Registration process for Conference Events

The Conference is interested in providing online event registration to our Ministry Teams and requests that the following processes be followed in order to facilitate an organized, well-run registration for your event. 

Please read all information. Note that there is a link to a form titled "Information Needed for Event Registration", which will need to be completed and either mailed or emailed to Vicki Putney, Director of Ministry Support. Contact information is provided on the form. 

These procedures are provided to ensure consistency of process for teams and Conference staff, as well as accurate tracking of income related to Conference events and registration fees. It is desired that, where possible, monies for event registrations be received only by the Conference office.

An area that is problematic for event organizers, conference staff, and participants is late and/or on-site registration. When stated deadlines are not met by the participant or the participant's church, the information provided by conference staff to event organizers is inaccurate. This situation creates confusion at the registration site for both the event organizer and the participant. Therefore, conference staff asks that event organizers take particular note of registration deadline information and clearly communicate that to their potential participants.

Information for the Organizer of the Event:

• Requests for online registration need to be made two weeks prior to the start of registration
• There is a per registrant fee that the Conference pays, which must either be incorporated into the fee structure for the event, or paid via the team's budget line

Fee-based registrations:

• 1.5% of fee plus $.50 per transaction for payments by check
• 4.0% of fee plus $1.00 per transaction for credit card payment
• Free registrations: $.50 per transaction whether on-line or mailed in

• Information needed for set up of the online registration must be provided by the team or event organizer as described below
• Registration must close two working days prior to the event to provide adequate time to process reports and payment information
• Registration/payment information will be provided in MS Excel format by the Conference to the team's designated person via email
• There is a fee for processing credit card refunds, which is the same fee as for processing the original registration (see above). These fees will be charged to the team. In addition, the Conference may withhold a refund, if deemed appropriate, when the cancellation occurs after guarantees have been provided to vendors. (i.e. guaranteed numbers have been provided to a vendor for food or lodging for which the Conference will be charged)

Information to be provided to the Conference by the organizer of the event:

Information requested via the attached form must be provided to the Director of Ministry Support two weeks prior to the start of registration:

Information that goes out to the public regarding registrations:

Below is standard language that event organizers and Conference staff should use when providing registration information to the public. Event organizers can offer one or two ways to register.

Paper Form: Forms can be produced in MS Word or as a PDF document. They can be printed on the registrant's local printer, and then filled in manually; or they can be downloaded to their hard drive, filled in on the computer, and printed on a local printer. All forms should provide the option for credit card payment and ask for 1) name of credit card holder as it appears on the card, 2) address of cardholder, 3) card type (Visa or MasterCard) and expiration date; we do not accept American Express or Discovery; and 4) signature of cardholder. The related instructions for this method are as follows:

Click on “Print Registration Form to Mail In.” This will open the registration form in MS Word or PDF format. You can type your information into the form (by clicking in the check boxes or form blanks, using the Tab key to move through the form) and then print the form to your local printer. OR you can print the form to your local printer and fill in by hand. Mail your completed form, with appropriate fees (checks made payable to NCNY Conference) to: NCNY Conference, PO Box 1515 , Cicero NY 13039 .

Online Registration: When the team is offering online registration for an event, the link for the form will be included in the promotional description of the event. The related instructions for this method are as follows:

Click on “Register Online Here”. Be sure to check the Disclaimer before entering your information.  Complete the form, then click “Next”. You will have an opportunity to review your information. To make changes, click “Edit”. To accept the information, click “Add to Cart”. You can enter credit card information (Visa or MasterCard only) which will be processed through a secure site. Or you can indicate that you will mail a check. When payment information is complete, click the "Complete Now" button and your registration will be complete. A confirmation page will appear – print it -- and then you will click "I'm Done" to exit.  Online registrations will receive an email confirmation. If you do not receive an email confirmation, your registration did not process and you must re-register. If mailing a check, send a copy of the registration with your check made payable to: NCNY Conference, PO Box 1515 , Cicero NY 13039.

Late/On-site Registrations:

Late registrations are those that are received in the Conference office after the registration deadline. Late registrations will be process to the best of staff ability in order to provide accurate reports to the event organizers. In the event that a registration is received too late to be processed, the registration form and payment will be held in the safe for processing at the conclusion of the event following confirmation information from the event organizer. It is permissible for Conference staff to advise late registrants that they must register on-site.

On-site registrations are those that are new registrations at the site of the event. A registration form and appropriate fees must be provided by the participant to the registrar. It is important to have the form in order to properly process the attendance of the participant as well as their payment of fees. The registrar must see that the participant completes the form prior to attendance at the event. The event organizer is responsible for safe holding of all registration documentation and fees received at the event. This information must be delivered to the Conference office within three days of the close of the event.

It is imperative that the on-site registrar for the event use a uniform method for checking-in participants, and use as few assistants as is needed for a quick and efficient check-in. Each registrar assistant should have a copy of the same registration report so as to have uniform data. In addition, each should have an ample supply of on-site registration forms to record registrations that do not appear on the reports. This is very important for ease of collating registration information after the close of the event and to ensure proper payment was received from all participants. The on-site registration form can be the same as the regular registration form but copied onto a different color. It can also be a simplified version or a checklist format as long as the same format is used by all registrar assistants (see sample).