Event Planning Guide

Event Planning Guide

Getting Started Create a Timeline When coordinating an event, it s important to stay organized! Creating a timeline will help you identify the various aspects of your event and keep you on track to make sure you complete them in a timely fashion. Your timeline should start about 4-6 months before the date of your event. Z When creating your timeline, start at the date of your event and work backward. Within your timeline you should include important dates when items need to be secured or tasks completed. Make goals for securing these details: Z Print materials (invitations, flyers, posters, etc.) completed & printed Z Sponsorship Z Donations-in-kind Z Logistics Z Tables, chairs, power, etc. Z Food/supplies Z Volunteers Z Décor Create a Committee Establishing a committee is a great way to get more people involved with the planning and execution of the event. Split up the various tasks that need to be completed and assign them to your committee members. Who to recruit: Active community members Friends Relatives Co-workers Subcommittees: Auctions/basket raffles Sponsorship Entertainment Guest lists/invitations Marketing (PR/communications, print materials) Volunteers Post-event Logistics 1

Getting Started Building Your Audience Identifying who you would like to attend your event is important when starting your planning process. Z Decide who your target audience is. Z If you are sending invitations, create a master guest list. Z Brainstorm advertising ideas based on your audience. Z Create a social media and web presence, such as an event page on Facebook. Use the Team Roswell Logo Because your event is a sanctioned Team Roswell community event, you have the ability to use the official Team Roswell logo in association with it. Z Use it on invitations, save the dates, posters, brochures and more to give your guests a visual of where their donations are going and build credibility for your fundraiser. Z Remember to submit final drafts to your Team Roswell coordinator for proof and approval before you send them to print. 2

Fundraising 101 Here are a few simple and fun ways to help ramp up your fundraising efforts while raising money for Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Pre-Event Fundraising Z Share your story: Reach out to family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and anyone else who comes to mind. Explain why you are hosting your event and how they can participate and help raise funds. Z Ask: There are many different ways to fundraise but the most important part is to ask. If you never ask, then you will never hear a yes. Create a list of everyone you want to be a part of your event and start asking. Z Find the right fit: The event that you have planned should be a natural fit with people in your life or companies you know. Be sure to put these audiences at the top of your list. Z Create different opportunities: People love to support a great cause but can t always do so in the same way. Be sure to create different fundraising opportunities and dollar thresholds so that everyone can get involved. 3

Fundraising 101 Event-Day Fundraising Your event day has arrived, and you have worked tirelessly to get to this point. Don t forget that there is still an opportunity to raise critically needed funds for Roswell Park. Here are a few fun ideas to raise money at your event. Z Admission Charge a small entrance fee. Z Auctions & raffles Get your participants and guests involved by hosting a silent auction, live auction, basket raffle or 50/50 split. Z Food & beverages Sell food and beverages for a reasonable price and raise funds for your event. Z General donations Give people the opportunity to donate. Share your story and you could raise more donations at your event. 4

Marketing STEP 1 Market Your Event Tell people how great your event is! Determine how you re going to reach your audience Z Whom would you like to attend your event and whom does it appeal to? Z Consider your target audience s point of view with these questions when brainstorming how to market your event: What s in it for me? Why should I get involved or donate? How will this affect me in my life? How to engage your audience Z Generation Y (born between the 1980s and the 2000s) Word-of-mouth through social media is key for this demographic. Consider creating a Facebook event, using a hashtag and frequently posting to social media sites to grab Gen Y-ers. Set up a Team Roswell page at TeamRoswell.org or create your own website to house information about your event. Include this link in all your social media posts. Z Generation X (born between the 1960s and the early 1980s) This generation really enjoys peer-to-peer fundraising opportunities, like runs or races, as well as workplace philanthropy. They are social-media-savvy, but are not as dependent as their younger peers. Reach this audience through their workplace, through social media and by encouraging groups to get involved. Z Baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) To get in touch with boomers, use direct mail primarily and email and social media secondarily. Data from Edge Research, May 2013 5

