Digital Arts Service Corps - event planning

The DASCorps Survival Guide: Event Planning

Bill Brown — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:53:27 +0000

At some point during your VISTA year your agency might need to announce itself to new consumers, engage with the community, or attract/retain funders. All of these actions and more might require an event. And you might be called upon to head up such an event. You will need to use event planning techniques for such an occasion.

What is Event Planning?
Event planning is the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party or convention.

Step 1: Define Purpose of Event
Determine if the purpose of the vent is worth the time, effort, and resources needed for an event. Ask if an event is the right tool for communication for the purpose. Review if the type of event matches the purpose.

Step 2: Goals of the Event
Once you have determined that an event is the best tool for the desired action, you should define the goal of the event. Try to define the goal as some measurable outcome, such as number of people in attendance.

Step 3: Budget the Event
Determine how much your organization is willing/able to pay for the event. Review revenue opportunities as well as expenses.

Keep in mind if the event is a fundraiser or should produce enough revenue to break even from expenses. Partner contributions should also be factored in, along with donations from local, state and national government.

Call vendors and ask about pricing, and inquire about non-profit pricing. Research if donations to your organization are tax deductable.

If the event has been done before, ask to see the budget and vendor list to help guide your plans.

Step 4: Consider Logistics
When deciding on where to host the event, keep these things in mind (also keep in mind budget for event):

Size of space
Lighting
Parking
Electrical Supply
Computer/Internet Access
Electrical Outlets
Setup Area
Food Storage/Preparation Areas
Cleanup Procedure
Pre-Event Access to Space
Cancelation Procedure
Handicapped/Disability Access
Public Transportation Access
Child Care Resources

Research all special licenses and/or permits that might be involved. Contact city government and local law enforcement and event venue. Some areas that should require some research are:

Alcohol
Food
Live/Loud Music
Sports Activities
Monetary transactions/Solicitation
Use of Public Space
Law enforcement after hours/amount of people
Fire codes
Liability insurance (Organization & Event Venue)

Step 5: Select Date/Time
When selecting the date and time of the event, there are many factors involved.

Internally, check to see availability of staff to participate in the event. Consult board of directors of their availability to both participate and fundraise for the event. Also check with volunteer availability, too.

Do an environment scan and determine if there are any conflicts with the proposed date/time, including:

Other scheduled events,
Non-traditional holidays
Work/school schedules
Public transportation schedules
Cultural norms

Remember: reviewing date/time might actually lead you to new partners for your event, such as schools, churches, and neighborhood organizations.

Step 6: Create Checklist/Project Timeline
Set up a checklist/project timeline, with specific tasks that must be accomplished by specific dates with specific roles for staff and volunteers.

Some of the things to keep in mind are:

Publicity
Catering
Entertainment/Speakers
Decorations
Audio/Visual
Overnight Accommodations
Transportation
Contracts
Finalized Agenda/Program
Confirm Attendees
Materials for Event
Name Badges
Signage
Shipping to Event Location
Set-Up
Reconfirm Details

Step 7: Plan Publicity
Plan your publicity and community outreach. Use agency partners and your board of director’s contacts. Determine if you need to adjust budget for publicity costs, such as printing, ad buys and media (cds, video tape).

Media:
- Radio (community/non-profit announcements; non-profit advertising; on-air interviews)
- Television (community spots; interested parties that have a certain "beat' they cover and might want to videotape the event; on-air interview)
- Newspaper, ("beat" reporter; columnist interested in the issue, community event/meetings section)
- Internet/Blogs (your own website, partner website, special website for the event?, bloggers interested in the issue/event, message boards, craigslist, email list, e-newsletter)

Produced Materials:
- CDs
- Video Tape
- Internet Video (YouTube, Agency Website-Hosted Video)
- MP3s
- Fliers
- Press Release
- One sheet for event and agency
- Invitations
- Newsletter

Community Outreach (where you might place materials and make in-person announcements)
- Church
- Schools
- Health Clinics/Doctors/Dentists
- Bookstores
- Restaurants
- Local/State office buildings
- Grocery Stores
- Library

Step 8: Evaluate Event

Event Planning

Bill Brown — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:42:13 +0000

This area is for any and all resources related to Event Planning.

Month 1

Sharon Small — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:55:18 +0000

Still loving the job. Zumix is closed this week to students (we're in between "semesters" right now, classes start up again on Sept. 14th) so it's eerily quiet in here. I can only hear one guitar right now as opposed to a rock band practicing, a drum lesson, radio show, and general chaos that comes along with working with high schoolers.

Anyway, it's going really well! It's a pretty exciting time for Zumix because we're getting ready to move over to the Firehouse, which is going to be our new operating space and is 3 times as big as what we have now. I've been inside a few times and construction is coming along pretty quickly. It's crazy to think about how much space we'll have to work with. We're hoping to move in November/December, and then hold classes starting in January. It looks like for now we're pretty much on schedule.

We're also getting ready for our Harvest Festival, which is this Sunday, Sept. 6. I've been helping out with a lot of the planning/coordinating and outreach. This has been everything from contacting bakeries to try to get them to enter our apple pie contest to actually walking around East Boston and hanging flyers for the Festival in store windows. It should be a good time.

Still working on a lot of the underwriting stuff as well. It's turning out to be quite a process. We went out to a couple businesses last week and are realizing what we need more of and what types of things aren't really necessary. (For example, getting stats for our website = SUPER important. Thank you, Google Analytics.)

We're also gearing up for next semester, interviewing kids and trying to work out placement and schedules. I'm excited for classes to start up again because I love the energy when all the kids are everywhere :)

Month 7: Inauguration Video Diary & IMC FILM FEST 2009

Stephen Fonzo — Sat, 09 May 2009 05:03:47 +0000

Jan-Feb began a two month period in which both Nicole and I barely took a day off - no exaggeration.

The possible exception was a trip that a few of us made to Washington, D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration. We planned this trip on short notice, to correspond to a community organizing event taking place at the IMC on the night of the inauguration - the idea being that we would film a documentary, or more appropriately a video diary of our experiences, post daily clips to our web site, and then have a Skype video conference with everyone "back home." Going with both my VISTA Supervisor and VISTA Leader gave me an excellent opportunity to get to know them better and learn from their areas of expertise. Many superlatives apply to being in the capitol for that ceremony, mostly having to do with the sheer numbers of people crowding the streets and the willingness of strangers to be interviewed in the cold by other strangers.

As soon as we returned, I went straight back to the planning for the IMC Film Fest. There was still much to do, including designing and distributing fliers and posters, doing interviews with local press and arts/events magazines, recording and broadcasting radio advertisements, and working with filmmakers to determine the final schedule. The Film Fest was a success, comprising three days of independent, and most local/regional films, covering all lengths and genres. We raised money for the IMC Production group, the group I helped create that maintains the media production facilities and builds a team of trainers who can assist and teach others. I learned quite a lot about event planning and management; the small group of us that put it all together have a vast train of e-mails and Google docs that we are archiving with the IMC to help others create similar events in the future.

The remainder of this period involved less training than usual, just a couple of sessions on audio and video recording, and I continued to update and troubleshoot the WRFU radio automation system while helping to facilitate meetings of those interested in learning this "back-stage" aspect of radio production.

Event Planning/Management

Colleen Kelly — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:48:49 +0000

Admit One: Online Event Registration Tools & Tips
Best practices for managing ticketing and registration online (see attached presentation)

Event Management Tools
(see attached presentation)