Host an Event
How to:
Host an Event HOW TO: RECRUIT MEMBERS
HOW TO: RUN A MEETING
HOW TO: PRE
Events are an important way to raise awareness about ONE’s work to end poverty and mobilize your campus community to take action. When your chapter holds an event around one of ONE’s campaigns, you educate and empower your peers to make a difference for the world’s most vulnerable people.
HOW TO: HOST AN EVENT PLAN
HOW TO: WRITE TO CONGRESS
HOW TO: MEET
Determine type, purpose, and scope of your event.
From hosting a table at a 5k race to organizing a forum with speakers attended by hundreds of people, there are myriad different kinds of events that you can host. Sample event ideas include: speaker panels, film screenings, tabling events, dinner/hunger banquets or awareness concerts. The primary focus of ONE events on campus should be advocacy, education and outreach. Who do you want to influence with your event? Consider your Member of Congress, Senators, Media/Press, and your campus community. Start by brainstorming ideas with the group andWRITE setting concrete (i.e. “Write letters to persuade HOW TO: TAL HOW TO: WRITE AN LTE HOW TO: A BLOGgoals POST X Senator to co-sponsor Y legislation”). Establish committees. Hosting successful events takes time and careful planning. Once you’ve determined your event type and purpose, delegate responsibilities to committees. Some examples of useful committees include: venue, programming, advocacy, and advertising. Allow members to sign-up for committees that they find most interesting. These committees can meet during the regular meeting time or plan to meet separately to accomplish their respective tasks.
OUR ISSUES
Determine event location. Book the venue of your event early in the planning process. Most campus events require registration with the administration well in advance. Once this is secure, more specific details such as activities and food can be considered. Once the details of the event are determined, start working on a promotion plan. Some promotion can be done well before the event. Check out our social media and promotion resources for ideas. Incorporate advocacy. Make sure to include an advocacy ask at your event. You could ask people to sign onto a letter to their Member of Congress, write their own handwritten letters or make phone calls to their member of congress, or use social media to reach out to their friends & followers. Remember, you should never plan an event just for the sake of holding an event. There should always be a concrete action that you are promoting throughout. The “ask” should be related to the theme of the event (the campaign you are working on). Plan ways to make it clear to attendees what you are asking of them and what the purpose of the action is.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
1
PARTNER One of the best ways to promote your event and mobilize a greater number of students is to team up with likeminded campus groups. Collaboration is useful in planning larger events and reaching wider audiences. First, identify groups you are interested in working with, and then establish the type of partnership that will be most beneficial to both groups. Choosing your Partner(s). Your event partnerships will depend on the nature and goals of your event. Some examples of natural groups and clubs to partner with include: faith groups, global health groups, cultural clubs, and humans rights clubs. A huge range of other clubs can be relevant during specific events or initiatives, including sports teams or performance groups with steady followings that turn out to support them—meaning more people getting involved.
Another way to collaborate is by establishing an ongoing agreement with another student organization to crowd-build each-others events by advertising through your respective networks. Keep open channels of communication regarding upcoming events and pass along details to your network—at club meetings and through Facebook. Send a representative to each other’s’ meetings to keep up to date on ways for the clubs to collaborate.
Identifying the Type of Collaboration. Establish what kind of partnership you are envisioning for your event before reaching out to a potential partner organization. Then, get in touch with the group’s leaders to explain ONE’s goals, establish common interests and devise a plan for event partnership that is beneficial for all parties involved.
Forming an on-campus coalition of multiple student organizations with like-minded missions can be beneficial in making sure that your groups’ respective events are complimentary--not competing.
Co-sponsoring an event generally involves going through the planning process together and taking equal responsibility for the event. This works well for organizing large events that require extensive planning, such as a “Day of action”. Co-sponsoring events is one of the best ways to boost attendance, and make your events more exciting and dynamic. Both groups should be involved in advertising and hosting the event.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
Potential conflicts to watch out for when partnering include associations with fundraising organizations, conflicting interests, organizations who don’t pull their weight, events being planned without an “ask”, and lack of communication.
