Event Registration and Attendance Policy
Bleeding Disorders Foundation of North Carolina (BDFNC) is dedicated to supporting the bleeding disorders community through a variety of programs and services. With the exception of fundraisers, all BDFNC events and activities are provided free of charge to its member participants. The demand for these events has risen over the years, as have their production costs.
With the support of its sponsors and contributors, BDFNC pays the often significant cost associated with each event. BDFNC must provide an accurate attendance count to event venues for food, beverage, and accommodations. Most costs are charged on a per-person basis and must be paid in advance. BDFNC cannot recover any amount already paid for people who register but do not attend.
To help ensure that its resources are used efficiently and effectively, and to maximize the opportunities afforded to our members, BDFNC has established this Event Registration and Attendance Policy.
Cancellations and No-Shows
No-Show – A “no-show” is defined as anyone (individual or family) who has registered for an event and does not attend without providing advance notification to BDFNC.
Notice of Cancellation – BDFNC requires all persons who have registered for an event to provide BDFNC with as much notice as possible when they are not going to be able to attend, or when they must change the number of persons registered in their group. For “virtual” events, BDFNC requests, but does not require, the courtesy of cancellation notification.
No-show Consequences – No-shows may be required to pay a deposit and/or receive lower priority when registering for future events; repeat offenders may be disallowed from attending future events. Because of limited funds, when evaluating requests for financial aid, BDFNC reserves the right to take into consideration whether an applicant has been a “no show” as defined above.
Deposit Guidelines – BDFNC will require a $25 deposit to accompany any future registrations if a member has been a no-show for two events within a 12-month period. The deposit will be refunded in full at the event. After a period of 12 months without a no-show the deposit will no longer be required.
Overnight Accommodations (Hotel) Guidelines
There are certain BDFNC educational events that may include overnight accommodations (hotel) assistance. This assistance will be available to members who live more than 30 miles from the event site, and will consist of one room per family for the duration of the event. (The 30-mile restriction may not apply to retreats and similar events.) Families may request additional rooms and/or nights at their own expense (group rates may still be applied). No rooms will be provided to individuals under the age of 21 unless accompanied by an adult age 21 or older. BDFNC reserves the right to make exceptions to these accommodations guidelines on a case-by-case basis.
No-show Consequences – If a member has been a no-show to an event where BDFNC has provided a room in their name within the past two years, BDFNC will require the member to use their credit card in order to make their hotel reservation. This requirement will be removed two years after the latest no-show occurrence.
Registration Management Guidelines
Application Receipt Notification: BDFNC will notify the applicant of the status of their application in a timely fashion after receipt of their registration information.
Waiting List: A registrant may be placed on a waiting list for a number of reasons. If space becomes available after registration has closed, BDFNC will offer spaces, in order of priority, to those on the waiting list. Those for whom space is not available will likewise be notified.
Registration Priority will be determined by:
- Target audience of the event. Some events, including virtual events, have specific criteria for attendance. As one example, there may be an event designed for families that have children ages twelve and under who have a bleeding disorder. When such a criterion exists, priority will be given to BDFNC members who meet the specified criterion. If the registrants do not meet the criteria for the event they will be put on the waiting list.
- No-show history. Registrants who have been a no-show to any BDFNC event in the previous 12 months will be placed on the waiting list.
- Industry affiliation. BDFNC may give lower registration priority – including placement on the waiting list – to attendees who are employed by (or under contract with) an industry that provides goods or services to the bleeding disorders community. It is the individual’s responsibility to inform BDFNC, at the time of registration, of any association they have with such an industry. Unless otherwise specified, Industry Agent attendance will be limited to those persons attending as a Representative of a sponsoring company per sponsorship benefit guidelines (see BDFNC’s Standards for Industry and Industry Agents policy for definitions). BDFNC reserves the right to make exceptions.
- History of attendance and participation at other educational events over the past year.
- Capacity of the event venue.
- In-state residents may be given priority over out-of-state residents.
- Date/time of registration. All other criteria being equal, registrants will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Other
Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Travel Assistance may be offered for some BDFNC events, upon request, to families living 30 miles or more from the event. These will be available in the form of “gas cards” (pre-loaded debit cards) that will be distributed at the event.
For virtual events for which BDFNC offers reimbursement for meals or other out-of-pocket expenses, attendees must meet the requirements for reimbursement as stated in the event description.
Attendance: All attendees of BDFNC events are expected to be present at all event sessions. Attendees who leave early will forfeit any travel assistance and may be placed on the waiting list when registering for future events.
Indemnification Waiver – All attendees of BDFNC events, when registering for an event and in consideration of the benefits derived therefrom, will be required to waive all claims against BDFNC, its employees, officers, directors, agents, and representatives on account of any accident, injury, and/or illness (including but not limited to COVID-19) that may occur during or as a result of attending the event.
Revised by the BDFNC Board of Directors – March 17, 2022