Case Study: Buck Institute for Education achieves 35+ hours saved per event in venue sourcing with Cvent

Buck Institute of Education - Customer Case Study

The Buck Institute of Education (BIE) is a nonprofit that trains teachers in project‑based learning and runs a growing slate of events, including the annual PBL World conference (1,300+ attendees in 2017) and 12+ events per year. When Events Manager Catherine Meharchand joined, venue sourcing and proposal comparison were manual, inconsistent and time‑consuming—taking up to 40 hours per event—and she needed a more efficient, auditable process that would justify technology investment to leadership.

BIE implemented Cvent (Supplier Network, Registration, CrowdCompass and Onsite Solutions) to centralize RFPs, standardize proposals and access a 245,000+ venue database, while keeping existing hotel contacts in the loop. The change shortened sourcing from roughly 40 hours to about 5 hours per event (35+ hours saved), improved negotiating leverage and reporting for audits, strengthened supplier relationships and freed Catherine to focus on running more effective events.

Buck Institute for Education

Catherine Mercharchand

Events Manager