2
PROMOTE Even the best planned, most creative event cannot succeed without proper promotion. To do this, you will need to cover a variety of advertising platforms to attract a wide audience. Here are some suggestions of creative ways to get the word out about your event or club: Email department heads in related fields (political science, development, anthropology) so that they can pass on the event info on their list-serve email. This is a perfect way to get the word out to other peers whose interests align with ONE’s. Send around an email to your chapter contacts as well. Create fun flyers with visuals and a catchy phrase or event title. Plaster these around campus, use it on your Facebook page and hand out flyers while tabling at your University Center. Send around a tabling sign-up sheet at an earlier meeting or online using Google docs. Spread the word visually on campus. Chalk classroom boards and the side-walks on campus with information about the event. Place stickers on campus coffee cup sleeves with information about your club/event. Write on the windows with washable window paint in your campus student center. Just be sure to get approval. Create eye-catching posters to hang at strategic locations such as the University Center.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
Get in touch with other clubs on campus. Cosponsoring events is one of the best ways to boost attendance. Ask other clubs to attend events, table for their club and help in spreading the word to their networks. Use the classroom as a resource. Ask professors to let you speak for the first 1-2 minutes of class to advertise your event and pass around flyers. Alternatively, show a powerpoint slide with event details at the start of lecture. Submit an article to your school newspaper prior to the event. Give a good overview of ONE as well as details about upcoming opportunities to get involved. Facebook and Twitter are great easy ways to start advertising, since most college students use social media to find events. Make an event page, promote it on your wall and get your members to invite all their friends. Take pictures of event prep or ONE swag on Instagram as another creative way to get your friends excited about the event. Use your networks. Be sure to personally invite your friends, family, and classmates, by sending individualized emails, facebook messages, or making phone calls. Send them reminders on the day of the event.
3
EXECUTE Executing a successful event requires preparation and organization. Here are a few important reminders to keep the event running smoothly. Develop handouts and event specific materials.
Have a backup plan.
Create an event program if applicable, or basic handouts for participants. Keep them short, but informative. You want to make a compelling argument, but not to create information overload. Make sure you include vital information, such as your policy goal, aka “ask,” and speaker bios in addition to information about ONE and your ONE chapter. Print sign-in sheets with a field for email, phone, and twitter so you can follow-up with attendees after the event. Be sure to request ONE gear from the campus team if applicable.
Remember that no matter how well you plan, unexpected issues may arise on or before the day of the event. That’s normal! Be flexible, and be sure you have enough members in attendance to sort out any problems that come up. Be sure to test any A/V or media well in advance, and have a plan B in case of technical difficulties or speaker no-shows.
Logistics and Staffing. Lay out minute-by-minute Run of Show for the event, along with a staffing plan with assigned roles for each of your ONE members. Write talking points for speakers and participants, including for yourself. Have members be available and prepared to answer questions about ONE and walk people through the steps of taking an action.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
Event follow-up. Be sure to follow-up with attendees after the event to thank them for coming and with opportunities to get more involved. Send thank-you cards to speakers or performers. Deliver any letters collected to your Member of Congress’ in-district office. Finally, remember to share your event success with us by writing a post for ONE blog and reporting your actions on www.one.org.campus.
4
Host an Event HOW TO: RECRUIT MEMBERS
HOW TO: RUN A MEETING
HOW TO: PRE
Events are an important way to raise awareness about ONE’s work to end poverty and mobilize your campus community to take action. When your chapter holds an event around one of ONE’s campaigns, you educate and empower your peers to make a difference for the world’s most vulnerable people.
HOW TO: HOST AN EVENT PLAN
HOW TO: WRITE TO CONGRESS
HOW TO: MEET
Determine type, purpose, and scope of your event.
From hosting a table at a 5k race to organizing a forum with speakers attended by hundreds of people, there are myriad different kinds of events that you can host. Sample event ideas include: speaker panels, film screenings, tabling events, dinner/hunger banquets or awareness concerts. The primary focus of ONE events on campus should be advocacy, education and outreach. Who do you want to influence with your event? Consider your Member of Congress, Senators, Media/Press, and your campus community. Start by brainstorming ideas with the group andWRITE setting concrete (i.e. “Write letters to persuade HOW TO: TAL HOW TO: WRITE AN LTE HOW TO: A BLOGgoals POST X Senator to co-sponsor Y legislation”). Establish committees. Hosting successful events takes time and careful planning. Once you’ve determined your event type and purpose, delegate responsibilities to committees. Some examples of useful committees include: venue, programming, advocacy, and advertising. Allow members to sign-up for committees that they find most interesting. These committees can meet during the regular meeting time or plan to meet separately to accomplish their respective tasks.
OUR ISSUES
Determine event location. Book the venue of your event early in the planning process. Most campus events require registration with the administration well in advance. Once this is secure, more specific details such as activities and food can be considered. Once the details of the event are determined, start working on a promotion plan. Some promotion can be done well before the event. Check out our social media and promotion resources for ideas. Incorporate advocacy. Make sure to include an advocacy ask at your event. You could ask people to sign onto a letter to their Member of Congress, write their own handwritten letters or make phone calls to their member of congress, or use social media to reach out to their friends & followers. Remember, you should never plan an event just for the sake of holding an event. There should always be a concrete action that you are promoting throughout. The “ask” should be related to the theme of the event (the campaign you are working on). Plan ways to make it clear to attendees what you are asking of them and what the purpose of the action is.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
1
PARTNER One of the best ways to promote your event and mobilize a greater number of students is to team up with likeminded campus groups. Collaboration is useful in planning larger events and reaching wider audiences. First, identify groups you are interested in working with, and then establish the type of partnership that will be most beneficial to both groups. Choosing your Partner(s). Your event partnerships will depend on the nature and goals of your event. Some examples of natural groups and clubs to partner with include: faith groups, global health groups, cultural clubs, and humans rights clubs. A huge range of other clubs can be relevant during specific events or initiatives, including sports teams or performance groups with steady followings that turn out to support them—meaning more people getting involved.
