idealist.org

Frequently Asked Questions

Registration FAQ's

How do I get the group discounts?

For every 6 registrations and/or vouchers purchased, an additional registration is free. (Buy 6, get 1 free. Buy 12, get 2 free. Etc.) In order to qualify as a "group," one member of the group (usually campus staff/administrator) must pay for the other members. This person does not have to attend the conference. There are two ways to pay for other attendees' registrations:

• If the others are not yet registered: Buy placeholder voucher codes and distribute them to the others, who can enter them when completing their online registration forms (their records will be marked as paid-in-full).
• If the others have already registered: Add someone else's existing registration to your invoice. Through our easy-to-use Lookup feature, you can search for someone else's registration by their last name. If they have already registered (but haven't paid), you can add their record to your invoice (it will reflect the conference fee that was valid at the time they registered.)

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How can I pay for someone else's registration?

There are a couple of different ways to pay for someone else's registration.

• If the others are not yet registered: Buy placeholder vouchers. When you purchase a placeholder voucher, you'll receive a special voucher code that you can give to someone else. That person can enter the voucher code on their own registration form, and it will be considered paid-in-full. Keep in mind, you can purchase vouchers for people before you know who they are. For example, if you are an administrator who knows you want to bring 5 students to the conference, but you haven't selected them yet, you can buy 5 student vouchers (perhaps to lock in an earlier rate), and distribute them later. Your invoice will reflect the 5 vouchers.
• If the others have already registered: Add someone else's existing record to your invoice. You can search for someone else's registration by their last name. If they have already registered (but haven't paid), you can add their record to your invoice (it will reflect the conference fee that was valid at the time of registration.)

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How can I manage my registrations, vouchers, invoices, and payments?

Everyone who uses the registration system to register to attend the conference, purchase placeholder vouchers, or pay for someone else's registration will automatically be given a My Idealist login and password. (If you already have one, the system will recognize your email address.)

"My Idealist" is our catch-all name for the many free resources we provide to individuals. With a My Idealist account, you'll be able to do the following conference-related tasks:

• View your invoice - you'll be able to see all of your registrations and vouchers, and their status (paid or unpaid)
• View the status of any vouchers you've purchased - you can check to see if the students you gave them to have used them

• Receive e-mail updates about new nonprofit opportunities matching your needs (jobs, volunteering, events, and more)
• Design a personal calendar, which will list events in your area that are relevant to your concerns
• Join Idealist's online discussion groups (which we call the Idealist Community)
• Offer yourself to nonprofits as a volunteer
• Find others on Idealist who share your interests

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How can I find funding and cut costs?

See our Fundraising Suggestions and Tools page.

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Can I reserve "placeholders" if I don't know who I'm sending to the conference yet?

Yes! You can purchase placeholder vouchers. Placeholder vouchers are special codes that you can distribute to others, who enter them on their registration forms in lieu of payment info. Buy placeholder vouchers early to get the discounted rate (they will work even if the person who uses it registers after a payment deadline!)

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What is a voucher code?

If you want to pay for others to attend the conference, you can order “placeholder vouchers.” You'll receive a voucher code for each individual registration fee that you are planning to pay. Give these voucher codes to the individual(s) you will be sending to the conference. Each individual will then enter the voucher code as proof of payment in their personal registration form.

You can keep track of all the vouchers you purchased on one invoice.

If you received a voucher code from someone, you can enter it on the online registration form as proof of payment.

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Program FAQ's

What is a track?

We divide the conference into several tracks so that individuals who are interested in a particular issue can more easily figure out which workshops to attend. For example, if you are attending the conference because you are interested in global health issues, follow the "Saving Lives and Serving People: Your Impact on Global Health" track. Of course, participants are invited to follow these tracks or to disregard them altogether and attend workshops on a variety of topics. Use these tracks if they're helpful to you — forget that they exist if you want to jump around to different topic areas.

