Call for Proposals

Call for proposals is currently closed and will reopen mid-summer 2025

CalSAE is seeking education content leaders for the 2024/2025 program year including the ELEVATE Annual Conference, Seasonal Spectacular, Membership & Marketing Summit, regional programs, and webinars. To deliver a positive learning experience, CalSAE welcomes proposals designed to advance the work of association professionals, business partners, and the industries they serve.

Proposals should:

  • Offer different learning formats designed for the adult-learner
  • Provoke discussion and audience interaction
  • Provide relevant strategies and tactics to common challenges

Download the CFP form in Word to collect your thoughts/prep before going to the online form. CalSAE is a CAE Approved Provider of year-round educational programs led by experts in the association community including association professionals, consultants, and industry partners. Our members value different learning formats, insights on industry trends, strategies to lead their organizations, new ideas on meetings and events, practical membership models, and other thought-provoking content to advance the industries they serve

Proposal Tips
  • Collect your Thoughts - we recommend you prepare your proposal in Word first, then go to the online submission form, see above link to download. Grammar and spelling count!

  • Content is King - Be thoughtful and thorough when developing your proposal to describe the intent of the session, key takeaways and learning objectives.

  • Make It Compelling - If it's canned, it's spam. Our attendees will expect that the speakers at CalSAE events understand the unique needs and challenges of the association industry.

  • Be Authentic & Vulnerable - Speak of failure as well as success.

  • Know Your Audience - Attendees are composed of non-profit association executives, their staff, and industry partners who run the gamut from hotel sales managers to professional service providers and consultants. Learning levels are diverse, with most participants ranging from mid to high-level, or applied to strategic level.

  • No Sales Zone – Sharing knowledge, industry insights and trends is the most effective marketing to promote yourself or your business. Our attendees are savvy professionals. Sales pitches disguised as education will result in poor ratings and lost opportunities.

  • Be Interactive – CalSAE members attend events to learn and to network. Thoughtful interaction infused into educational programs is a wonderful opportunity for attendees to learn from the speaker and from each other. 
ELEVATE 2025 Proposal Review & Selection

Multi-Step Review Process

While proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis for general programming through the year, the ELEVATE 2025 review process will begin in Sept 2024 and conclude in October 2024, following these steps:

  • Step 1: Volunteer Peer Review Process – this step is a blind review of the session proposals by CalSAE volunteer members. Speaker informant is omitted during this phase so the focus of the review is on the quality of the content in the proposal. Do not include your speaker information in the session title, description or elsewhere other than when asked for it explicitly in the submission form – such as in the bio field and in the past speaking experience field.
  • Step 2: STEAK Committee – highly rated proposals from step 1 are reviewed with speaker names revealed. In this step, the proposals are more thoroughly evaluated beyond the content, as the speakers' background, credentials, experience, etc. are all taken into consideration.

Selection and Timing

  • Selections for ELEVATE will be confirmed in early November 2024.
Honorarium & Travel Reimbursement (if applicable)
  • Speakers selected through the Call for Proposals will receive a 50% discounted registration and are encouraged to participate in other programs during the conference. 
  • Honorariums are not provided for most CalSAE events.
  • Travel stipends may be provided in a case-by-case basis.
Ideas or Questions?

Please contact Megan Denhardt, CAE with any questions about the proposal process.