Dreamforce 2024 Essentials: What to Know Before You Go
Amongst the Arkies attending Dreamforce this year, we have a combined 30 or so Dreamforce attendances under our belts. Below is a summary of our best tips for making the most out of Dreamforce, sessions we are excited for, and where you can find Arkies at this amazing conference that is equal parts inspiring and overwhelming.
Our top Dreamforce tips
Pick up your badge on Monday. If you have the flexibility in your travel schedule, pick up your badge on Monday. It’s open from 11 AM - 9 PM PT at Moscone West. I’d encourage you to explore a bit around the area after you pick up your badge so you aren’t stepping foot into Dreamforce world for the first time as you try to find the session you want to attend first thing on Tuesday.
Go to the Keynote but get there EARLY. Especially if it’s your first time attending Dreamforce, the Keynote is worthwhile. It starts at 10 AM PT (this year in Moscone South, LL, Keynote Room) but people will start lining up more than an hour in advance. Grab a coffee, show up around 830 AM to explore the area, and when you see people start lining up join in and meet a new friend while you wait. Also check out the “Nonprofit Keynote”: Nonprofit: Amplify Your Work and Mission with AI
Plan at least one in-person lunch or coffee break. It’s a good way to break up your days and make some in-person connections. Whether it be with the new friend you met in the Keynote line, or your favorite Arky that you finally get to meet in person, that human connection is a big part of the Dreamforce experience!
When creating your agenda, sort by “Nonprofit” but then unsort and go through products you’re interested in. Many of the “non-nonprofit” sessions will actually be relevant to you also! Where you see “Customer” think “Donor” or “Constituent” and voilà!
Have a plan — but let the wind take you places too! Have a general sense of the sessions you want to attend, but be flexible if other things pop up that you want to go to instead (because they will).
Wear comfortable shoes and bring a jacket.
For more tips, check out our CEO’s blog post: 10 Years of Dreamforce Tips (the WiFi has gotten a bit better over the years, but most of it is the same).
Sessions We are Most Excited For
Tuesday Sessions
Migrating from NPSP to Nonprofit, Data, and Marketing Clouds - Tuesday, Sept 17th from 830 AM - 915 AM PT - Metreon AMC, L3, Theater 10 I know I just told you to get in line early for the Keynote. But getting in line around 9:20/9:30 should still work out well. If you’re a current NPSP customer, I’d highly recommend this session. From what we have seen in the NPSP to NPC migration space with our clients, the timeline can range from actively planning for this migration to no plans to migrate for at least 5 years. Check out this session to see where you think your organization would or should fall - and if you need someone to debrief with afterwards to gather your thoughts (because this is a lot to take in in 45 minutes), reach out to your Arkus team. Our team has spent 500+ hours getting enabled on NPC projects and we are amidst NPC projects for clients today so we are always happy to give our perspective as it pertains to your nonprofit.
Slack Keynote: Future of Human-Centric, Agent-Powered Work - Tuesday, Sept 17th from 12:30 PM - 1:20 PM PT - Moscone West, L3, Keynote Room This is probably the session that I am personally most excited to attend. The keynotes are always flashy with fun demos, but beyond that, it really does help you start to contextualize not just “where is this tool today” but “where is it headed”.
Change is Hard: Lessons in Change Management for Nonprofits - Tuesday, Sept 17th from 3 - 3:20 PM PT - Intercontinental, L3, Union Square Hear from the CTO of The Rockefeller Foundation on the importance of internal buy-in for a successful implementation. It is not solely executive responsibility or that of IT - a successful implementation is truly a team effort.
Wednesday Sessions
Delight Customers with Improved Service Team Efficiency - Wednesday, Sept 18th from 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM PT - Moscone West, L3, Slack Theater As my tip above mentions, don’t pigeon-hole yourself to “Nonprofit-specific” sessions. Where this session says “customer”, think “constituent”. So many of the slack use cases are equally if not more relevant for the nonprofit industry given the focus on collaboration and boosting productivity (read: doing more with less). I think this will be a very relevant one for many of our clients, particularly those providing services.
From Armchairs to Action: Engaging a Broader Audience - Wednesday, Sept 18th from 12:45 - 1:05 PM PT - Intercontinental, L5, Intercontinental Ballroom A A lot of our clients have been asking about Marketing Cloud. This looks like a great session from the National Trust’s CIO to see a concrete example that ties in AI, use of Data Cloud, and Marketing Cloud.
Unlocking Olympic Gold with Data + AI - Wednesday, Sept 18th from 2 - 2:45 PM PT - Moscone South, LL, Content Pavilion, Stage 4 Similar to the above as a way to get a practical use case for AI, Data Cloud, and Marketing Cloud - but the format of this session is “Breakout” and the level is “Advanced” so it will be more hands-on. Plus, I live in Salt Lake City, so I have to throw Olympic highlights in.
Thursday Sessions
How Salesforce Uses Salesforce to Manage Critical Incidents - Thursday, Sept 19th from 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM PT - Moscone North, LL, Campground, Theater 4 We have tons of clients who are required to track incident reports amongst their clients. It looks like this may be relevant for that work.
How Slack Helps Small Businesses Do More with Less - Thursday, Sept 19th from 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM PT - Moscone South, LL, Content Pavilion, Stage 7 I see “Do more with less”, I think, nonprofits. Enough said.
Where You Can Find Us
Outside of all of the amazing sessions and customer highlights and demos, the best part of Dreamforce is meeting other organizations that are in your shoes — as well as meeting the partners, ISVs, and Salesforce team members in person. The networking opportunities are plentiful, and definitely check out the Trailblazer Forest to meet with the different ISV partners and grab some swag, but the below is a highlight of events that the Arkies will be attending.
Tuesday Morning’s Nonprofit & Education Networking Breakfast - Tuesday, September 17th from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. in the W Hotel (181 3rd St, SF, CA). A Dreamforce pass is REQUIRED and it is first come, first served.
Tuesday Evening’s Nonprofit Reception - hosted by Salesforce - sign up here: https://df24nonprofitreception.splashthat.com/
#BobaBlazers x Asiapacforce - it’s currently full but join the waitlist.
Dreamforce 2024 Arts and Culture Community Summit - Arkus is co-hosting this exciting event with the Salesforce team at Salesforce West. If you are an arts and culture organization and interested in attending, reach out to our team directly through our contact form, one of your contacts, or on LinkedIn and we will get you the sign up link.
And most importantly, don’t forget to reach out to your Arkus team and find out who from Arkus will be at Dreamforce! We always love attending sessions or grabbing a coffee with our clients. And when it’s all over, we love to hear about who you met, what you learned, and what you’re most excited about for the future.
You can connect with me directly on LinkedIn and shoot me a message if you have any Dreamforce questions or want to meet up.