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What is a Friday Forum?

We believe that one way of learning about a topic is to delve into it in a really intensive way. Friday Forums are three-hour sessions led by experts in the field that allow participants to get a really good grasp of a particular issue area. There is a Forum for each track (see above FAQ), plus a few "bonus" Forums that don't fit into a particular track. Choose a Forum that corresponds to an area you are really interested in learning a lot about — if you already know everything there is to know about leadership, you might want to choose another area!

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Who should go to the Administrators' Forum and the Year of Service Forum?

These Forums are specifically geared toward campus professionals (staff members who work on college or university campuses) and year of service members (individuals presently enrolled in programs like Lutheran Volunteer Corps, AmeriCorps, etc.). If you do not fit into one of these categories, you might want to consider attending a different Forum.

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How do I tell you I want to present a workshop?

Soon we will be posting information about what we need and expect from presenters, along with our online workshop submission form. Also, be sure to check out our Workshop Design Guide and Workshop Template if you're looking for help on how to put together a proposal and/or a workshop.

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What kinds of workshops will be offered?

Well, that depends on you! Our workshop submission process is an open call — anyone who is interested can submit a proposal. And, while we'd like for workshops to fall into one of the tracks, some really intriguing "renegade" workshops will almost certainly fall outside of those lines. Really, we're interested in offering what you're interested in — it's up to you to provide great content for this conference!

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Why are you dividing Junior and Senior Administrators during the workshops?

A few workshops will be dedicated specifically to junior administrators (those relatively new to higher education), while some will be geared primarily toward senior administrators (seasoned professionals in higher education). This is a new effort on our part to respond to the different needs and interests of these groups. Not all workshops will have this feature, but be sure to read carefully so that you go to a workshop that is appropriate for your level of experience.

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Who can go to the Networking Breakfast for Administrators and Nonprofit Representatives?

The short answer is: administrators and nonprofit representatives. This opportunity at the conference is a chance for campus administrators to spend some time talking with nonprofit professionals about issues and programs unique to their respective campuses. Students and year of service members will have the same opportunity during the other Networking Breakfast (see below).

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What are the Student-Led Plenary Sessions and how can I lead one?

These sessions are a chance for members of the Student Planning Committee (SPC) to pursue an issue that they are particularly passionate about and that is not covered by other conference programming. Members of the SPC are located on or close to the host campus (this year, the Nashville area) and are heavily involved in the planning and outreach for the conference. The sessions pull together local experts on a particular topic — there might be four local experts on, say, midwifery. These experts then join together for a panel discussion, moderated by the student who organized the session and attended by interested participants. Click here if you are a student in the Nashville area who is interested in participating in the activities of the SPC.

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What happens during the Student/Year of Service Networking Breakfast and who can go?

This feature of the conference is an opportunity for students and year of service members to interact with nonprofit professionals, and for these professionals to explain a bit more about their respective organizations. You can chat, ask questions, network, collect business cards, etc. Use this time to enter into some great conversations and discover how you can connect with a whole host of programs and organizations from across the country and around the world!!

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Travel/Meals/Lodging FAQ's

Where should I stay?

Check our Travel/Meals/Lodging page for information on hotels that are offering discounted rates to conference attendees, as well as recommendations for searching for deals.

Also, feel free to use our message boards to find other attendees who are looking to share rooms.

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What should I wear?

Most attendees at previous COOL Idealist Conferences have worn casual attire. All conference attendees will receive a free conference T-shirt this year. Feel free to represent your school by bringing T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. from your home campus.

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How do I get there?

Check our Travel/Meals/Lodging page soon for information about flight discounts.

Check back here for directions to the campus from the airport.

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What is the Hunger Banquet?

Oxfam America will be hosting a free Hunger Banquet on Saturday evening. Seating is limited, so be sure to sign up for the Hunger Banquet when you register for the conference online.

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Nonprofit Sponsor FAQ's

As a sponsor, what should I bring for my table at the Opportunities Fair?

