remarks: The Importance of the NextGeneration Jean Case, Case Foundation

11:30-12:30 EST Breakout Session: Leveraging Technology Millennials As Trust Agents: Julien Smith, Author and Speaker Getting Connected with Social Media: Geoff Livingston, Zoetica Successfully Going Mobile: Tonia Zampieri, SmartOnline

Activating Millennials to Do Something: GeorgeWeiner, Do Something

4:00-4:30 EST Closing Speaker: Defining a New Generation of Leadership Barbara P. Bush, Global Health Corps

Visualizing the Virtual Venue




ONLINE vs. OFFLINE: PREPARING

FOR THE BIG DAY

Anyone who has coordinated a conference or a large in-

person gathering has a general idea of what to expectand how to prepare. Inevitably there will be a few name

tags out of order, a carnivore will get stuck with a veggie

sandwich and someone's boss will have to fill time on

stage as the audience awaits a speaker racing across

town in traffic to make his keynote. These are all

nuisances, but they are also things we have come to

expect as inevitable, no matter how much attention we

give to detail throughout the planning process. What’s

more, since these things are happening in real time and

right before our eyes, there are creative ways to

troubleshoot. We found that despite the months of

planning that go into the day for a virtual conference,

there are actually more things that can end up beyond

your control than within it. And those things are of course

largely, but not completely, related to technology.

One thing to keep in mind during preparation is that

everyone has a role to play. A virtual summit is just as

much a cross-team project as an in-person conference.

We involved everyone from our marketing and

communications shops to our IT Departments to make

the day a success; we could not have pulled it off without

them. A common misperception is that hosting an online

virtual conference will be easier or less complicated than

an in-person conference; however, that is not

necessarily the case.

Here are the best ways you can help prepare your staff

for game day:

1. Identify one decision maker: While many staff

members will contribute to the development of

programming and overall conference logistics, on the

day of the event and in the preceding weeks, it is

important to have one designated person appointed as

the “decision maker.” Things will be moving fast,

schedules will likely have to shift and technology will not

always be on your side—so, it’s important that one

person be able to make last minute calls that could

impact the overall flow of the day.

2. Set up a central hub of activity: The hub will

become an in-person war room of sorts. It’s where all the

activity on the backend takes place and it’s important to

find a location with enough bandwidth and plenty of

space to support three different stations of activity.

Above: The Social Citizens Summit webpage

Online vs. Offline: Preparing for the Big Day




• Station 1: Set up for technology

troubleshooting with participants—this becomes

a virtual help-line so participants can call or

email with specific questions and conference

staff can either help troubleshoot or pass them

on to the conference provider for additionalsupport.

• Station 2: Direct interface with conference

provider. It was important to have a constant

line of communication with the conference

provider to ensure transitions between sessions

and events went smoothly and tweaks could be

made throughout the day.

• Station 3: Direct interface with each of the

panelists—ensuring they are prepped, ready to

go live with presentations uploaded correctly,etc. This was also the station that monitored a

live-feed of the event so we could troubleshoot

connection delays and ensure that we always

knew what the participants were seeing (or not

seeing)!

3. Appoint chat room monitors. Each session should

have at least one monitor who can help participants

troubleshoot in real time and can also serve as a

moderator for questions and comments at the

appropriate time in each session. We found that having

one designated staff person in each room helped

contribute to the flow of conversation and facilitate

greater audience engagement. Chat room monitors

should be individuals who are familiar with the subject

matter and can help generate questions and

conversations if there seems to be a delay in

participation.

4. Don’t forget to delegate. As with any conference

there are many different roles that must be filled. One of

the biggest misperceptions is that there are fewer roles

in a virtual conference than an in-person one, or that one

person can do it all. The online summit platform

EricaWilliamsofCitizenEngagementLabspeaksatthe

Summit

presents a number of responsibilities that must be filled:

panelist and speaker coordinators, technical support,

booth contacts, lounge contacts and chat room monitors

to name just a few.

