Speakers Bureau Booking Guidelines:

OUR GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. NMHC no longer pays speakers directly. Instead, the council makes a grant to the host organization (based on the information the organization provides in the Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form) and the host organization makes payments to the speaker from that grant. Speakers are not booked until the Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form has been approved by NMHC staff.

Please read through all of the steps listed below before starting the booking process. NMHC will not pay for speaker engagements that do not follow the specified procedures.

Through living history, lectures, and performances, Speakers Bureau programs are intimate explorations of what it means to be human. Schools (grades 5-12) and non-profit organizations are eligible to book these enriching public programs. Follow these steps to book and process a Speakers Bureau program.

Email Keelyn Byram or call at (505)633-7370 ext 101 if you have questions. This the current Speakers Bureau contact information, any other email addresses or phone numbers you may have are out of date.

Program Restrictions:

• All non-profits, schools (5-12) and local, state, and federal government agencies are eligible to book a program.

• For-profit organizations are ineligible for NMHC- sponsored Speakers Bureau programs.**

• All programs must be open to the public and advertised to the community at large.

• Programs may NOT be used for private audiences such as conferences, luncheons and meetings.

• Free admission to the program is required.

• Sponsor must meet 1:1 in-kind match with the average cost of a Speakers Bureau program ($350).
  
  

  Sponsors are encouraged to email Keelyn Byram if there is any question about the eligibility of an organization or event.

  ** As independent contractors, scholars are free to contract with for-profit organizations outside of the Speakers Bureau program without NMHC funding or support.

General Guidelines:

   • Host organizations may book up to 6 programs per calendar year.

   • Speakers may schedule up to 8 programs per calendar year.

   • Expected audience attendance must be a minimum of 20 people.

   • Speakers must be contacted by the host organization and the booking process initiated at least 45 days in advance. Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form (provided by NMHC staff once the initial website request has been received) must be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the program. NO EXCEPTIONS. This allows time for NMHC to process the request and get funds to the host organization ahead of the event, and time for the host organization to process and pay the Speaker in a timely manner (preferably immediately following the event). Failure to pay the Speaker in a timely manner may result in NMHC not approving future requests.

Hosts must provide 1099-MISC forms to Speakers if their honorarium and reimbursements are over $600. 1099-MISC and instructions can be found here: About Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

Also please note that any recording of Speaker presentation must be agreed to by both the the host and the Speaker prior to the event.

Host Organization Responsibilities and How to Book a Speaker

Contact the speaker of your choice to arrange a date and time for the selected program at least 45 days in advance of the program. Begin the booking process by clicking on the button labeled: “Click here to fill out a funding application for this program,” beneath the description of the speaker’s program. Enter the requested information and click “Submit.” This form is to determine whether your organization can meet the required $350 in-kind contribution and is eligible to receive the grant, not to determine the grant amount. In-Kind categories include Volunteer hours, Services and Materials (ex: paper and ink for flyers), Wages (paid staff time spent on planning and executing the event), Facilities (actual rental cost of a third party venue, or estimated value of your own facility), and Other (a catch-all for things that don't fit clearly in other categories, such as refreshments).

NMHC staff will receive an automated message containing your request and will contact you directly about the initiated booking. You will also receive five documents via email: a Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form (pdf), an In-Kind Donation Form (pdf), a Project Director's Evaluation Form (MS Word), and an Audience Survey (MS Word). WARNING: Bookings ARE NOT complete at the conclusion of this step.

CLICK HERE for the SPEAKERS CATALOG »

Determine with the speaker the total cost of the program, i.e. standard honorarium, mileage reimbursement, lodging (if needed), and covered meals. NMHC covers mileage, lodging, meals, and honorarium (honorarium is $250 per Speaker). Total the amount, fill out, and return a Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form at least 30 days in advance of the program.  This allows time for NMHC to process the request and get funds to the host organization ahead of the event, and time for the host organization to process and pay the Speaker in a timely manner. Failure to pay the Speaker in a timely manner may result in NMHC not approving future requests.

Return the Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form via email to keelyn@nmhumanities.org.

NMHC staff will contact you within 5 business days if your request is approved. Payment will occur only after NMHC approval. WARNING: Bookings are only complete once NMHC approves them as part of this step.

Provide mutually agreed-upon facilities, equipment, and technical needs for your program.

Advertise and promote your program to the general public as well as to your membership. You must aim to have at least 20 people attend the program. Publicity for the event must state that it is open to the public and made possible by the New Mexico Humanities Council, which is supported by grants from National Endowment for the Humanities.

If your organization has a Facebook presence, create an event and add NMHC as a co-sponsor so we can share the event. Also send a letter to your state and federal representatives to attend the program. A sample letter can be found here. Additionally, click here for NMHC branding materials/logos.

At the introduction of the program, credit the New Mexico Humanities Council for sponsorship of the program.

Return the completed program paperwork via email to Keelyn Byram within 5 business days following completion of a program, along with any balance of the grant amount paid to your organization minus the amount actually spent on program costs. Documents/forms to be sent via email to NMHC at this point in the process include:

- Evaluation Form: Please complete the entire evaluation form (you may type directly into the MS Word document), and don’t forget to include substantive comments regarding the presentation. Also tell us how you spent the grant funds (in accordance with the figures for standard honorarium, lodging, mileage and covered meals that you provided on your Speakers Bureau Payment Request Form) and cost share (also referred to as in-kind). Cost share/in-kind is the value of the time you and others contributed to organizing this program, as well as the equivalent value of the program venue or other contributed materials. For help calculating cost share/in-kind, click here. By applying for a speaker, you agree to report cost share. Incomplete evaluations will be returned and further bookings will not be permitted until they are corrected. 

- Completed audience surveys

- Copies of, or links to, program publicity (flyers, news articles, links to online calendars, social media posts, etc.)