March 17-19 (Wednesday - Friday) 2010
Conference Attendance - Funding Suggestions
CONFERENCE BUDGETING
Typically for a conference you need money for:
- Travel
- Food
- Lodging
- Conference Fees/Registration
- Misc (phone, tips, supplies, etc...)
For a normal conference in the state that you have to travel to, you'd typically budget the following:
- Travel - $30-$250, depending on how far away you lived (with a $0.45/mile reimbursement rate)
- Food - $60-$90, depending on whether you include meals before and after (based on travel time)
- Lodging - $90-$190 per night for 2 nights for $180-$380 total, depending on rate and taxes.
- Conference Fees/Registration - $50-$250 depending on how much you're giving conference planners.
- Misc (phone, tips, supplies, etc...) - $5-$30 depending on whether you tip hotel staff or pay for parking
Here's what we're offering and suggesting, if the budget is tight:
- Travel - carpool or get a school van, and split the mileage. If you go 2-3/vehicle, you're down to $15-$125
- Food - we'll provide you dinner the first night, lunch and dinner the next, and breaks with food throughout. We enc0urage you to book hotels that provide free breakfast. $0-$20, depending on meals before and after
- Lodging - Get the government rate, which is usually better than any conference rate. Look for free breakfast (or eat breakfast at our morning break after the first session. Share a room. $40-$80 per night for 2 nights for $80-190 total.
- Conference Fees/Registration - It's $50- but you get food, entertainment, snacks, and other fun stuff. Nobody gives you more for less in PD. We don't pay conference planners, or conference centers, or parking. We do give you a cool colored bag, and if you arrive early, you get to pick the color! $50 (includes 1 year of membership in NCCIA)
- Misc (phone, tips, supplies, etc...) - Go ahead and tip your hotel cleaners a couple bucks a night. Parking is free at the conference. Use your own cell phone.
That's for a conference with a great history, great people, great content, food and entertainment provided, and a once-a-year chance to meet, greet, and network with your colleagues from around the region.
"OK Fine, so I can get there for around $200 bucks. There's NO TRAVEL MONEY already. What am I supposed to do?"
Verify that there is no travel money. It seems that everyone talks about it, but there is money hidden away in various departments. Submit a travel request form- do one with the money, and do another with zero dollars, pending other funding. You might be surprised what gets approved.
If you've verified there's no money available through normal sources, look into the following (check with your PD/HR people, other colleagues, or us for more info):
- Tier-A Funding - there's often money available for professional development that not restricted by normal state travel policies.
- Faculty/Professional Development Funding - same thing- money that's there, and needs to be spent
- Foundation money- usually from local sources, and needs to be spent on faculty/staff/programs. Help them out!
- Grant funding- we're working on ways to get folks funded to attend forensics and/or geomatics/GIS programs. We'll post here as more information becomes available- email divonbriesen@gmail.com if you're interested, and while you're waiting, DO YOUR TRAVEL REQUESTS already!
- Other ideas? Let us know, or post them here!
We want to see you at our conference. Give us your ideas, and let your friends and colleagues know, and plan NOW - so that if there is money, you've got it set aside for YOU, and if there isn't, you're ready with approvals if some shows up!
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