4 recommendations for running successful hybrid event

The coronavirus crisis has clearly demonstrated that digital technology cannot completely replace physical meetings. There is no substitute for human contact and social interaction. However, virtual events have great advantages; they are more flexible to unpredictable changes, less expensive, more inclusive due to their wider geographical reach and a lower carbon footprint. The digital component brings a new value, complementary to the physical event and an added value that organisers do not want to give up.

The hybrid therefore appears as an alternative type of event, combining the advantages of both approaches.

What is a hybrid event?

The hybrid format combines digital and face-to-face elements. The audience has the opportunity to participate either by physical presence or from home. Most types of events can be organised in a hybrid format, such as meetings, seminars, concerts, openings or conferences, to name but a few.

For a successful hybrid event, here are our 4 recommendations:

1. A tip that may be common sense, but as with any project, it is essential to clarify your objectives carefully. There are all sorts of ways to make a conference hybrid. Depending on your expectations, the organisation of the event can quickly become much more complex and costly than expected. A hybrid conference can take many forms, so it is important to define your objectives in order to create your own event according to your needs and resources.

2. Many event organisers are still unfamiliar with interactive methods for the online format, so hybrid events sometimes tend to be a series of presentations and Q&As with little or no interaction with the audience. For a successful hybrid conference that brings real richness to the audience, we therefore wholeheartedly recommend that you focus on interaction. It is time to be creative and turn to participatory methods such as Liberating structures, many of which can also be applied to the virtual. Participants usually come to an event for networking too, so it is

advisable to include networking activities. Finally, many technological tools such as Mentimeter or Kahoot! allow you to involve your entire audience online and face-to-face at the same time, and in a fun way.

3. Online participants often feel like second-class participants and risk being forgotten, as more energy tends to be devoted to welcoming face-to-face participants. Our third recommendation is to prioritise online participants. It is therefore important not to forget to welcome online participants with the help of dedicated online moderators. If questions are asked of the whole audience, discuss the online participants' questions first. The presenter can sometimes also look directly into the camera when addressing the online audience, or refer to the online audience by saying how many people are present or from which countries they come from.

4. You are not organising one event, but two. Not all participants should receive the same information. If they receive too much irrelevant information, they risk getting lost and not being sure of their role. As a fourth recommendation, we strongly advise you to send different and tailor-made information to the two audiences. Also, it is much harder to maintain attention when following an online event. Clearly write down in a shared document the details of the programme for people online, how they can intervene and ask questions and any relevant technical information.

Conclusion

Hybrid events present some technological challenges to overcome and an undeniable investment for organisers that should not be overlooked. Furthermore, for large conferences, it is best to use specialist agencies or third parties to help you with the technical side of things, so that you can really focus on the methods and content. These recommendations are intended to guide you in making your hybrid stand out and really enrich the participants!

Is TikTok the ideal future network to dynamise your awareness campaigns?

The TikTok application is still largely untapped in the non-profit world and yet has enormous potential. The platform gathers videos of a few seconds that mainly revolve around humour, dance, imitations, challenges, storytelling and much more. Themes that often attract the under 20s, the most present users on the network, young people who are thirsty for creativity and imagination and make the network evolve daily.

During the virtual Swissfundraising event, "TikTok - gimmick for youngsters or effective channel for NPO?", Tamara Reinhard, Head of Online Marketing and Communication at the Swiss Paraplegic Group (SPG), explained that TikTok is a boon for NGOs that often have difficulty reaching the younger generation and knowing how to talk to them. The NGOs already on the platform use it mainly to raise awareness and mobilise young people who might become, activists, volunteers or donors in the future. These short videos can be used to convey strong messages and educate users about your cause, to raise awareness about current issues or to fight certain prejudices and stigmas. Some NGOs also use it to issue calls to action, to give advice, or simply to show a different, younger image of their organisation that young users can identify with.

However, it is best to adapt the content to each social network in order to convey your message effectively. For example, on Facebook you will play more on emotional content than on LinkedIn, which is more professional and practical, and on Twitter you will focus on sharing short, more recent and immediate information. This is particularly relevant for TikTok: it is important to know how to use and adapt to the very specific codes of the platform and to keep an eye on the themes, challenges, dances or hashtags that are currently trending. Many young people have deserted other social networks because the content and format were not suitable for them.

Many NGOs are not yet actively using TikTok for fundraising, but perhaps today's users will stay on the platform in the coming years and become potential donors and volunteers in the future. It might therefore be beneficial to learn how to use and exploit this network for your cause in order to prepare your organisation for future challenges and developments in fundraising and the evolution of communication strategies for non-profits.

Disappointment: (Almost) no changes in Swiss foundation law

In autumn 2021, the parliamentary initiative on Swiss foundation law was decided. We recall that some of the proposals in this initiative were of great importance for NGOs:

• A national register for non-profit organisations to provide a simple and transparent overview of all tax-exempt organisations and grant-making foundations.

• The possibility to compensate board members

Read article: Is Swiss foundation law up to date?

These two important points were unfortunately not included in the law by the parliament. It remains practically impossible to pay board members of non-profit organisations with adequate compensation for their increasingly demanding work. Organisations that do pay their board members run the risk of losing their tax exemption.

The longer this goes on, the more of a problem this can become for NGOs, because they are dependent on being professionally managed and accompanied at the strategic level as well. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find competent people who can do this work for free, which in turn places an additional burden on the management of NGOs and is certainly not conducive to their professionalisation and diversification.

At least there is a little extra: Parliament has approved a simplification of amendments to the statutes of foundations: Amendments no longer need to be certified by a notary. This is at least good news for Switzerland's growing foundation landscape: 356 new foundations were established in 2021, as the CEPS, the University of Zurich and Swissfoundations announce in their advance announcement of the Swiss Foundation Report 2021 (available here I from 25 May 2022).

But all in all, the result of this parliamentary initiative is still a bitter disappointment for Swiss non-profit organisations!

For NGOs, this means continuing to look for volunteers for board work at great expense among a limited pool of qualified and motivated professionals.

If you are interested in board work in a non-profit organisation, please contact us! We will be happy to advise you on the expertise and skills needed for board work and put you in touch with interested organisations.