Gathering Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Once you’re at Gathering, there are many choices about what to do. We’ve compiled some suggestions for first-time attenders for self-care, connection, staying grounded, and navigating the event. Read Tips for First Time Attenders at the Gathering.

Everyone is welcome at the FGC Gathering, and each year we have a number of Friends from other continents and other branches in the Religious Society of Friends. However, as an organization, our core mission and our core constituency is serving affiliated Friends in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. We are a tri-national organization, and that’s where our resources are focused.

If you have a visa for something else, we encourage Friends to add the Gathering into their travel plans. FGC does not provide consulate letters for conference attenders. Please wait until you have a visa in order to register for the Gathering.

We are not able to provide any funding for travel for Friends outside the US, Canada, and Mexico. Priority for financial aid for the FGC Gathering is given to Friends who are part of FGC-affiliated yearly and monthly meetings. The policy of Friends General Conference is that scholarship funds for conferences are to be granted first to members and attenders of FGC-affiliated Meetings, then those in other North American Meetings, and those from outside the US who are providing program opportunities (such as leading a workshop). Scholarship funds are available to other foreign registrants only after these needs are met, but in recent years the requests for financial aid from Friends within the US, Canada, and Mexico have exceeded available funds.

If you decide to register, review our cancellation policy before you do so, as there are fees for cancelling a registration.

Yes, but read our tips for a non-Quaker at the Gathering. 

Use the Gathering Contact Form

If you have signed up on the Gathering email list, or attended a previous Gathering and not opted-out of receiving email, you should be getting emails about the Gathering.

There are several steps you can take to make sure you allow Gathering email to get through to you and out of your spam folder. The Gathering office uses email to communicate critical information to attenders! Please make sure our emails will get to you by telling your email client to allow all emails originating from the following domains. (CVENT is the registration software we use.)

fgcquaker.org

cventmail.com

The email could come from different specific senders at FGC or CVENT.  Perhaps your email client will recognize  *@fgcquaker.org  and *@cventmail.com to indicate that you want all emails from FGC and CVENT.

For Gmail users, read our step by step instructions for adding FGC email addresses below. Here are instructions for Outlook. For other email applications, you can search “how to whitelist emails in (name of your email application)”.

For Gmail users:

• Go to your Inbox
• Click on the cogwheel in the upper right corner, and choose “Settings”click the “Filters” tab
• Click on “Filters” (to the right of the “Compose” button)
• Select “Create a new filter” (at the very bottom)
• Put:  *@fgcquaker.org in the From field.  (This means “any emails from fgcquaker.org”)
• Leave other fields blank
• Click “Create a filter with this search” in the bottom right corner of the filter box
• Check the box “Never send to spam”
• If you wish, check the box “Always mark as important”
• Click blue “Create Filter” button
• REPEAT process for *@cventmail.com

Please send feedback about these instructions to gathering@fgcquaker.org

Google also has e-mail categories like Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. When you open your inbox, you’ll see your Primary tab first. If you want to make sure FGC e-mail appears in your primary e-mail, or if you want it sorted into another specific category, please follow these Gmail instructions.

CAUTION

It is possible for other computers to masquerade as someone you know, making it look like e-mail is coming from us when it isn’t. We will never send you a zip file or an executable program file (has .zip or .exe at the end), and we only send weblinks which we identify as Gathering-related. Use caution when clicking on a link, and feel free to call us if you are not sure something came from one of us (215-561-1700, option 2 on the menu).

FGC wants Friends to attend the in-person Gathering regardless of financial need. Scholarships and workgrants are available for those registering for the full in-person Gathering or half-Gathering, but not for part-time registrants. Register in early April to get highest priority for financial assistance.

A workgrant is a fee waiver for specific volunteer service during the Gathering. You can apply for a workgrant or scholarship when you register for the Gathering. Priority for scholarships goes to Friends in FGC-affiliated meetings. There is also funding specifically to help Friends of Color attend FGC events – learn more about applying for this funding.

