Frequently Asked Questions

Best Buddies Leadership Conference will be held at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from July 17 – July 20, 2026.

Student and community leaders for Best Buddies commit to change the lives of people with and without disabilities. Best Buddies International is 100% dedicated to fulfilling all the commitments we make. The best way we have found to improve the odds of our chapters and community leaders fulfilling this commitment is by offering high quality personalized training. BBLC attendees have the chance to share ideas and learn strategies to create positive change in their community. Statistics show that those who attend BBLC are more likely to succeed in managing chapters and engaging their communities in Best Buddies’ mission. ​
Best Buddies Leadership Conference is held annually at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Conference attendees use the campus facilities for trainings and events; attendees stay in the dorms on campus and participate in education forums and lectures in the campus classrooms and auditorium.
You can register for BBLC right here on the site: REGISTER.

Best Buddies Leadership Conference is $400 for all general attendees; $450 for Community Leaders; and $650 for Advisors seeking continuing education credits for professional development hours.

The dining services staff are able to accommodate special dietary needs. Please note your dietary restrictions on your registration form.
There will be an official Best Buddies Shop that will sell a variety of items , including limited edition items only sold at conference. Merchandise prices range from $0.50 to $50 per item.
Each attendee will be provided with a set of sheets, a pillow, a pillow case, and a towel. Please remember to bring a blanket as it is not provided and the rooms can get cold. Some of the dorms have communal restrooms. We recommend you bring any additional comforts that will make your stay more pleasant. Some suggestions are: shower shoes, bathrobes, blankets. Please note that the weather in Indiana is hot and humid during the day and can be cool at night. The Indiana University dorms and buildings are air-conditioned so blankets and jackets are highly advised.
Any extra funds raised will be used to support Best Buddies in your state or country. Your additional fundraising efforts can be used to help support another officer or chapter in your state/region to attend the conference. Funds cannot be carried over to cover costs for future conferences.

No. Best Buddies does not provide one-on-one staff or volunteers to support daily living needs such as medication management, toileting, personal hygiene, or other personal care services.

Participants must be able to manage daily living needs independently or attend with a caregiver who can provide necessary support.

If a participant requires accommodations, we are committed to working with families and state staff to determine what is feasible. Please indicate any accommodation needs during registration so our team can review and follow up in advance of the conference.

Our goal is to ensure a safe, supportive, and successful experience for all attendees.

Travel

All attendees are responsible for securing their travel arrangements to and from Indiana. All modes of transportation should be explored to find the most efficient and cost effective means to arrive at the conference. Your Best Buddies staff contact is available to assist you with booking your travel and has helpful travel resources available.

For information on arrival and departure parameters, please visit the Travel page.

Once you raise enough money to cover the cost of your travel, you will work with your Best Buddies staff contact to find and book your travel for you.
You will receive an e-mail with a link to a Conference Travel form where you can enter your travel details and submit to Best Buddies. You can also send your travel itinerary to your Best Buddies staff contact. This is to ensure you get picked up from the airport by Best Buddies staff and are transported by bus to Indiana University.
Best Buddies will have over 50 staff members and volunteers that will greet you at the airport in Indianapolis. Attendees are encouraged to wear Best Buddies apparel as this will identify you as a conference participant to our staff members and airport personnel. Staff will be waiting directly outside security to meet each flight. They will escort all participants from security to baggage claim and then onto one of our charter buses. The charter buses will bring our participants to the Indiana University campus, which is approximately one hour from the airport.
If you are driving to Indiana University, you will receive a parking pass and campus map via e-mail from Best Buddies. Attendees’ cars, with the parking pass displayed, will be parked in a campus lot two blocks from the dormitory.

Education Tracks

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Best Buddies LIFE is a new interactive conference track at the Best Buddies Leadership Conference designed specifically for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are working toward personal growth, employment success, and greater independence.

Participants attend workshops aligned with their personal and professional goals, creating a more customized and meaningful experience.

Best Buddies LIFE is a great fit for individuals who are:

  • Exploring work for the first time
  • Seeking competitive employment
  • Building skills in their early career (1–3 years employed)
  • Pursuing career advancement
  • Working toward greater independence
  • Interested in strengthening leadership and public speaking skills

If you are ready to take your next step — in employment, independence, or leadership — this track is for you.

Best Buddies LIFE is goal-driven and employment-stage aligned.

During registration, participants identify:

  • One personal goal they are actively working toward
  • One professional goal they are actively working toward
  • Their employment stage

Sessions are intentionally aligned to support those goals through structured, hands-on learning experiences.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, content is designed to meet participants at their current life and career stage.

The Advisors Continuing Education track offers professional education programs, activities, and learning experiences toward continuing education for advisors who wish to receive contact hours toward their state’s professional education requirements. These training courses will meet the requirements of interpersonal skills in a school environment, access to post-secondary education options for students with disabilities, and activities around inclusive classrooms.

Best Buddies anticipates ten hours available to claim in continuing professional education programs, activities or learning experiences throughout the conference. The following breakdown outlines the hours assigned to each topic:

  • Social and Emotional Learning: 2 hours
  • Person-Centered Planning & Leadership Development: 2 hours
  • Pre-Employment Training Concepts: 2 hours
  • Leadership & Empowerment: 2 hours
  • Best Buddies Mission Advancement: 2 hours

Lesson objectives and learning outcomes will be available from each facilitator for advisors to present to their district’s credentialing office.

Middle School Attendees

All middle school registrants must attend BBLC with a chaperone.
Yes; one adult may serve as the chaperone for up to five student leaders as long as the chaperone is approved by Best Buddies staff and understands their role and expectations as a chaperone. It is also necessary that the student leaders and chaperone travel to and from Indiana University together (either by car or on the same flight).
Chaperones will work in tandem with Best Buddies staff to ensure MS students are in their rooms by the nightly curfew and up and ready for breakfast and morning sessions. Best Buddies staff will be responsible for dorm floor meetings to discuss safety logistics and will perform nightly room checks; chaperones should be prepared to partner with Best Buddies staff in support of these safety procedures.

The role of the MS chaperone is to ensure safety to and from conference as well as throughout the weekend at all meals and evening events for their student leaders. Chaperones should work closely with Best Buddies staff to identify the expectations and goals of their role at conference and how they will work together with Best Buddies staff to support MS attendees. There are several volunteer opportunities for chaperones to support the Leadership Conference while MS participants are in education sessions.

MS attendees and their chaperones will be housed in dorms on the Indiana University campus with the Best Buddies conference group. Best Buddies staff will be housed in the dorms and will be available on the floor with MS attendees, in addition to chaperones, to monitor students and host nightly meetings with MS participants.

Advisors attending the conference as a direct support to students may register as a chaperone for their chapter. In the chaperone role, advisors will stay in a private dorm room on the same floor as their students and provide support in transitioning to morning activities, to all sessions, at mealtimes, and during evening events. Chaperones will not attend sessions with students.

Student leaders will have one roommate; chaperones will have a single room.

To register as a chaperone for your chapter, select the program type of your chapter (example: High Schools) and when prompted on page two of registration and identify your role as a “chaperone/conference aide.”

Yes. Chaperones and aides for MS students pay the $400 registration fee.  This covers housing accommodations, meals, onsite transportation, and conference events.

E-mail us at leadershipconference@bestbuddies.org or contact your local Best Buddies office staff with more questions.