An Arts & Cultural Professional’s Guide to bbcon 2022 Virtual

Visionaries worldwide are attending bbcon—Blackbaud’s Tech Conference for Good™— virtually October 17–18 to learn from thought leaders in fundraising, marketing, technology, and more. Please join us for this free opportunity for inspiring content and peer networking. Register now for bbcon 2022.

Keynote speakers include Glennon Doyle, New York Times bestselling author, activist, philanthropist, and host of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast; and Simu Liu, actor, writer, producer, and one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People of 2022.” You’ll also hear exciting updates from Blackbaud executives and discover how we’re building software solutions to help you maximize your organization’s impact.

While there are dozens of sessions designed to pique anyone’s interest, we wanted to highlight some specifically created for the arts and culture audience. If you cannot attend when these sessions air, register now so you can watch them on demand after the conference.

Super Session: Cultural Organizations as Community Connectors—How to Promote Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion

Monday, October 17, 1:00-2:00 pm ET

For museums, gardens, zoos, and aquariums to serve all people in their communities, staff must be aware of the societal disparities and gaps that interplay with their operations, decisions, and programs. Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) initiatives have emerged to address this issue and are gaining momentum within cultural organizations. But how can you take practical steps to develop DEAI goals at your organization and ensure that equity, accessibility, and inclusion become a core part of your culture and decision-making?

Join Grace Stewart, Senior Manager of DEAI Programs at the American Alliance of Museums, Dr. Tonya Matthews, IAAM President and CEO, and Michael Moore, Blackbaud’s Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, as they walk you through why DEAI is critical for cultural organizations and how you can become a true connector of your entire community.

Breakout Sessions to Maximize Your Impact

In addition to our highly anticipated super session, bbcon includes breakout sessions for organizational and professional development. These are just a few of the highlights:

Empower Your Patrons

Tuesday, October 18, 11:45 am–12:15 pm ET

Leverage visitor profiles to Increase annual giving and membership. You have thousands of ticket buyers come through the doors every year, but are you maximizing the potential of these visitors? You could have future members, donors, sustainers, board members, and volunteers visiting without realizing it. It’s time to use your data by utilizing patron personas and setting them up on a specific engagement track to guarantee they will do more than visit once a year. Join former museum professionals turned Blackbaud solutions experts Kelly Merrion and Leigh Moring as they walk you through how you can use wealth analytics and intuitive reporting to identify your guests and increase giving and engagement.

Artificial Intelligence: Fact vs. Science Fiction

Monday, October 17, 12:15–12:45 pm ET

There’s a lot of buzz around “machine learning” and “artificial intelligence” in the realm of fundraising, making it hard to differentiate between truly innovative solutions and those simply dressed up with marketing lingo. In this session, we’ll aim to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to “AI.” The goal is to equip you with questions to make evaluating solutions easier and more effective. We’ll also give you behind-the-scenes insight into how we craft predictions at Blackbaud to enable outcome-driving behaviors. Finally, we’ll review how we evaluate efficacy, an underutilized part of the feedback loop that strengthens our predictive suite.

Navigating Uncertainty

To help organizations plan for 2023 and beyond, bbcon has curated thought leadership on navigating uncertainty when facing economic headwinds. Check out these sessions during the conference or on-demand after they air:

• Philanthropy Through Recession: How Savvy Organizations Build a Strategy for Resiliency
• Finding Stability in Uncertain Times: How to Grow Your Supporter Base No Matter What the Climate
• How to Financially Recession Proof your Nonprofit
• How to Stay on Track with Staff Turnover

Visit bbconference.com for the full schedule and free registration. 

Blackbaud Product Update Briefings

We’re holding Blackbaud product update briefings immediately following bbcon. These are some recommended for arts and cultural organizations:

• Blackbaud Altru®—our industry-leading software built specifically for arts and cultural organizations to consolidate admissions, membership, fundraising, merchandise sales, marketing, and more in one revolutionary, cloud-based solution.
• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT®—a complete fund accounting software solution with unparalleled reporting, budgeting, and analysis tools
• Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®— the first truly comprehensive cloud-based fundraising and donor management software solution
• Blackbaud Payment Services—an end-to-end payment processing solution that meets the industry’s toughest data security standards

Your bbcon registration includes access to all the Blackbaud Product Update Briefings.

Getting Organized for bbcon 2022

With dozens of breakout sessions, live networking opportunities, and product update briefings, you won’t want to miss a thing. Here are a few tricks to help you get organized:

• Picking your sessions: Don’t limit yourself to the sessions classified as part of the Fundraising and Marketing track. Look at everything offered and choose what you find most compelling. Our end goal is to provide a variety of presentations that pique your interest and leave you with actionable insight to take back to your organization.
• Be prepared: Make the most of your time by having anything you need during a session within reach. These may include a water bottle, your favorite caffeinated beverage, snacks, and a notepad.
• Block time on your calendar: Once you’ve determined which sessions and product update briefings to attend, reserve that time on your calendar. This will help to mitigate conflicts and last-minute changes.
• Embrace virtual networking: Throughout the conference there will be plenty of opportunities for attendees to network with peers and with Blackbaud staff. You can also schedule one-on-one time with attendees, speakers, and sponsors using the networking feature in the virtual platform. Make sure to opt into networking in your conference registration to have access to all the different networking opportunities.
• Take breaks: Get up and stretch or take a short walk. Use your time between sessions to refresh so you are ready for the next session.

bbcon is an opportunity to get inspired, learn from experts, and build your network. Register for free today!