The planning never ends for the small staff at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) for the premier public policy conference for African Americans – the Annual Legislative Conference (ALC). Scheduled every September since 1971 in Washington, DC, the conference has grown from its origins at the Washington Hilton Hotel as “CBC Weekend,” acknowledging the original 13 founders of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), to the former convention center to its present home at 901 Mount Vernon Square – the site of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. And with its expansion, ALC now attracts thousands of multi-generational attendees, spills into almost a dozen hotels, and proudly has 58 congressional honorary session hosts as the highest number of CBC members in its history.
“As far as planning goes, some would say (planning begins) right after the conference. But this year we have already started planning for 2024 and 2025 in August 2023,” shared Renata Allen, vice president of CBCF’s Strategic Events. “It is an ongoing process. When attendees walk into the massive grand foyer of the Convention Center, little do they know how many hours of planning, strategizing, compromising, and negotiating goes on behind the curtain,” she said.
This year, planning for the 52nd Annual Legislative Conference began the following week of ALC 2022. “We took a few days off to relax and then we began planning for ALC 2023,” said Allen “We conducted an intense staff debriefing session to review every single aspect of ALC from security to room assignments to menus to production and set design. Everything is evaluated for its success or its improvement, and we work from October through the following September.”
For example, the volunteers who extend their service-oriented hospitality through a hearty welcoming fist or elbow bump and a warm personal greeting. Volunteer recruitment begins during the second quarter of the conference year. “We look for diverse volunteers from all age groups, backgrounds, and skill levels,” said Candice Willmore, director of CBCF Human Resources. “We intentionally recruit volunteers to reflect our wide attendee demographics, with the caveat that they must have an affinity for service.”
While building back the volunteer base since a two-year online-hosted ALC due to COVID, typically 500-600 individuals apply to serve during the five-day conference. “Our volunteers are key to the ALC experience,” said Willmore. “Every volunteer is needed in some capacity.”
Another vital segment in the early planning process is the cultivation of partner-donors.
“Because we view them as partners, conversations are ongoing year-round, just to check in and see how they are doing and update them on what is going on with CBCF,” said Donna Fisher Lewis, senior vice president of Resource Development. “As a result of our authentic relationships, a lot of times they approach us after ALC – or even sometimes during the Phoenix Awards Dinner,” she laughed “to inquire about sponsorship for the following year. We manage 300-400 individual relationships, which involves keeping track of their benefits, special needs, distribution of their in-kind donations, and collaborating on everything from the placement of their collateral, such as digital signage or ads on the escalator siding, to providing ADA donors so that attendees have access to scooters and wheelchairs,” she said.
As attendees ride up the two-level escalator, they see multi layered displays of banners and signage depicting the diversity in the Black community. The noise level exceedingly rises as snatches of conversations are amplified. And that’s all before attendees move through the 2.3 million square foot space hosting more than 100 public policy sessions, filled with members of the CBC, the business community, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, students, influencers and celebrities. The ALC is a mixture of stakeholder and advocacy engagement, educational instructions, and family reunion.
This five-day gathering is a team effort of targeted marketing beginning in January to tease out the conference, Resource Development sharing ALC partner opportunities in February, the Center for Research and Policy Analysis (CPAR) and Leadership Institute (LI) begin constructing content sessions in early spring, and Strategic Events creating a registration site in the spring for a July opening.
In between the overall planning, the staff receives CBC member session submittals, reviews food and beverage selections, creates set designs and branding materials and of course, many meetings.
“Sometimes it does feel like we meet to meet before the next meeting,” joked Allen. “But it is critical that we keep everyone apprised because one conference change can have a domino effect, that can cause a shifting of a session, or additional publicity that needs to be shared, or bringing in a new partner donor. One of the most important aspects is the sharing of information,” she said. “The best part of planning ALC is the opportunity to continue to improve the conference while considering attendee and staff feedback to make it better.”
A Few Interesting Facts Behind the Curtain of ALC
- During ALC, CBCF hosts more than 140 sessions, events, and networking opportunities within five days.
- CBCF works very closely with several law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of its attendees. Evacuation and shelter in place plans and considerations are developed early in the year and updated as needed.
- The Marketing and Communications Department has managed up to 500 media outlets during ALC, including arranging interviews, distributing news releases, and creating hundreds of social media postings.
- Each session host is asked to estimate their audience so that the CBCF team can adequately determine capacity levels. There are more than 100 issue forums, braintrusts, third party sessions, and networking opportunities onsite at WCC during the five-day conference.
- All food considerations are taken into account – gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, etc. in planning mass meals. About three to five percent of the attendees fall into these categories. American Disability Act (ADA) needs are addressed during registration so that CBCF can engage staff and or equipment to accommodate specific needs.
- Since its inception in 1971, many ALC attendees began participating as Emerging Leaders in their early 20s and today have moved into general registrants and legacy attendees who are 65 and older.