Online vs. Offline: Preparing for the Big Day




THE DATE IS SET, BUT WHO’S

GONNA SHOW UP?

Once you have selected a date and a topic conducive to

a virtual convening, it's time to spread the word. Giventhat participants will not be concerned with booking

travel in advance to cut costs, we found they are also not

so interested in registering for the conference far in

advance. In an effort to quickly get some early

excitement and begin building an audience, we deployed

a few different tactics to build participation.

1. Create a “Blogging Team”: Identify a core group of

influential bloggers interested in the topic and have wide

readership. We invited several prominent bloggers

(Katya Andresen, Beth Kanter, Kivi Miller, Amy Sample

Ward and Nathan Hand) in our space to form a special

“MDS11 blogging team,” and offered each of them free

registrations to give to their readers through social media

contests during the weeks leading up to the Summit. We

also were able to utilize the SocialCitizens.org platform

and the MillennialDonors.com site as central repositories

for guest blog posts on related subjects, resource lists,

Twitter feeds, exclusive video interviews and more.

2. Identify anchor partners and provide discounts to

their networks. In exchange for spreading the word, we

offered our partners discount codes for their members if

they registered by a certain date. In our case, we

partnered with relevant groups we thought would have

interested constituents such as Emerging Practitioners in

Philanthropy (EPIP), the HandsOn Network and the

Council on Foundations (COF) to promote the

conference. This technique not only offered a special

benefit to our partners, but also provided much needed

awareness and publicity for the event to new markets.

We ended up keeping those discounts available until the

day of the Summit to further encourage our partners’

continued promotion.

3. Partner with a media outlet and find creative ways

to leverage their audience and reach. We were able to

secure a partnership with The Chronicle of Philanthropy ,

which highlighted the conference in its publication

leading up to the Summit. In addition, MDS11 organizers

worked with them to host an online chat the week before

with two of our featured speakers. Employing this tactic

was another way to build interest in the conversation and

create “buzz” among our target audience on and offline.

Lastly, we created a targeted media list and promoted

the Summit to more than one hundred media outlets in

the hope they would either cover the Summit itself,

and/or promote the Summit to their own readers.

The Date is Set, but Who’s Gonna Show Up?

http://millennialdonors.com/

http://www.socialcitizens.org/




KEEP IT SOCIAL

As with any conference these days, the key is to

encourage broad participation outside the conference

walls. You know you’ve been successful when people

who aren’t at the conference feel like they are missing

out as their Twitter and Facebook streams fill up with

highlights. The difference with an online conference is

that if you can build enough buzz in the first few

sessions, people still have an opportunity to register and

join for the rest of the day. We saw several instances of

this as “on the spot” registrations started to pick up

because of social media activity.

Throughout the day and in the days following the

Summit, more than 2,000 tweets were recorded using

the official conference hashtag, #MDS11. In fact, the

Twitter presence was so powerful that a subgroup of

participants created a weekly #millennialchat to follow up

on topics of interest from the Summit and turn it into an

ongoing conversation.

Here are some suggestions to help you keep it social:

1. Designate social media correspondents. Social

media correspondents were tasked with keeping the

communications happening in real time during the

conference. They highlighted interesting quotes from

speakers and participants and helped provide additional

context for people who may not be at the conference.

This ended up being a great role for our interns, as they

were able to identify interesting moments throughout the

day and help keep the conversations going on both

Facebook and Twitter.

Keep it Social

Top Tips for Live

Tweeting or Blogging

an Event

1. Create and use a Twitter list of

other participants and

speakers.

2. Use the event hashtag as much

as possible.

3. Bloggers: keep it short,relevant, and engaging – post

videos, embed reports, etc.

4. Paraphrasing and abbreviating

are allowed.

5. Provide context with links to

relevant partners, speakers,

blogs.

6. Push out the live stream link

multiple times.

7. Do not tweet every single

spoken word or action. Go

for impact.

Keep it Social




2. Create, publicize and use an

official hashtag and Twitter

handle. We found that Twitter

was one of the most powerful

tools to bring the conversation to

the public and beyond those who

were watching the Summit live.

