What is Burn After Meeting?

Burn After Meeting is a conference for regional burn event organizers to share practical concerns and solutions, to learn from each other rather than having to learn the hard way, and to build an environment of mutual support. This short conference format provides the opportunity for organizers to expand both their knowledge base and their networks with valuable face-to-face interaction.

In the spirit of burn events, BAM is participant-driven. Attendees are invited to be speakers and moderators, and to propose and present on topics of experience.

BAM was inspired by Burning Man’s Global Leadership Conference, which was last held in 2017, and aims to create the same lively, collaborative environment and sense of fun.

BAM's first year was 2023, and the overall reaction from participants was very positive.

About Burn After Meeting 2025

BAM 2025 will be held on November 22-23 at the J Resort in Reno NV. 

What We Need & What You Get

We need to pre-sell 90 tickets by March 22 because we need to sign a contract with the hotel.

Running a conference hosted at a hotel is a big financial commitment. In 2023, it was also very stressful not knowing whether we'd hit our numbers until the last minute. In 2024, we ran a crowdfunding campaign that worked well to ensure we had the money we needed to run the conference, so we're doing that again.

If this crowdfunding campaign does not reach its goal the conference will not happen and you will not be charged.

If the campaign succeeds, contributors will receive a coupon code that can be redeemed for conference registration after the campaign ends. During the campaign, you can purchase up to 12 tickets and distribute these within your organization as you see fit.

Included in the price of a ticket is a buffet breakfast and morning coffee, and access to the conference.

If this campaign meets its goal, additional tickets will be offered through the BAM website at $185, up to a maximum of 200 participants.

The Impact

BAM is run by a tiny crew who cannot shoulder the financial risk of this conference on their own. Your support will make BAM 2025 possible.

What makes BAM valuable? Here are some comments from participants in 2023:

"Being with others who make these things go in a place where we are all holding space for talking specifically about it"

"Meeting everyone, learning about the other orgs and how they operate and what lessons I can use to help my own org become safer, and more efficient."

"Getting a group of talented and passionate leaders together to talk about the sorts of problems we all face as event organizers and community leads."

Risks & Challenges

BAM 2025 will follow a similar format to the previous two years, which makes it a known quantity. However, nothing in life is certain.

The fact that BAM is run by a very small organizing committee means that the loss of any one member (due to injury, illness, or other life circumstances) would be felt especially hard. We will endeavor to ensure that everyone on the organizing committee has access to all the levers and dials on the control panel.

Like a burn event, this conference is participant-driven. Participants will propose and run the sessions. It is possible that the slate of sessions will turn out to be thin or not very interesting, although past experience with burners suggests otherwise.