Test Time Once you finish reading this CMP Series article, watch the following videos:

have time in their meeting planning — to do a bit of homework.” Unfortunately, not all planners take that kind of time. Many “do not dig very deeply,” Smith said, and rely mostly on CVBs to pick organizations suitable for volunteer efforts when their meeting comes to town. But Smith believes that there may be “better ways to engage with communities in the cities that we meet” and that “going through a tourist organization” is not necessary optimal. “I am sure that there are some CVBs that are doing it well, but my guess is that they have a challenge being really honest about it,” Smith said, “and that you have to reach out deeper. I think CVBs are just getting their head around how to connect communities with the meeting planners. But I think they’re trying to shelter [attendees] in some instances from real needs. I think they want to paint a pretty picture of their destinations — we all have [those less desirable aspects], and in the tourism and hospitality industry, we don’t talk about that.” Smith thinks that planners can take better

advantage of site inspections by talking with people on the ground. She recommends asking individu- als about their own volunteer activities; or, if they work at a hotel, what are some of the things the hotel does to give back to the community. “In a lot of cases,” Smith said, “we’re doing work in our own communities, but we’re just not talking about it.”

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT It has become expected now, Smith said, that attendees have an opportunity to participate in a CSR activity as part of an event — and that could be a problem. As community-service initiatives have become actual components of events, they have “become almost event-sized. And I don’t know that it necessarily is having the amount of impact that is really needed,” she said. “Like, we go and paint a school, but is that the second time that school has been painted in this last year? … We’re trying to look for projects that are easy for people to do, and when you start limiting based on logistics and the skill level of the people, then you start kind of watering down the need. Maybe that school needs its furnace rebuilt. And no one at the American Cardiology Association is really going

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‘When you start limiting [projects] based on logistics and the skill level of the people, then you start watering down the need.’

› Dan Pallotta’s TEDTalk, “The Way We Think About Charities Is Dead Wrong,” at convn.org/pallotta-ted.

› The first 11 minutes of Ken Stern’s Motley Fool inter- view, “What’s Wrong With the Charitable Sector and How to Fix It,” at convn.org/stern-motley.

To earn one hour of CEU credit, visit pcma.org/ convene-cmp to answer questions about the informa- tion contained in this CMP Series article and in these two videos.

The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) is a registered trademark of the Convention Industry Council.

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