The conference committee continues to be hard at work to ensure that D+B Cleveland will be a well attended, well sponsored and valuable event for all present. The committee spent most of December focused on the costs and making sure that we do not continue a trend of losing money. We have lost money the last few years with the exception of Asheville in 2025 where we showed approximately a 11% profit.
This was the result of a few factors, but was primarily how we solicited sponsors and vendors, and how they were charged. In short, what we were charging had not been updated to keep up with the increasing costs given to us by the venues.
It was also decided that before we released our numbers for this year, that it made sense to go backwards a step. The committee chair and Chief Staff Officer met for 2.5 hours on December 19th to examine in detail our anticipated 2026 costs. This involved revisiting a budget format that has not been utilized in recent years, but allows a very detailed and accurate analysis. By taking the time to use this tool, we will be able to correct the negative trend seen in recent years and demonstrate our conferences, despite the location and attendance, can indeed show a consistent profit.
The Conference Committee will be meeting at 1:00 pm on January 7th. The goal will be to vote on all attendee ticket costs, sponsorship rates, and exhibit rates. Once those are officially voted on, they will be presented to the Board of Directors to be ratified.
UPDATE: The committee met and had final discussions regarding the ticket and vendor fees. With the required attendance of three Board members present, the committee approved the following price structure for D+B 2026 in Cleveland, with a few minor changes to be determined ONLY to the sponsorship and vendor categories.