In fact, in some cases we

received “on the spot”

registrations from people who

wanted to join the Summit based

on the great Twitter traffic they

were seeing.

3. Blog, Blog and Blog some

more. We’d suggest finding

bloggers who have an active

presence in the space you are

highlighting and can rally their

readers to get engaged in the

conversation in the months and

weeks leading up to and

following the conference. A few

of our designated bloggers also

provided live reports from

sessions on their blogs as a way

to take the conversation beyond

the conference participants.

Keep it Social

“Twitter was one of the most powerful tools to bring theconversation to the public and beyond those who were

watching the Summit live.”




PREPARING YOUR SPEAKERS:

TEST… TEST… CAN YOU HEAR ME?

The success of a virtual summit is directly linked to a

speaker’s ability to keep an unseen audience attentiveand actively engaged throughout the session. You

should always try to schedule speakers well in advance

and make sure they will be in a location conducive to

presenting to a virtual audience on the day of the

summit. Speakers may be quick to say yes to a virtual

conference, thinking they can participate from whatever

city or hotel they happen to be in on that day—but

beware, the variables that this arrangement can produce

such as sound, lighting and connectivity can (and will)

backfire.

With that in mind, here are some tips for preparing your

speakers:

1. Ensure your speakers are comfortable

communicating without a live audience. It’s important

that speakers are able to keep the energy level high

throughout the entire presentation, and doing so without

an audience to react to can be a difficult feat. Just

because a speaker has a dynamic presence in person, it

may not come across that way if they're used to feeding

off a live audience.

2. Schedule time for an A/V check: Each speaker

should do several run-throughs and at least one full A/V

check one week prior to the event to make sure they can

log in, upload their presentations, test their mics and

video, and familiarize themselves with the chat functions

and any other tools they may need to access on the day

of the summit. This could also be a good time to come

up with a “Plan B” scenario in case they encounter

technical issues that they cannot address on the day of

the event.

3. Keep presentations to 15 minutes and then open

the session for Q&A for another 15 minutes. We

made the mistake of scheduling sessions for far too long

and ended up adjusting halfway through the day. A 30-

minute session is about all that an online audience can

tune into, not to mention that speaking to a camera or

computer with no audience feedback for more than 15 to

20 minutes is difficult to do for even the most seasoned

speaker. Beyond 15 to 20 minutes you begin losing

people to their email or other online distractions.

Top Tips for

Speakers

1. Tell anecdotes - stories help

the content come to life.

2. Keep your energy level up, be

animated. Don’t speak in the same

volume you might on the phone.

3. But, be careful to take it slow

and pause for emphasis.

4. Plan for segments to engage

audience – solicit questions and

comments about content.

5. Practice, practice, practice – try

recording yourself and playing it

back so you can adapt for your big

debut.

Preparing Your Speaker: Test… Test…Can You Hear Me?




PREPARING YOUR PARTICIPANTS:

HELLO… IS ANYONE THERE?

For the majority of the more than 1,000 Summit

participants, this was the first entirely virtual conferencethey had attended. With that in mind, it was important to

have staff on hand the day of the conference to

troubleshoot and ensure a good overall experience to

help keep participants engaged and happy during the

day.

1. Schedule a participant A/V check: Since this is the

first time many conference participants will be engaging

in this format, it’s important to schedule a session one

week before the conference begins so that participants

can log on to the conference system and ensure they

don’t have any issues with firewalls or other limitations

that prevent them from hearing or seeing presentations.

We ended up doing a half hour session as an intro to the

day—which was really an opportunity to troubleshoot for

those having difficulty accessing the event.

2. Email reminders: Send all registered participants

reminders the day before and/or the day of the

conference so they have the conference information

(including their login and password) easily accessible.