Marketing Be Creative Z Printed ways to advertise: Posters Save the dates Flyers Invitations Z Spread the word using your sponsors as advocates for your event. Ask them to: Post flyers for your event at their business Make posts on their social media sites about your event STEP 2 Get the word out about your event Z Submit the event to online community event calendars, such as Team Roswell website event calendar Visit Buffalo Niagara website Buffalo.com Buffalo Spree Artvoice Channel 2 WGRZ Channel 2 s What 2 Do Channel 4 WIVB Channel 7 WKBW Time Warner Cable/Spectrum News WBEN NewsRadio 930 AM STAR 102.5 KISS 98.5 Z Create a news advisory to alert the media A news advisory is like an invitation, designed to attract media to attend an event. Include a description of the event, time, date, place and theme and be sure to include your contact information if they have any questions! Keep to one page. Ask us for a sample to guide you in crafting your own. Send to the local media: TV News: Channel 2: newsdesk@wgrz.com Channel 4: newsroom@wivb.com Channel 7: news@wkbw.com Local cable news: buffalo@twcnews.com Print: The Buffalo News: gustocal@buffnews.com, photos@buffnews.com 6

Day of Event Stay Organized Z Arrive at the appropriate time to set up for your event. Z Have an event-day checklist including when key people should arrive and their phone numbers, and when certain activities begin and end. Confirm everything as the event rolls on. Z Consider requesting talking points from your Team Roswell coordinator. Taking the time to say a few words about the cause and express your thanks to attendees is an important part of your event. Z Keep track of the guests who attend. Z Keep a record of donations and who they are from. Names and addresses are vital if donors would like a tax deduction, especially if they turn in cash. Z Checks may be made payable to the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation. Volunteers Z Have a list of volunteer names and contact info. Z If possible, assign tasks for each volunteer before your event. Have the list of their assignments with you on the day of your event. Z Come together for a group huddle with your volunteers before your event starts. Reminding them how vital they are to the success of the event and how their hard work will benefit patients at Roswell Park is a great way to express your gratitude and get your volunteers excited for the day/evening. 7

Day of Event Take Great Photos Z Have an idea of what kinds of pictures you want before the event. Think about the way you want your event to be seen and how you can portray that in a picture. Make a list of important shots you need to have by the end of the event. Example: Take pictures of all the sponsors who attend. Z Capture the full story document the beginning, middle and end of your event. When people look at your photo album, they ll have a good taste of what your event was like from start to finish. Z Get a variety of content and shots. Different people, different angles, different perspectives all of these things will show how fun, interesting and diverse your event was. Z Avoid taking pictures of the back of people s heads there is a tendency to take wide shots of the room behind the general population. It s good to have at least one of those shots to show a wider view of the event, but avoid taking much more than that. People want to see faces! Catch a smile or even a tear and you ve got a stellar photo. Z Is your event annual? Would you like it to be? Be sure to take pictures of the layout. This will help in your planning processes for next year, and you can use this year s photos to promote next year s event! Don t forget the camera! 8

Wrap-Up The Event s Over; Now What? Z Conduct a wrap-up meeting with your committee members. Review how the event went and think of ways you could potentially improve in the future. Z Take notes! Bring those notes to your first planning meeting for next year s event and reflect on them. This is a great way to develop your event into what you want it to be! Z Finalize donations: Encourage those who couldn t attend the event but still wanted to donate to send in their contribution. Saying Thank You Expressing gratitude is a vital part of the wrap-up process. It is important to make guests and volunteers feel that their attendance was imperative to the success of the event. Additionally, this is a great way to remind them to join you at your event next year! Z Creative ways to say thanks: Handwritten note Z Team Roswell thank-you notecards are available for you! Letter or email Social media posts corporate sponsors love it when you tag them in your thank-you! Plaques for top fundraisers Z Whom to thank: Committee members Sponsors Volunteers Donors Guests In-kind donors 9

Wrap-Up Turning In Your Donation Z Set up a check presentation Decide location: Roswell Park or your organization? Invite key people from your event. Hold your check presentation as close to your event date as possible. Benefits of doing your check presentation at Roswell Park: Z The opportunity to learn more about Roswell Park Z Learn directly where the money you raised will be going Z Photo opportunities with an oversized check Z Unable to schedule a check presentation? Here are some other options: Mail it in to: Roswell Park Alliance Foundation Attn: Team Roswell Elm & Carlton Streets Buffalo, NY 14263 Drop it off at: Roswell Park Alliance Foundation 901 Washington Street Buffalo, NY 14203 10

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