Please bring what you feel best represents your organization. In the past, exhibitors have brought items ranging from full exhibit displays, to position descriptions, to hand-outs, and fun giveaways. About 1,500 participants are expected at the conference; please keep this in mind regarding your item quantities.

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Do I have to register for the conference if my organization is a sponsor?

Yes. The sponsor sign-up form is separate from the registration form. Organizations who sponsor at the Supporter level receive one free conference registration, and those that sponsor at the Leadership level receive two free registrations. After signing up to sponsor, you will receive one or two "voucher codes," which you can redeem when registering to attend the conference.

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Is there a list available with contact information of all the conference attendees?

Unfortunately, no, however we encourage you to bring your own sign-up list so you can gather that information while at the fair. We will also post the campuses, organizations, and year of service programs of our participants as a reference.

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I need to print out an invoice to make a payment. How do I do that?

Log in to your My Idealist account by going to www.idealist.org/mylogin. Click on "Payments & Receipts" in the top righthand corner of the 2006 C.O.O.L. Idealist National Conference box.

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How can I ship materials to the C.O.O.L. Idealist conference?

You can ship boxes and materials to the Student Life Center, where they can be stored in a locked room until the conference. However, due to limited space and other events in the facility, no boxes or materials can arrive before Tuesday, February 28, 2006. Each item arriving before February 28 will cost $100 per day per item in storage charges. If we receive materials from you before February 28, we will add the $100 per day charge to your organization's invoice.

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
STUDENT LIFE CENTER
"C.O.O.L. CONFERENCE"
310 25TH AVE SOUTH (#101)
NASHVILLE, TN 37240.

Please be sure to label your boxes clearly - let us know if the materials are for the bag stuffing or for your exhibitors table display!

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After the conference, how can I ship materials back to my office or to my next event?

FedEx makes daily stops in the facility; if you have left-over materials that won't fit in your luggage, this is the best way to get items mailed back to your office after the conference. All pick-ups need to occur on Monday, March 6, 2006, in order to avoid a $100 per day per item storage fee. We will have FedEx package slips available to you on Saturday afternoon and Sunday and can store your materials until Monday; we can then ship them back to you on Monday.

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What are my lodging options?

We list a few options on our Travel/Meals/Lodging page.

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How do I get my organization's ad in the conference program?

Please submit your ad by Monday, January 30, 2006.
Details: Dimensions for a quarter-page ad should be 3.625 inches by 4.875 inches
Dimensions for a half-page ad should be 7.5 inches by 4.875 inches
Dimensions for a full-page ad should be 7.5 inches by 10 inches
Please email your ad to: heather@idealist.org.

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How do I get my logo in the conference program?

You can submit your logo in one of two ways. First, you can upload your logo through your My Idealist account. Or, you can email your logo to heather@idealist.org. Please submit your logo no later than January 30, 2006.

Details: Logos must be 300dpi (print quality)
Logos must be cmyk (cyan magenta yellow black - the color channels that make up the image)

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Why was I asked to complete a zooomerang survey?

In order to help make your conference experience as smooth as possible, we need you to complete a Zoomerang survey to give us a few details about your participation. You can find the survey by clicking here. It's only eight questions, and will just take three minutes of your time...we promise!!

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What are the networking breakfasts?

Please take note of the networking breakfasts that we're convening this year on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. We will be publicizing these heavily during the conference and in the printed conference program. We have asked that you let us know your plans for attendance at those breakfasts in the Zoomerang survey, and will be letting conference attendees know who will be there. These networking breakfasts will be publicized as extensions of the Opportunities Fair - a chance for conference attendees to talk more in-depth with sponsors about how to get involved with your work. We just ask that you make every effort to attend at least one, if not both, of these breakfasts.

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What if my question is not covered in the Frequently Asked Questions section?

At any point before the conference you can email sponsor@idealist.org

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