Disabled Sports USA Presents Adapt2Achieve

Disabled Sports USA, an organization dedicated to providing adaptive sports opportunities for people with disabilities to develop independence, confidence and fitness through sports, is hosting a conference for directors and event owners of events for people with disabilities.

The Adapt2Achieve Adaptive Sports Development Conference will be presented September 21-24, 2014, in Washington, D.C.

This event focuses on how to host a successful athletic fundraising event.

Does your organization host an athletic fundraising event? Are you looking to take your road race or Ski-a-Thon to the next level? Whether you are starting a new event or looking to improve an existing one, this conference will teach you how to design a safe and successful athletic fundraiser, grow your participant base, and increase your bottom line. Learn best practices from industry leaders that produce nationwide events including the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the Bike MS Series.  In addition to engaging presentations, there will be numerous opportunities for networking and sharing of best practices.

Conference Sessions Will Include:

•Is Hosting a Fundraising Event Right for my Chapter?

•Participant Acquisition

•Designing Your Event

•Participant Fundraising

•Successful “Day of Event” Execution

•Obtaining Event Sponsors

•Integrating Military Into Your Event

•Creating an Adaptive Division Within an Existing Event

About Featured Presenters:Disabled Sports USA is excited to host OP3, a leading event production and fundraising consulting firm.  OP3 has raised over $495 million for clients as a direct result of fundraising consulting services.

Olive Isaacs, Vice President of Operations, helped pioneer the Avon Walks, opening the first event office in New York in January 2003 when she joined OP3. While building that event to the series’ biggest and most financially successful, she expanded her role to Regional, and then National Operations Director, taking on national responsibility for recruiting walkers. Her overhaul of the recruitment process in 2005 led to a 30% increase in participation. Olive’s oversight of the Avon Foundation’s Need for Speed Relay (for Domestic Violence support) from 2006-2008 increased fundraising by 40% and participation by 31%, while her work on the Audi Best Buddies Challenge biking events in 2009-2011 yielded a $1 million increase in revenue and a 30% increase in participation in year one, with subsequent increases of 12-16% year over year. As VP of Operations, Olive now oversees the national operations staff for all OP3 events and is responsible for recruitment, fundraising, and customer service for all Avon Walks and the Out of the Darkness Overnight events.

Erica Helphand, Vice President of Production, has well over 200 events under her belt and has been with OP3 since it began in 2002. Her experience running safe, memorable, cost-efficient events that provide great guest experiences stretches beyond the U.S. borders to both Europe and Africa. Erica has been instrumental in the planning, design, and implementation of every Avon Walk since the inception of the series.  Her commitment to continuous improvement has significantly reduced required resources without compromising event integrity or participant safety.  In addition to the Avon Walks, Erica oversees logistics and production for the Out of the Darkness Overnight events benefiting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Bike MS Waves to Wine and Coastal Challenge Rides benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Be The Match Walk+Run series benefiting the Be The Match Foundation (formerly the National Marrow Donor Program), and all other OP3 production client events.

Event owners and others can register at this link. Contact Julia Ray at jray@dsusa.org with any questions.