3. Incentivize participation: The ease of participating in

an online summit (from the comfort of your office or

home) can also be a curse. The curse comes in the form

of distractions and the inevitable multi-tasking that we

are all prone to do. Keeping the attention of audience

members in a virtual setting is even more difficult than in

person. While it is easier than ever to join a session, it is

just as easy to leave when the phone rings or a new

email comes through. Given this, organizers must findopportunities for audience participation when designing

sessions and panels. Think creatively about giving door

prizes during the Q&A or asking questions that

encourage participants to weigh in and recognize them

for their efforts.

Top Tips for

Participants

1. Login at least 15 minutes early

to troubleshoot any technology or

firewall issues.

2. Eliminate Distractions – turn off

email, phone, and other

temptations.

3. Be an active participant – follow

the conference Twitter feed or

chat with other conference goers.

4. Take some time to stretch and

move around in between sessions.

5. Keep a snack and some water

handy so you don’t miss out on

anything.

Preparing Your Participants: Hello… Is Anyone There?




THE COST: PERCEPTION AND

REALITY

While the perception is that a virtual conference costs

very little to host, the reality is that well-planned andwell-produced virtual conferences can vary in cost

depending on a few key factors: the technology

providers, the pre or post-production cost of videos,

streaming costs and the use of a conference

planner/event producer. Depending on your needs, this

could total anywhere from $18,000 to $32,500. When it

comes to the attendees, travel and lodging savings are

huge, not to mention the lost productivity that may occur

during travel.

Our price point was $75 for an individual participant and

$350 for an organization (up to five logins). While the

price point seemed reasonable, one challenge came

with individuals registering and then giving their

passwords to others. We would suggest working with the

provider to ensure that individuals can only log in one

time, trackable by an IP Address.

Did You Know?

• Conference space rental in

Washington, DC, for 1,000people can cost around $40,000

• Add on A/V rental for another

$15K

• 1,000 blank name tags for

$1,045

• A typical conference luncheon

can cost $40-50 per person

(before taxes)

You do the math.

The Cost: Perception and Reality

AbehindthesceneslookatMDS11




FINAL TAKEAWAYS: MAKING A

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE POPReflecting back on the Millennial Donor Summit, one

thing is certain, underneath all the fancy new technology,attendees must find value in their participation. Sessions

can be packed with great content, but attending all of the

sessions back-to-back, while sitting in one place all day,

can also result in information overload. Here are some of

our biggest takeaways for ensuring a virtual convening

“pops” with your audience.

1. Solid planning and execution: Virtual conferences

need good planning and execution. It takes time and

effort to get this right, and without appropriate planning

on the front end you risk losing control of your

participants in a bigger way than if you were trying to

troubleshoot in person.

2. Trusted technology provider: Streaming and live

video is wonderful in concept, but it needs to have a

solid technology foundation so it will work no matter what

the participant’s environment happens to be. Just

because the technology works on your side doesn’t

mean the users aren’t running into difficulty with their

own firewalls, connection speeds, etc.

3. High energy, informative and interactive

sessions. Just like an in-person convening, without

these elements, a conference can fall flat and disappoint

those who have set aside the time and paid to come

together to be inspired. The same holds true in a virtual

setting, but getting that right can be more of a challenge.

“Underneath all the fancy

new technology, attendees

must find value in their

participation.”

4. Rockstar panelists. To create interaction, presenters

need to be creative, well-prepared, and have a plan for

engaging the audience in the Q&A process.

Engagement cannot be left up to chance, and is vital to

the success of a session. Suddenly in a virtual format,

participants have easier access to speakers—if the

speaker is responsive to comments and questions from

audience members the session will be much more

engaging for all.

5. Strong visual appeal. Just like an in-person

conference, the appearance of a virtual conference

requires attention as well. When our site design was

initially set up, the graphics featured a bunch of white

men in business suits hanging around the main

entrance. That was not the look and feel we were going

for, and we worked to make the design reflect the

diversity of the crowd we planned to attract. Virtual

signage is also important so that participants know

exactly where to go and how to navigate to the various

venues, be it the discussion lounges, registration, expo

hall, etc.

Final Takeaways: Making a Virtual Conference Pop

your virtual seat awaits

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