2019 NCAPCS Charter Schools Conference Sponsor FAQs

Transcription

1 2019 NCAPCS Charter Schools Conference Sponsor FAQs Harrah s Cherokee Resort & Convention Center Cherokee, NC, 28719

2 2 General Q: What is the (NCAPCS) Conference? A: The NCAPCS Charter Schools Conference is the largest annual gathering of charter school teachers, school leaders, administrators, board members, and supporters from across NC! This two-day event offers engaging keynote speakers, relevant breakout sessions, and networking opportunities for all participants. With an average of 400 people each year, it is a powerful event to get the NC charter sector fired up for the school year! Q: Where and when is the NCAPCS Conference this year? A: This year s conference, entitled Reaching New Heights, will be held at the Harrah s Cherokee Resort & Convention Center in Cherokee, NC Sunday, July 21 to Tuesday, July 23, Q: How much is the hotel room? A: Rooms are $139 per night under our room block. After you register, you will receive a link to reserve your room under our block. Q: When is the deadline for sponsors to register? A: The sponsor registration deadline is EOB Friday, May 17, 2019.

3 3 Table Selection and Availability Q: How do we choose which table we want? A: Review the exhibitor map and sponsorship levels on the sponsor registration form. When you select your desired sponsorship level, the table options for that level will appear and you can check your table preferences before submitting your registration. Please understand that selecting your table preferences is not a reservation, and you cannot expect to be assigned a certain table. However, we will do our best to match your preference. Because of this, it is important to register and submit payment as timely as possible to maximize the likelihood of securing your desired table. Q: When will we know our assigned table? A: Most sponsors will be ed their table assignment within two business days after registering. Every registered sponsor will receive their table assignment on or before Friday, May 17, If you do not know your assigned table after that date, please Operations Assistant Joshua Hoke josh@ncpubliccharters.org. Q: How often will table availability be updated? A: Table availability will be updated on our sponsors page as tables are purchased until the registration deadline (May 17) or until all tables have been filled. Occupied tables on the exhibitor map will have a red block on them. Q: How will table priority be given to Corporate Leader tier business members? A: The sponsor registration form now auto-populates the membership status of Association business members. As registrations are submitted, Corporate Leaders will be granted their preferences first followed by Business Partners then non-members.

4 4 Q: Where and when can we set up? Exhibit Setup A: All sponsors that request using the loading dock must enter the casino at the West Porte- Cochere then take the elevator to the Main Floor Event Center on the 2nd floor. All sponsors may set up as early as 3:00pm July 21. Q: After setup, where should we keep our materials? A: We strongly recommend that you keep your materials of value in a safe place of your choice. The Association nor the convention center will not be responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged items. Q: What are the exhibition hours? A: 8:00am 5:00pm Monday, July 22 and 8:00am 12:00pm Tuesday, July 23. Q: When can we break down? A: You may choose to break down at any point during the conference. Most exhibitors break down Tuesday afternoon. However, if you break down earlier the cost of your exhibit remains the same. All exhibitions must be completely broken down and out of the building by 3:00pm July 23. Q: Will we have a table or just tables and chairs? A: Each sponsor will receive a table, two chairs, table skirting, and complimentary Wi- Fi. If you need electrical outlets, complete and submit the electrical order form shown on page 4 of the exhibitor information packet. You can get the Wi-Fi username and password at the conference registration desk.

5 5 Q: We would like to rent additional A/V equipment and furniture for our table. Who do we rent from? A: Convention Makers, Inc., is one trade show service provider that has a location in Asheville. Sponsors contracted with their Myrtle Beach location for last year s conference at Sunset Beach. Click the link above to learn more about their services and access their exhibitor forms. Q: We are flying in, but we have packages to ship. How do we handle this? A: Ship packages to the following address: Harrah s Cherokee Casino Resort ATTN: Catering/Convention Coordinator Deiah Vambe Sales/Catering Office NCAPCS 2019 Charter Schools Conference 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee, NC There are more details you must read carefully in the exhibitor information packet. Packages will not be accepted until 72 hours prior to the conference. Q: Our company has more than just packages to ship. We need a palette! How do we handle that? Instead of shipping your materials to the convention center, you can use a trade show services provider like Convention Makers, Inc. mentioned earlier. If you choose to use a trade show services provider, please notify Harrah s Convention Coordinator Deiah Vambe dvambe@harrahs.com first to let her know how large the palette will be. Then, visit Convention Makers website to access their exhibitor forms. After Convention Makers receives your shipment, they will use their trucks, forklifts, and crew to deliver your bulk materials to the convention center Sunday, July 21. On the shipping label, be sure to clearly mark (1) the name of the event NCAPCS 2019 Charter Schools Conference, (2) your company name, and (3) the name of the person who is supposed to pick up the bulk shipment upon arrival.

6 6 Q: Will I get new clients from sponsoring the conference? A: While the Association provides this unique opportunity to meet many potential clients statewide, the Association cannot guarantee your company will gain new business. Q: We are interested in offering a Closing Session raffle prize within our sponsorship! How does that work? A: a proposal to our Executive Director Rhonda Dillingham rhonda@ncpubliccharters.org. Include your name, company, contact information, the sponsorship level under which you registered, a description of the item, and its value. Submit proposals of prizes no less than $1,000 in value. The deadline is May 17, Q: Are we allowed to offer prizes on our own at our table? A: Yes, that is allowed. However, the Association will not make any special announcements for any sponsor s prize other than the ones selected to be awarded at the Closing Session. Q: Our company is an upper-level sponsor, and we get a presentation included in our sponsorship. How do we submit our proposal? Visit the Presenters page to learn details, get ideas, and submit your proposal. We kindly ask that you do not submit a proposal that is a sales pitch, and we require you to partner with a charter school representative. In last year s conference feedback, many attendees indicated they felt much of the presentations were sales pitches. If we learn that your presentation is a sales pitch from this year s feedback, you will not be allowed to present at next year s conference. Q: Do you all have a lead retrieval system or QR codes for potential clients / customers? We unfortunately do not have QR codes yet. Currently, we share the attendee list with upper-level sponsors (Smoky Mountain Level) at least a week prior to the conference while other sponsors (Blue Ridge and Carolinian levels) receive it a week after the conference.