Another way to collaborate is by establishing an ongoing agreement with another student organization to crowd-build each-others events by advertising through your respective networks. Keep open channels of communication regarding upcoming events and pass along details to your network—at club meetings and through Facebook. Send a representative to each other’s’ meetings to keep up to date on ways for the clubs to collaborate.
Identifying the Type of Collaboration. Establish what kind of partnership you are envisioning for your event before reaching out to a potential partner organization. Then, get in touch with the group’s leaders to explain ONE’s goals, establish common interests and devise a plan for event partnership that is beneficial for all parties involved.
Forming an on-campus coalition of multiple student organizations with like-minded missions can be beneficial in making sure that your groups’ respective events are complimentary--not competing.
Co-sponsoring an event generally involves going through the planning process together and taking equal responsibility for the event. This works well for organizing large events that require extensive planning, such as a “Day of action”. Co-sponsoring events is one of the best ways to boost attendance, and make your events more exciting and dynamic. Both groups should be involved in advertising and hosting the event.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
Potential conflicts to watch out for when partnering include associations with fundraising organizations, conflicting interests, organizations who don’t pull their weight, events being planned without an “ask”, and lack of communication.
2
PROMOTE Even the best planned, most creative event cannot succeed without proper promotion. To do this, you will need to cover a variety of advertising platforms to attract a wide audience. Here are some suggestions of creative ways to get the word out about your event or club: Email department heads in related fields (political science, development, anthropology) so that they can pass on the event info on their list-serve email. This is a perfect way to get the word out to other peers whose interests align with ONE’s. Send around an email to your chapter contacts as well. Create fun flyers with visuals and a catchy phrase or event title. Plaster these around campus, use it on your Facebook page and hand out flyers while tabling at your University Center. Send around a tabling sign-up sheet at an earlier meeting or online using Google docs. Spread the word visually on campus. Chalk classroom boards and the side-walks on campus with information about the event. Place stickers on campus coffee cup sleeves with information about your club/event. Write on the windows with washable window paint in your campus student center. Just be sure to get approval. Create eye-catching posters to hang at strategic locations such as the University Center.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
Get in touch with other clubs on campus. Cosponsoring events is one of the best ways to boost attendance. Ask other clubs to attend events, table for their club and help in spreading the word to their networks. Use the classroom as a resource. Ask professors to let you speak for the first 1-2 minutes of class to advertise your event and pass around flyers. Alternatively, show a powerpoint slide with event details at the start of lecture. Submit an article to your school newspaper prior to the event. Give a good overview of ONE as well as details about upcoming opportunities to get involved. Facebook and Twitter are great easy ways to start advertising, since most college students use social media to find events. Make an event page, promote it on your wall and get your members to invite all their friends. Take pictures of event prep or ONE swag on Instagram as another creative way to get your friends excited about the event. Use your networks. Be sure to personally invite your friends, family, and classmates, by sending individualized emails, facebook messages, or making phone calls. Send them reminders on the day of the event.
3
EXECUTE Executing a successful event requires preparation and organization. Here are a few important reminders to keep the event running smoothly. Develop handouts and event specific materials.
Have a backup plan.
Create an event program if applicable, or basic handouts for participants. Keep them short, but informative. You want to make a compelling argument, but not to create information overload. Make sure you include vital information, such as your policy goal, aka “ask,” and speaker bios in addition to information about ONE and your ONE chapter. Print sign-in sheets with a field for email, phone, and twitter so you can follow-up with attendees after the event. Be sure to request ONE gear from the campus team if applicable.
Remember that no matter how well you plan, unexpected issues may arise on or before the day of the event. That’s normal! Be flexible, and be sure you have enough members in attendance to sort out any problems that come up. Be sure to test any A/V or media well in advance, and have a plan B in case of technical difficulties or speaker no-shows.
Logistics and Staffing. Lay out minute-by-minute Run of Show for the event, along with a staffing plan with assigned roles for each of your ONE members. Write talking points for speakers and participants, including for yourself. Have members be available and prepared to answer questions about ONE and walk people through the steps of taking an action.
How to: HOST AN EVENT
Event follow-up. Be sure to follow-up with attendees after the event to thank them for coming and with opportunities to get more involved. Send thank-you cards to speakers or performers. Deliver any letters collected to your Member of Congress’ in-district office. Finally, remember to share your event success with us by writing a post for ONE blog and reporting your actions on www.one.org.campus.
4