As well, many monthly meetings have funds for just these type of events – we suggest you ask your meeting early!

More information about Financial Aid at the 2023 Gathering will be posted in January, 2023

What you attend is up to you. If you don’t want to – or are unable to – attend every event, that’s ok. While there are so many options, it’s also important to rest, take care of our bodies, and to allow time for informal connection.

We do ask that you attend your workshop sessions. Those have a limited capacity, and if you register but don’t attend, you could be keeping that spot from someone who wants to attend. There are some workshops that said part-time attendance is ok – so it’s fine if you don’t attend every session of those workshops. 

The 2022 Gathering Attenders Directory is available online through July, and you can access it by logging into your Gathering registration. There is not a pre-printed copy of the 2022 Attenders Directory. You will only be able to access it until August 1, 2022.

Return to the Virtual Gathering registration site by following this link. Alternately, use the link to view your registration in your registration confirmation or Final Details emails.

• Click “Already Registered?” near the top of the page.
• Enter primary registrant’s name and email address, exactly as entered on the registration form.
• Enter Confirmation Number. (It’s in your registration confirmation & final details emails, or you click on the request button.)
• Click the OK button.
• Click on the POST REGISTRATION tab at the top.
• Click on Attenders Directory tab on the next line down.
• The list is arranged by last name. Depending on the size of your screen you might have to scroll to the right to view all columns. (Scrolling bar is at the bottom of the page.)
• There is not a printer-friendly version, but you may print it from your web browser

Only Gathering participants who have opted-in to the Attenders Directory are listed. This list is only to be used by 2022 Gathering registrants for individual contact. Using data from this list for mailing lists or any bulk communication is expressly prohibited by Friends General Conference. Individuals included in this list have only given permission to be contacted on an individual basis by other Gathering attenders.  

There will not be an Attenders Directory for YAY Gathering.

To make a payment by credit card:

1. Visit (link will be posted when Gathering registration is open) to access your Gathering registration
2. Click “Already Registered”
3. Enter primary registrant’s email address, exactly as entered on the registration form.
4. Enter Confirmation Number (it’s in the primary registrant’s confirmation email, or you can click on the request button).
5. Click “Log In” button.
6. Click “Submit Payment” button.
7. Complete credit/debit card information
8. Click “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

The primary registrant will automatically receive an email noting the payment .

To make a payment by check:

Make out the check to Friends General Conference and write “Gathering registration” in the memo line along with the names of everyone you’re paying for

Mail the check to:

Gathering staff
Friends General Conference
1216 Arch St, #2B
Philadelphia, PA 19107

If these instructions don’t help, then click “Needs staff processing” as your payment option and contact the Gathering Office. Do not leave your credit card number on our voice mail!

Mail the check to the Gathering Office, payable to Friends General Conference. Make sure that the memo line includes your name and “FGC Gathering”

The mailing address is

FGC Gathering
1216 Arch St 2B
Philadelphia, PA 19107

1. Make sure that the amount you’ve entered as your total payment is equal to or less than the balance due on your account—the form won’t let you overpay. (If you want to make a donation, we can add that to your registration.)
2. If paying less than the total due on your account, make sure you have itemized your payment (for example, if you want to make a payment of $100, you need to say whether you want that applied to your program fee, housing, etc). You can’t pay more than is due on any single item, and the total in those item boxes must add up to your total payment.
3. Check the formatting of your total payment. It should have a dollar amount, decimal point, and cent amount, with no dollar sign or other punctuation. For example, if you were paying $100, your total amount should look like this: “100.00” not like “$100.00” or “100”.
4. Please make sure that your billing name and address exactly match your credit card bill. Slight variations (such as “Ave” instead of “Avenue”) can prevent your charges from going through for some banks.
5. If you still have problems, click “Needs staff processing” to complete your registration form and contact the Gathering Office (gathering@fgcquaker.org or 215-561-1700, option 2 on the menu).