7 7 Q: How can we pay for our sponsorship? Payment Payment by Credit Card In the sponsor registration form, select Credit Card under payment, enter your card information, and submit. You will automatically receive a sales receipt. Save the receipt for your records. A table will be marked for you according to our ability to match your preferences once your payment completes processing. Payment by Mailing a Check In the registration form, select Mail a Check under payment, and proceed to complete and submit your registration. We will send you an invoice within 1 business day. You will be expected to have your check delivered to the following address no later than 2 weeks from the date you receive your invoice: North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools 242 West Millbrook Road Raleigh, NC Upon receipt of check, a table will be marked for you according to our ability to match your preferences at that time. Q: We want to bring more representatives than what is included in the sponsorship level we selected. What is the additional cost? A: The cost for additional sponsor representatives will be the same as attendees, and they will need to register as attendees. Visit the Attendees page to view the fee schedule for members and non-members. Upon registration, the additional representatives need to josh@ncpubliccharters.org to indicate they are representing a sponsor so we will know to make sponsor badges for them instead of attendee badges.

8 8 Q: What happens if one of our representatives cannot make it? A: You may replace that individual with another representative from your company. If you cannot find a replacement that spot remains open. Make sure to josh@ncpubliccharters.org so we will know to make a badge for the replacement or not to make a badge for the absent rep. It will be the sponsor Point of Contact s responsibility to notify the hotel of changes within his/her group. Q: What discounts do Association members receive for sponsoring the conference? A: Corporate Leaders 10% off sponsorship Business Partners 5% off sponsorship Q: Why are we asked on the registration form whether we would like to donate a separate amount toward subsidizing travel and registration costs for planning year and first-year schools? A: Planning year and first-year schools especially have difficulty attending our conference due to lack of funding. We would like to maximize school representation across the state which maximizes your exposure to schools. This is completely optional, no minimum is required, and this neither increases or decreases your level of sponsorship. Schools eligible for this subsidy include: (1) schools that will be issued their charter from the State Board of Education (SBE) by June 2019 and will enter their planning year Fall 2019 (2) schools that will complete their planning year June 2019 and will enter their first year of operation Fall 2019 (3) schools that will complete their first year of operation June 2019 and will enter their second year Fall 2019

9 9 Q: Our company is currently not an Association member and we have never sponsored the conference before, but we would like to pay for membership and sponsorship at the same time. Can we do that? A: Yes. We offer a dual discount for membership and sponsorship! You will receive 15% off membership plus 5% or 10% sponsorship discount depending on the selected membership tier. Below is a breakdown of how that works: Charters R Us has never been an NCAPCS member nor has it been to the NCAPCS Conference. It would like to join the Association as a Business Partner and be a Blue Ridge Level sponsor. On the sponsor registration page, Charters R Us needs to select Yes, our company / organization would like to take advantage of the dual sponsorship / membership discount on the Business Partner tier. Non-member Blue Ridge Level Sponsorship = $1,500 Business Partner Membership = $500 Total = $2,000 Member (dual membership and sponsorship) Blue Ridge Level Sponsorship = $1,500 * 5% off = $1,425 Business Partner Membership = $500 * 15% off = $425 Total = $1,850 In this example, Charters R Us saves $150 and gets membership through 08/01/2020. Q: Why is membership set to expire 08/01/2020 for sponsors who opt into the dual discount? A: We are trying to establish a more efficient membership process as the number of school and business members continue to grow each year. Although we welcome sponsors to join at any time of year, having most if not all sponsors joining and renewing during conference season will make renewal easier for you to remember and make our membership records easier to maintain in the long run.

10 10 Q: What are the terms of cancellation and late payment? Registration with a credit card / payment: If you have paid by credit card, and you withdraw from being a sponsor on or before May 17, your marked table is immediately re-opened for other sponsors to select. Fifty percent (50%) of your paid sponsorship amount will be returned to you in check form according to the address provided in your registration within 10 business days (2 weeks) from the cancellation date. If you withdraw after May 17, your marked table is immediately re-opened, and you receive no refund. Registration with a mailed check: Failing to have your check delivered on or before the 10th business day after date of invoice will result in automatic nullification and deletion of your sponsor registration. We will assume that you no longer intend to become a sponsor, and you will be required to re-submit your registration if you still wish to become one. Like with credit card payments, if you have already mailed your check, and you withdraw from being a sponsor on or before May 17, your marked table is immediately re-opened for other sponsors to select. Fifty percent (50%) of your paid sponsorship amount will be returned to you in check form according to the address provided in your registration within 10 business days. If you withdraw after May 17, your marked table is immediately re-opened, and you receive no refund. It will be your responsibility to contact the hotel to un-reserve your room and follow the hotel s cancellation policies. Because of these cancellation / late payment terms, it is critical to carefully review your schedule and availability before committing to exhibit and represent your company at our conference.