Advocacy Toolkit

Event Planning

Goal of Event

1. Consider what you are trying to accomplish (one thing, many things) and how this event fits into your broader campaign/initiative.
2. What is the message of the event?
3. Have all the right people agreed to your event/objectives/message/audience/budget before you start planning?

Planning, Planning, Planning

1. As far in advance as possible, meet with the right people to start planning.
2. Create a timeline with a break-down of categories (recruitment, materials, publicity, media, general, etc).  Deadlines are serious and important. 
3. Work backwards.
4. Create a budget.
5. Consider whether or not you need to raise funds for the event.
6. Consider whether the opportunities at the event (funding, media, networking, membership development, etc).
7. Have regular planning meetings to make sure nothing is falling through the cracks.
8. Put systems into place for your planning – for example, charts for recruitment and budgeting.

3. Delegate

1. Motivate others to take on responsibilities for planning.
2. Delegate responsibilities clearly.
3. Check in regularly with people to make sure they meet their goals and timelines.  If they do not, adjust accordingly.

4. Recruitment

1. Set a target number of people you hope will attend the event. Make it an ambitious but reachable goal.
2. Consider whether you are looking for sheer numbers and/or certain people and/or certain types of people.
3. Law of halves:  Consider that you will reach about half of the people you call or email.  Of the people you talk to or reach by email, about half of those will express interest, and about half of those people will actually come.  This means that if you want 100 people, 200 have to say yes.  For 200 to have said yes, you must have reached 400 people, and sent out emails or tried calling about 800.  The percentage of people who come (in relations to your “yeses”) increases if there’s an advance registration and/or fee. Recruitment is also more successful if you know your audience personally, if the speaker is very well-known, and if you have good publicity in addition to your direct recruitment efforts.
4. When recruiting people, consider the Four C’s (for emails, phone conversations, and in-person conversations):  Connect with people in a friendly way; provide the Context of the event and importance of issue; ask for a Commitment (yes or no –if you get a maybe, find out why and try to address it in a professional way); Catapult (end on a positive, clear note).  
5. Try to be short and sweet.  Long emails turn people off.
6. Start wholesale (group emails/mailings), and end up retail (individual emails, calls, and meetings).  Nothing beats individual contact!
7. Recruit others to recruit for you. This includes links from other websites and inclusion of event notice in others’ newsletters and emails
8. Make it as easy and exciting as possible for people to come to the event. Provide directions, a website with info, etc.

5. Media/Publicity

1. Try to get as much free publicity as possible –listings in newspaper calendars, flyers at churches, radio announcements, university classes, concerts, etc.
2. If media coverage will help your event/issue, prepare a news advisory to be released ahead of the event and a news release for the day of event (see media training for how to write and distribute these and then do follow up pitch calls).  Also, if media coverage will help, consider good visuals at the event that may entice newspaper photographers.
3. If applicable, have a press kit at the event and someone to distribute it.

6. Speakers

1. Contact speakers as far in advance as possible.
2. Ask people who will attract the audience you’re looking for (keep diversity in mind for speakers and/or workshop facilitators, if applicable).
3. Make sure speakers are fully confirmed.
4. Stay in touch with speakers and/or their assistants to make sure they are prepared and arrive at the event without any problems.
5. Secure back-up speakers.
6. Be sure to adequately thank the speakers.

7. Materials

1. For recruitment purposes, put information on the web, in addition to brochures, flyers, and posters.
2. Materials to bring to the event:
1. Packets of information including speaker bios, a list of participants’ names and contact information, evaluation forms (if applicable), brochures, fact sheets, action alerts, information about your chapter, etc.
2. Podium signs
3. Name tags
4. Registration sign-in sheets, in alphabetical order (consider having separate lines for A-D, E-J, etc.)
5. Tables and chairs
6. Pens and paper
3. Make sure the message and appearance of any materials reflect your objectives and are appropriate for your audience.
4. Give yourself enough time for design, printing, distribution, and (if applicable) sending materials to the event location before the event.
5. Do a separate plan/timeline just for materials.

8. Volunteers

1. Figure out what you need volunteers for: recruitment, registration, set-up, folder-stuffing, copying, greeting media, audio-visual set-up, photographer, etc.
2. Confirm enough volunteers ahead of time, and give each volunteer a clear task or tasks.
3. Try to make the event fun for the volunteers.
4. Express your gratitude through a volunteer gathering after the event and thank you notes/emails.

9. Audiovisual Equipment/Space

1. Book space well in advance, and make sure it’s a good fit for your event (parking, price, size, neighborhood, convenience).
2. Ask your speakers what they need ahead of time (slide projector, power point, etc).

10. Event Itself

1. Arrive ahead of time to make sure location, materials, equipment, volunteers, etc. are all set.  Allow enough time to do last minute folder stuffing, leafleting, photocopying, etc.
2. Have at least one or two go-to people who can run errands for you if/when things come up, in addition to your other volunteers.
3. Set a positive tone –it’s contagious.
4. Problems will probably arise; keep up a good, can-do, problem-solving attitude.
5. Be prepared to amend the agenda to suit the atmosphere, if necessary (shorten lunch, ask a speaker to take a little more or less time, etc).
6. If possible, have a post-event gathering (dinner, drinks, etc.) for speakers, volunteers and/or prominent people.

11. After Event

1. Clean up.
2. Thank speakers, volunteers and hosts (publicly and with letters afterwards).
3. Update contact information of people you met.
4. Follow up with emails, calls, projects, ideas, and networking.
5. Discuss and learn from evaluation forms and feedback.