Send an email to gathering@fgcquaker.org with your name, the amount you charged, and the amount you wanted to charge. We can only issue a credit to your card once your bank has processed the transaction (not necessarily the same day). Please do not send your credit card number to us via email and do not leave it on our voicemail!

After registration opens, the workshops page is updated weekly to show which workshops have filled. When you register, you may discover that some workshops have filled since the webpage was updated.

(Short answer, No.)

All Friends registering during Early Registration (April 3-16, 2023) have an equal chance of getting into their first choice workshop. This is why even the person who registers on the morning of April 3 is not guaranteed to get their first choice workshop, and is why we ask for a second choice as well. Friends registering April 16 are as likely to get into a popular workshop as those registering April 3. This practice helps relieve the pressure on the computer system caused by many people trying to be “first in line.” It also accommodates Friends who may not have access to a computer or time to register on the day registration opens.

Gathering staff almost always succeed in getting all early registrants into their first or second choice, when those choices are two different workshops. If your first and second choices are identical, you do not increase your chances of getting into that workshop.

After standard registration re-opens on April 26, workshops will be first-come first-served, and you will not choose a second choice workshop. What you register for then is the workshop you will be in. 

If you want to change your workshop, or check back later to see if you can switch into a workshop that was full, here are instructions for how to change your workshop after you are registered. We do not maintain waitlists for workshops. 

This is a list of workshops available to half-Gathering and part time attenders for the 2023 Gathering. You can also see if a workshop accepts half-Gathering or part time participants by clicking on the title of the workshop.

Adding or changing information about financial aid or workgrant request? Please do NOT make changes in your registration form. Instead, email the new information to gathering@fgcquaker.org.

Option A (easiest method): Use link in primary registrant’s confirmation email

1. Follow the “Click here to view event summary” link from the primary registrant’s confirmation email
2. Click “Already registered?”
3. Enter Confirmation Number (it’s in your confirmation email)
4. Click “Log In” button
5. Click “Modify Registration” button
6. Click “Next” until you reach the page where you want to make a change
7. Make desired changes
8. Click “Next” Button until  you see a FINISH button
9. Click FINISH

Option B: Use generic link to completed registration forms

1. Use (link will be posted when Gathering registration is open) for the Gathering.
2. Enter primary registrant’s name and email address, exactly as entered on the registration form
3. Enter Confirmation Number (it’s in the primary registrant’s confirmation email, or you click on the request button)
4. Click “Log In” button
5. Click “Modify Registration” button
6. Click “Next” until you reach the page where you want to make a change
7. Make desired changes
8. Click NEXT Button until  you see a FINISH button
9. Click FINISH

Your confirmation is very likely in your Junk Mail or Spam Mail folder. Go find it and other emails from the Gathering! Read more about Gathering email being treated as spam. If you do not find your confirmation, please call the Gathering Office. Do NOT assume that your registration is complete without a confirmation letter.

I click NEXT and nothing happens.  Scroll to the top of your screen to look for a red error message.  If you missed answering a required question or didn’t use the required format (for example you used a space or a letter when a number was required), the form won’t let you proceed to the next page.  But it will describe the error to you.

I’ve tried everything and I’m still stuck!  Click SAVE at the bottom of the page and leave a message at 215-561-1700, option 2 on the menu. We can finish your registration by phone. If you get stuck right before a deadline, we will check e-mail and phone messages for technical problems before closing those options.

When you ask us to change a financial item, the registration software adds the cost for the new item (the double) to your bill.  But it does not remove the cost for the old item (the single).  Staff has to do this manually. Please allow several days for us to correct your account and send you an updated financial statement.

All cancellations must be submitted in writing (email, fax, or postal mail) or completed online by the registrant. We strongly recommend that anyone cancelling one person from a multi-person registrationcontact us rather than cancelling online. Cancellation fees apply, except in a few circumstances. Read the cancellation policy & instructions for how to cancel.