Getting the Most from Rally (or ANY Conference or Webinar)

01 Sep Getting the Most from Rally (or ANY Conference or Webinar)

2 September 2025

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

It’s Rally week! And if you are going, I hope that you will find a way to say hello when you’re there. I’m doing a seminar with Jim Bonesteel on Getting Through Fear of Asking For Money in Person and a workshop on Writing Irresistible Fundraising Appeal Letters. I will also have a booth. Come find me!

Every year, I ask the group in my sessions how many people are attending their first Rally. Several of the plenary speakers ask the same question of much larger audiences. And it’s almost always more than half. Some of it is related to high turnover in fundraising everywhere. Some of it is related to growth of the community period.

Whatever.

It’s a good reminder that the succession of land trust staff and Board members is an on-going and necessary part of the perpetuity equation.

To everyone who is new to this dynamic national land trust family, I say Welcome! It’s good to have you here. And I offer the following bits and pieces for your first few years of service and your first Rally experience.

1. Don’t underestimate the land trust learning curve. I was on staff for a year or so before I truly felt comfortable that I knew how the land conservation business really worked. Board members will have a learning curve that might take even longer.
2. Know that you have friends. When you sign up for service as a land trust Board member or staff, you join a conservation family that numbers in the thousands, if not tens of thousands. I’m convinced there is a land conservation gene that will be isolated at some point in the near future – hitch-hiker’s thumb, black hair, land trust. This means that somewhere, someone has asked the same question you are asking. And they will be happy to share their experience with you.
3. Take advantage of the systems set up to help. Land Trust Alliance has an on-line Learning Center to which you, as an active land trust Board or staff member, will have completely free access once you set up a user account. The Learning Center includes several topical user groups that operate like listserves for those seeking advice and those providing it. Indiana University manages a listserve for land trusts. Subscribing to it is free and easy. Much of the information is technical, but it’s interesting and easily filtered.
4. In addition to Rally, many states and several regions host conferences with workshops and seminars designed with information sharing and capacity learning in mind. Land Trust Alliance also sponsors webinar series on a whole host of topics related to land trust and conservation business.

So – if this is your first Rally, get prepared for the firehose treatment. Lots of stuff will come at you from multiple directions. It will be easy to get overwhelmed. To get the most out of it – to get your money’s worth – here are some tips from some of us for whom this is NOT our first Rally.

• Go to the sessions that interest you, and not necessarily only those in your field. If you are in communications and/or fundraising, and most of you reading this blog will be, consider that the more you can learn about the conservation work, the more effective you will be fundraising.
• Collect the information packets and take copious notes. Write down things that interest you, things you want to remember, and questions you might want to chase down later.
• Remember that some of the more lasting learning moments happen in the corridors and over meals, and not in the classrooms. Gather cards from those you meet and note on the card how you met them. This includes workshop presenters!
• Take some time as soon as possible (perhaps even while you are still at Rally) to read through your notes, making sure they are legible. Look for one (1), or possibly two, things you might be able to take back and implement right away. Circle them or use some other sign to draw your attention to it later.
• When you get back home, write the several ideas you identified on a separate sheet of paper and start working on implementation. Also, flip through the cards you collected. Is there anyone you would like to follow-up with?
• Stuff all the rest of the information into a folder and put the folder away in the file cabinet. Forget about it (for now).
• Make a formal appointment with yourself for next April. Two or three hours should be enough – go treat yourself to a cup of designer coffee. Use that time to comb through the folder and the business cards you collected with fresh perspective. You are now looking for another one (1), or possibly two, things you can implement right away.

And perhaps someone else to reach out to as well.

Cheers, and have a great week!

-da

PS:  For all those for whom this is not a first Rally, what would you add to his list?

PPS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by thegermankid courtesy Pixabay