C.O.O.L. Idealist Conference Ambassador Program
Get your campus involved and earn an additional free registration to the C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference through the Ambassador Program!
 What is the Ambassador Program?
The Ambassador Program provides a unique opportunity for students to take a leadership role in helping to recruit a group of their fellow students to attend the C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference. Ambassadors can earn a free conference registration if they organize a group of 5 or more students from their campus to attend and help spread the word to others in their area.
Representatives from all schools are eligible to earn a free registration through the Ambassador program whether your campus has previously participated in the conference or not!
What does an Ambassador do?
In order to earn a free registration for the 2006 C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference Ambassadors must:
- Email Trish at Trish@idealist.org to sign up to be an Ambassador
- Recruit at least 5 students from their own campus to attend the 2006 C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference at Vanderbilt University
- Participate in monthly conference calls with fellow Ambassadors around the country.
- Work with fellow students and campus staff to secure funding and support for your group's registration, travel, and lodging for the 2006 C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference. Click here for some tips about how to find funding on your campus
Once five students from your campus are recruited and funding is secured, contact Trish at Trish@idealist.org no later than February 17, 2006 to receive your free registration. (All members of your group must be fully prepared to register and funding should be available by this date.)
Outside of these requirements, Ambassadors are also encouraged to:
- Get fellow participants excited about attending the conference! Gather registrants prior to the conference to talk about what workshops they plan to attend, which organizations they hope to connect with during the Opportunities Fair, what they'd like to check out in Nashville and other ways that they can make the most of their experience.
- Encourage members of your group to submit a workshop or poster session! Help your fellow participants get the most of this event by taking advantage of the many opportunities to share what you know at the conference. Click here for more information on submitting a workshop or poster session!
- Coordinate efforts to represent your campus at the conference! Make T-shirts for your group to wear or banners to bring to the opening ceremony. Find something unique to trade at the BYOG.
- Remember there's power (and savings!) in numbers! Help your group save money by collaborating on travel and lodging plans. Also, don't forget to check with other campuses in your area to see if there are ways to pool your resources.
- Bring it back to campus! Plan a post-conference gathering where you can reflect on your experience and think of ways to share what you learned with your own campus community. Link to Heather's page
- Bring a professor or a campus administrator into the loop! It's always a great idea to check in with a professor or campus administrator to get advice on how to make the most of the conference and to gain support for ways to incorporate what you learn once you return to campus. The C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference also offers plenty of professional development opportunities for professors and campus administrators. So if you know of a staff member who might be interested, invite them along!
What if there is more than one person on my campus who wants to serve as an Ambassador?
Although we encourage lots of folks to help promote this event, this program works on a first come, first served basis - the first student from a campus to approach us about this opportunity will be designated as the official Conference Ambassador for that campus. He or she can later choose to transfer this designation to another student (provide that they inform Trish of their decision) or share the role with someone else, but there is only one free Ambassador registration available per campus. It will be up to the registrants to decide how to distribute the conference fees.
How does this incentive work with other discounts?
Our standard discount for any campus sending groups of students to the conference allows for 1 additional free registration with every 6 paid student registrations. Ambassadors will receive 1 free registration in addition to the 1 free registration that comes with our standard group discount!*
*Please note that our registration system is not set up to recognize Ambassadors automatically. Once you have registered your group, please contact Trish at trish@idealist.org so that she can apply your discount manually.
| Group |
Standard Discount |
Ambassador Discount |
| 6 or more from one campus |
Buy 6 registrations, get 1 additional registration for free |
Buy 5 registrations, get 2 additional registrations for free |
| 12 or more from one campus |
Buy 12 registrations, get 2 additional registrations for free |
Buy 11 registrations, get 3 additional registrations for free |
| 18 or more from one campus |
Buy 18 registrations, get 3 additional registrations for free |
Buy 17 registrations, get 4 additional registrations for free |
How does this work if I am a campus staff member or administrator?
While campus staff and administrators are not eligible for the free registration, administrators bringing more than 5 students can designate a student who is willing to fulfill Ambassador requirements and receive one free student registration.
Aside from free registration, what else can I get out of being a C.O.O.L. Idealist Campus Ambassador?
- Opportunities to learn more about and gain experience doing outreach, organizing, and resource development
- Public recognition during the 2006 Conference
- Opportunities to connect with other Ambassadors (both locally and nationally) before and after the conference
- Opportunities to connect with the conference staff before and after the conference
What tools are available to help me with fundraising and recruitment?
In addition to our general suggestions for recruitment and fundraising, Ambassadors also have access to the following tools:
- The C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference Ambassador list-serv-a great venue to share successes, questions, and ideas with your fellow Ambassadors from around the country. Email Trish at trish@idealist.org to be added to the list.
- Save-the-date cards-these are a full-color, glossy little postcards that we can send you upon request. They're in limited supply so we can only send you a few. But they can be pretty handy when used in conjunction with the flyers! Send your mailing address to Trish at trish@idealist.org to request save-the-date cards.
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