By Ann Becker, President of Ann Becker and Associates, Inc.
How to develop a meeting plan that fits your event and keeps your objectives in sight.

This document was developed for CFSI
(Center for Financial Services Innovation)

Resources for Holding Effective Meetings
Community Foundation Grantees Staff Training Program
Grand Victoria Foundation’s Community Works Program
By Ann Becker, President of Ann Becker and Associates, Inc.
The overall goal of this training program was to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the community foundations’ meetings in general, and their Advisory Committee meetings in specific, from planning through to post-meeting follow up. A listing of resources on how to hold effective meetings is included.

A newsletter on meeting planning issues published by Ann Becker and Associates, Inc.:

• Juggling Roles: The Key to Being a Successful Meeting Leader
• Meeting the Small Group Challenge
• The Challenge of Familiarity: How to Keep Your Annual Meeting Enticing
• Spice Up Your Meeting With a Variety of Session Formats
• To Win an A+, Design Your On-Site Educational Sessions for Adult Learners

Every day, meeting planners and site managers are embarking on exciting collaborations to develop new and better answers to the question “How can we make this meeting as ‘green’ as possible?” And they have a plethora of resources to guide them.

Here are links to four websites that offer the recent thinking in how to make your meeting green:
US EPA Green Meetings: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings/
Green Meeting Industry Council: http://www.greenmeetings.info/
Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_conventions,_meetings_&_events
Greenseal: http://www.greenseal.org Certifies hotels that comply with conservation

To learn more about a hotel’s green practices, check its web site or call before you book.

Workshop on Strategic Special Events
Host: Donors Forum of Chicago
Introductory Comments by Ann Becker, facilitator
The strategic issues one should consider when thinking about special events.

Institute held by the Women’s Self Employment Project Ventures
Presentation by Ann Becker, President of Ann Becker and Associates, Inc.
Reflections on Ann’s experiences as a nonprofit board member and as a consultant to the boards of client organizations. A three-point checklist for effectively communicating innovation and change is included.