By, Caroline Bowers, Executive Director
In April 2022, members of the Impact team partnered with the Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association to put on their first annual Professional Women’s Conference. As a client of Impact’s for multiple years, the WFDA trusted our team to assist with the event from concept to clean up.
Conceptualizing the event
The idea for WFDA to hold a Professional Women’s Conference was first mentioned in late 2019. It was one of their strategic plan goals established in January of 2020. The hope was to get this event off the ground in late 2020, however, the pandemic paused these efforts.
As soon as we were able to plan in-person meetings again, Impact jumped in to make this vision from the WFDA board a reality. The guidelines were simple, the venue should be at a spa, the education should be focused towards women in funeral service, and we should offer at least four continuing education credits. Impact worked with the newly established Professional Women’s Conference Committee to brainstorm venues, session topics, and potential funding opportunities.
Coordinating event logistics
Impact created an RFP for spas across the state that also had meeting space. Based on location, services available, and quality of venue, we decided to move forward with Destination Kohler. We were able to secure a discounted room block, a nice meeting space, and 20% off of spa services for our attendees. We also reserved space for a group yoga class and a happy hour to follow the continuing education sessions.
Given that this was the first women’s conference hosted by WFDA, we weren’t sure how many people would attend, and how to reach potential attendees. The committee decided we should set our goal as 50 attendees and four or five event sponsors. Impact started by reaching out to potential speakers. We contacted speaker from past events as well as a few speakers that sparked our interest, but we had yet to partner with.
Once we had established our schedule, we began marketing the event. Impact created a marketing strategy targeting female members and past supporters first. We offered a discounted exhibitor booth at our annual convention to any sponsors who also supported the women’s conference.
Celebrating event outcomes
We ended up with 37 attendees and four sponsors. The net profit for the event was $1,600. WFDA wasn’t sure what to expect as far as expenses and experience. They were extremely pleased that the event ended up making a profit on top of a wonderful experience for our members. Impact sent out a post-event survey to attendees and 100% of attendees gave the event a 4 or 5 star rating. Attendees also provided excellent feedback and ideas for next year. The responses we received to the question “What did you dislike about this event (if anything)?” were that they wanted the event to be longer, which is our goal for the next event!
We are honored that the WFDA trusted our team to support such an important and meaningful event. Discover how Impact can support your next event.