MSA Forward 2018: “Mastering Non-Profit Retail”

April 26-30, 2018, Washington, DC

Welcome to the first “COUNTDOWN TO CONFERENCE” blog where over the next few months leading up to MSA FORWARD 2018, we will be providing tips, tools, and insights in anticipation of our annual conference and celebration of non-profit retailing. The conference blog will alternate with MSA’s educational blog every Monday starting today through April.  To kick off our MSA FORWARD series, Past-President David Duddy of the de Cordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA offers some valuable tips and tools to help you convince your institution to send you to MSA Forward 2018. Let your institution know that there is a terrific return on investment in your professional development when you attend MSA’s annual Retail Conference and Expo. Register today!

At a time when many travel and training budgets have been reduced or eliminated, we know you’ll need to justify the expense of attending MSA Forward 2018, our annual Conference & Expo.  We’ve put together some tools to help you make a convincing case as to why your organization should support your attendance in Washington.

The 63rd MSA Retail Conference & Expo will enable attendees to:

• Find solutions to issues you currently have in your stores.
• Visit an Expo with vendors who understand your visitors and your merchandising needs.
• Share best practices with others in the non-profit retail community.
• Discover tools to survive and thrive in this changing economy and business environment.
• Gain valuable information from leaders in our industry.

Ways to show value for your Conference & Expo attendance:

• Focus on what you will specifically bring back to the organization as return for the investment. msa-supervisor-letter-2018
• Use MSA’s Justification Worksheet msa-conference-value-2018 to outline the benefits you will receive and the money you will save as a result of attending.
• Offer to prepare and deliver a short presentation and Q&A to your colleagues upon your return to share what you learned. That way, others in your organization will get the benefits of your attendance, too.
• Be ready with a plan that shows who will cover for you while you are attending the MSA Conference & Expo.

Tips on saving money at the Conference & Expo:

• Share a room to reduce hotel expenses.
• Never attended Conference before? Apply for a scholarship!
• Utilize the 2018 Show Specials when placing orders with Expo vendors.
• Book your hotel room early to be sure you reserve a room at the lowest rate.
• Take advantage of the food provided during the conference through breakfasts, networking lunches and evening receptions.
• Stay at the conference hotels, first at Marriott Wardman Park if you are attending the initial learning excursions, then moving to the Renaissance Downtown Washington, DC, where all Conference and Expo events will take place – saving costs and valuable time.