At SBI, we pride ourselves on providing innovative services and solutions to help nonprofits thrive. While the pandemic may have slowed us down at the onset while in-person events were rapidly canceled or postponed, we are now moving full steam ahead in the virtual event space, and are proud to share that our entire Events team has completed the Virtual Event & Meeting Management Certification. This certificate course was provided by the Event Leadership Institute in Partnership with MPI.
Events are a major source of revenue and engagement for associations, and as such halting all events until the pandemic clears is simply not an option for most. Instead, event managers are now expected to have the skills necessary to plan and execute both live and virtual events, and associations must be nimble and adapt to holding events virtually, as well.
Learning outcomes of the certificate course, as stated on the Event Leadership Institute website:
- Articulate the key differences between planning a live event and virtual event
- Develop a virtual event strategy that includes key components unique to planning virtual events
- Explore requirements for human resources, vendors, public relations, digital platforms, related technology, data collection & analytics, and data security
- Developing a virtual event plan and program that provides return on investment to key stakeholders while providing an engaging digital experience for attendees
The pandemic is changing the way we approach our work, but is not stopping us. Our team has already successfully planned and held many virtual meetings and conferences during this pandemic, including the American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM) Virtual Scientific Meeting and the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) Virtual Conference and Training Symposium. Many more conferences and events to be held in 2020 are currently in the planning phases, including conferences for the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) and the Great Western Council of Optometry (GWCO), and Washington Recreation and Parks Association (WRPA), to name a few.
We are able to plan and execute complex events that span multiple days, have multiple concurrent sessions, feature virtual exhibit halls, offer networking opportunities and real connection, and comply with strict Continuing Education (CE) and Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements so members continue to receive quality education and access to professional development. Perhaps more importantly, in the virtual event space we are able to continue to provide value and a sense of community to members in this difficult time. Having well-trained and educated professionals on our team certainly makes this shift easier to navigate.
If your association is struggling to transition your in-person events to a virtual setting, let us know how we might be able to help. Send us a message or give us a call at (206) 367-8704 to discuss the needs of your association.
Hear from our event professionals —
“The entire events world has been flipped on its head these past months, but we are a resilient industry. Being able to adapt and evolve is one of the reasons the events industry is so amazing. I am so thankful that the Event Leadership Institute created the Virtual Events & Meeting Management course. They offered event professionals the opportunity to grow and adapt to the necessary influx of virtual events. I feel much more confident in my virtual event planning skills and cannot wait to utilize what I have learned!” – Ally McGuire, VEMM
“Attending and completing the Virtual Event and Meeting Management certificate program was so rewarding! It was an education-filled six weeks and I took away so many techniques to utilize in all areas of my work. Not only did the course teach me about visualizing virtual events in a new way, but it also reinforced that SBI is on the right track in guiding our clients with innovation and best practices. It’s always been a personal goal of mine to continue my education in my profession and am so thankful that I had the opportunity to attend the course. Now on to the CMP!” – Katie Pitchford, MS, VEMM
“There is so much uncertainty in the world of events right now and I am so excited to be able to assist our clients with all of their event needs, be it be virtual events, hybrid events or in-person events.” – Megan Miller, CMP, VEMM
