For years, NACD and NCF relied on printed guides, spreadsheets, and last-minute texts to run their biggest events. But as expectations shifted and audiences diversified, they needed a better way to stay connected and reduce confusion among attendees. That’s where Sched came in.
Key Takeaways:
Table of contents
- 1 Key Takeaways:
- 2 Building a Multi-Audience Event Experience That Works For Everyone
- 3 The Challenge: Too Much Printing, Too Many Tools, and Not Enough Time
- 4 The Solution: One Platform to Seamlessly Manage All Events
- 5 The Results: Less Time Managing, More Time Connecting
- 5.1 Go digital and reduce their printing footprint (a major win)
- 5.2 Keep participants informed with push notifications at all times
- 5.3 Make any changes or add information directly onto the platform
- 5.4 Tailor experiences to a wide range of users
- 5.5 Centralize all planning and communication in one place
- 6 Looking to modernize your next event? Try Sched for Free Today.
- Context: The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) host large annual events and youth-focused competitions that require coordination across hundreds of attendees, speakers, and moving parts.
- Challenges: Pre-Sched, NACD relied on printed guides, fragmented communication, and manual coordination. Last-minute changes were hard to manage, and event teams were dealing with too many tools just to keep participants informed.
- Results:
- NACD runs its annual meeting (with 800–1,000 attendees) and NCF runs its annual Envirothon competition through Sched
- Reduced paper use by replacing printed guides with mobile and web-based schedules
- Uses push notifications instead of mass texts or word-of-mouth to notify attendees on any event changes.
- Attendees create personalized schedules and access real-time updates
- Organizers manage speaker info, session updates, and attendee communication all in one tool
- Improved experience for both tech-savvy high schoolers and professionals
- Why Sched? The platform helps NACD modernize its events, streamline logistics, and meet the needs of very different user groups (from student competitors to board members and first-time attendees).
💡Want to go paperless on your next event? Try Sched for free today—no strings attached
Building a Multi-Audience Event Experience That Works For Everyone
The NACD and the NCF host two major annual events: the NACD Annual Meeting and the NCF Envirothon competition. One draws professionals, board members, and conservation partners from across the U.S.; the other brings together hundreds of high school students for an environmental science competition that spans across six days.
Each event brings unique planning needs, but both require fast, flexible communication, live scheduling, and personalized access for hundreds of attendees.
“We see a big range in age groups and tech savviness,” said Candice Abinanti, Director of Communications at NACD. “Sched has helped us modernize our events and meet people where they are—on mobile, on desktop, wherever they prefer.”
The flexibility to support both audiences has made Sched a valuable partner across the board.
The Challenge: Too Much Printing, Too Many Tools, and Not Enough Time
Before Sched, the NACD and Envirothon teams spent a lot of their time and money planning their events. Printed event guides, daily newsletters, and last-minute announcements took hours to produce and were often out of date the moment they were handed out.
“We had to go around campus posting updates or rely on word of mouth,” said Jennifer Brooks, who helps plan NCF’s Envirothon competition. “At one point, I had to use a mass texting system, send emails, and still hope people saw the message on time.”
On top of that, session details for NACD’s annual meeting had to be entered again and again into multiple platforms: on the website, in printed handouts, and in internal spreadsheets. Carly Long, part of NACD’s planning team, said, “We were duplicating everything. Now we just build everything on Sched and embed it on the website. That’s been a huge win for us.”
The team knew they needed a better way to plan and communicate, one that could grow with their events. They were spending way too much time on logistics that could’ve been spent on the experience itself. It was a problem that needed to be addressed sooner than later.
The Solution: One Platform to Seamlessly Manage All Events
The NACD team evaluated a wide range of options before adopting Sched, and the decision quickly became clear. They didn’t want to be handing around event programs and not abide by their environment-friendly initiatives.
“We looked at a bunch of different platforms,” said Carly. “We had the initial meetings with the Sched team, and I thought: ‘This is the best one to go with’. We’ve been happy with that decision ever since. For the last few years that we’ve been using it, it has worked for what we need.”
Sched became their go-to event management tool for planning both professional and student-facing events.
Push notifications via the Sched mobile app replaced scattered texts and last-minute emails. If a room changed or a speaker needed to shift sessions, the team could make the update once and instantly notify everyone. There was no need for follow-ups or posted signs around campus.
Jennifer shares, “We’ve set a new standard. People expect to use the app now. They look forward to it.”
Personalized schedules gave attendees more control over their experience. From mobile or desktop, attendees could browse sessions, bookmark favorites, and build an agenda that matched their interests.
“Being able to blast everything from one platform has been a better change,” said Carly. “Our student events use chat features and mobile. Our professional events still rely on desktop, and Sched supports both.”
On the other hand, speaker bios and session materials were easy to upload and access. Presenters could add details directly to their sessions, giving attendees the background they needed before the event even began.
And behind the scenes, the planning team cut out hours of duplicative work by using Sched’s website embed feature. They now build the full schedule directly in Sched and publish it on the event site in a single step.
The Results: Less Time Managing, More Time Connecting
With 800-1,000 attendees and 40+ breakout sessions at the NACD Annual Meeting alone, the team needed flexibility, visibility, and trust that the platform could support them as things changed.
Sched helped NACD:
Go digital and reduce their printing footprint (a major win)
All event info now lives online, reducing waste and saving hours of manual updates during the event. And of course, the amount of money saved is widely significant. Attendees can easily check the app or web schedule instead of flipping through paper agendas.
Keep participants informed with push notifications at all times
With Sched’s mobile notifications, they are able to send real-time updates to every attendee in seconds, right from the platform. Now it’s easier than ever to notify attendees when a location changes or something major happens.
Make any changes or add information directly onto the platform
The team can simply edit the schedule and event page directly in Sched. That single update gets reflected on the event site, mobile app, and attendee agendas automatically.
Tailor experiences to a wide range of users
Students attending Envirothon accessed the schedule from mobile, used chat features, and created their own custom agendas. Professionals attending NACD’s annual meeting typically viewed the schedule from a desktop. Sched adapts to both the traditional and modern way of managing events.
Centralize all planning and communication in one place
Sched became the one hub for managing event details, speaker bios, check-in information, attendee messages, and updates. Everything lives in one platform, which reduces confusion and makes collaboration across teams much easier.
“Our participants like being able to customize their schedule and access the most current info at their fingertips,” Candice said. “Sched makes that easy for both attendees and planners.”
Looking to modernize your next event? Try Sched for Free Today.
Sched helps organizations of all sizes plan their events with clarity, maintain clear communication, and deliver experiences that leave a long-lasting impression.
The platform has been used for over 25,000 events by more than 10 million users. And the average Sched customer comes back again and again.
No matter the type of event you’re planning, Sched gives you the tools needed to build the experience you want.
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