Sponsorships are the backbone of what make this event possible. Without them, we couldn’t rent out Cronkite, afford the tapes, name tags and other supplies and most importantly, wouldn’t have grub to snack on at the after party. If you or your business would like to help us out, we have sponsorship packages available for very cheap.

Session Sponsorship ($25 — 12 available)
These are are the individual sessions. Sponsorships include a 15–30 ad read at the beginning of the presentation, the business’s logo on the presenter slides and the business name and logo on the video of the presentation posted online post event. We have about six left.

Room Sponsorship ($50 — 3 available)
Each sponsor gets to decorate their room how they see fit. There are a few restrictions handed down from Cronkite (can’t affix anything to the walls, for example) but we’re happy to work with you to get the most out of it. You also get your logo and a writeup in a specific post on the blog, as well as thanked by your organizers in the beginning. These are sold out.

After-Party Sponsorship (~$100 — 2 available)
These businesses buy us appetizers at our venue of choice after the event. They are included in the previous writeup and we will work with the after-party venue to get signage up if they so desire. They are considered our title sponsors and will get preferential placement on blogs and will be included in the RSS footer of every post. We’ll also thank them in the opening act.

Session sponsors do have a say in what sessions they sponsor, but their choices aren’t final. Every effort is made to ensure the sponsors and the session material coincide with each other or that they don’t conflict horribly (like an alcohol company couldn’t sponsor a college presenter, not that we have any alcohol companies as sponsors, but you know what I mean).

As of Labor Day Weekend, session sponsorships and one after-party sponsorship is still available.

CenPhoCamp, first devised by me and Yuri Artibise is late 2009, was created to help greater downtown Phoenix small businesses use the tools and access the communities that are readily available to them. From social media to philanthropy groups and weekend brunches to clever, word-of-mouth marketing campaigns, we know that greater collaboration benefits everyone. Phoenix, especially what we consider CenPho and downtown, can’t afford to act as separate entities any longer.

But researching what works takes time, it takes money and it often takes a level of understanding that doesn’t come natively to most people. The skills that businesses need to succeed in the new economy need to be taught to those willing to listen.

CenPhoCamp is that solution. Designed for small businesses to learn from other local companies, area leaders and media professionals, CenPhoCamp, now run by me and Si Robins, is here to promote collaboration, exchange ideas and strengthen the local community.

–CenPhoCamp is free of charge to any attendee
–Speakers are chosen based on what they can offer the entire community
–Sponsorships pay the rent at Cronkite and appetizers at the after party
–Food and drink are provided by the attendees
–Organizers work on a volunteer basis only

Welcome to the second CenPhoCamp. We’ll have the speaker schedule confirmed the week of Labor Day.

Thanks, and see you October 9!

Tentative October 2010 schedule

January 2010 Schedule

CenPhoCamp wouldn’t have been possible without the gracious support of the community. Every speaker, panelist and sponsor have offered their time and/or money to allow us to rent the Cronkite school and provide some food and drinks for attendees afterwards.

The following four companies are sponsoring each of the four rooms we will be using. Tony’s Light Rail Blogger will be in room 252, Kimber’s Verve Co will be taking over room 202, Derek Neighbor’s Integrum will set up in room 444 and Jane’s Practical Art will set up in room 314.

Thanks to all of you for making this happen and good luck.

Light Rail Blogger
Tony Arranaga blogs about the lightrail in Phoenix — and uses social media to help spread the word about his experience using alternative transportation. Tony uses social media to not only promote his blog but also to start a conversation and get people thinking about riding their bike, sharing a ride, or using the light rail/bus to get around the Valley. Exactly how he starts this conversation is what he’ll focus on during his presentation at CenPho Camp.

Verve Co
Verve is a full-service Internet solution provider. We have provided a wide breadth of design, software and marketing solutions for a variety of businesses all around the globe. Our skill set covers a full-spectrum of key relevant Internet disciplines that allow us to create powerful solutions targeting measurable results. We understand both the technical and marketing aspects of the Internet and are able to fuse the two together to create truly effective solutions for businesses just like yours.

Integrum
Integrum emphasizes business value, speed to market and open communication to build remarkable Ruby on Rails web applications. Integrum has worked with organizations of all sizes, from startups to the enterprise. They utilize Agile software development methodologies and powerful tools to deliver your project on time, and on budget.

Practical Art
At practical art, everything is handmade by more than 70 different local Arizona artisans. In their large storefront on Central Avenue, north of Camelback, they carry over 2,000 functional, usable wares in glass, ceramic, metal, wood, fibers, and more. Expect to find things like wood bowls and utensils made from local fallen trees; glassware and ceramic items in any useful shape you can imagine; scarves, blankets and other knit or woven fibers; classically handcrafted furniture, jewelry, soap, and paper. Just about anything useful for your everyday life that is handmade in Arizona can be found at practical art!

practical art is also affordable destination for everyone: most of the items sell for less than $35. practical art is the perfect place to find a treasured gift. practical art has been named “Best of Phoenix” by the New Times and “Best in the Valley” by Phoenix Magazine.

Thanks to Shane Cathers for giving us some great information on video!

Sponsored by Blooming Rock.

Excellent job by Derek Neighbors to get the crowd riled up.

Sponsored by OnePhoenix.

Nice work by Matthew Petro.

Sponsored by PhxRailFood.

Good work by Susan Baier and Justin McHood here. We may have lost the video, but their slides are GREAT.

Nice work by Jack Smith. Love the RailLife shirt.

Looks like we’re not the only ones who think that specialization and focus is good.

Great article from Wired on why smaller is often better.