Tips on preparing for events

As those running non-profit organisations know, events are an important part of the lifecycle of a non-profit organisation.

Events need to be held for a variety of reasons… to raise funds, to raise awareness, as a volunteer recruitment drive, or alternatively, such events could be something that the organisation must do, by virtue of the objects set out in its Constitution.

Either way, when it comes to organising the event, things can get a little chaotic, to put it mildly, haha! :-)

Especially when your organisation is small and volunteer-run, without any full-time staff.  The founders, office bearers and volunteers will find themselves running around to sort everything out to prepare for the event, from A to Z.

So when you’re relying on volunteers to help get stuff done, co-ordination is key. It really does help to spend some time thinking about and planning for the event in advance, and to do up some checklists.

Now the really good thing about checklists is they can be watsapped (yes, you can watsapp PDF documents J), emailed  or printed out for all the volunteers and persons in charge of the various jobs and tasks, thus keeping everyone in the loop as to what needs to be done before, during and after the event.

Here are some tips to help you plan your next event using some checklists that I have found helpful.

A.Sample Pre-Event Checklist 

NO.	ITEM	DESCRIPTION	TASK LEADER	DEADLINE
1	Pre event publicity	Send out invitations or info via email to members and volunteers, upload info to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]
		Invite press	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]
2	RSVP’s	Follow up with invited guests, press, etc	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]
3	[Item]	[description]	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]

B.Sample Event Itinerary for the day itself

 It’s best if the checklist for the day of the event itself, replaces “Deadline” with “Time”.

NO.	ITEM	DESCRIPTION	TASK LEADER	TIME
1	Pre event set-up	Prep the location, put up all buntings, publicity materials, prepare refreshments, get things ready for kick off	[Insert volunteer’s name]	Set up to be completed by [Insert time] am/pm
2	Welcoming guests	Ensure that guests and visitors are taken care of, shown where to go, as given copies of promotional material, etc.	[Insert volunteer’s name]	Volunteers to be at their post by [Insert time] am/pm
3	[Item]	[description]	[Insert volunteer’s name]	[  ]  to be completed by [Insert time] am/pm

C.Post Event Checklist

NO.	ITEM	DESCRIPTION	TASK LEADER	DEADLINE
1	Post event publicity	Upload photos of the event, commentaries etc to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]
2	Thank you’s, acknowledgements, etc.	Send thank you notes or acknowledgements to donors, visitors etc	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]
3	[Item]	[description]	[Insert volunteer’s name]	To be completed by [insert date]

Hopefully, the above templates will be helpful to you in planning your non-profit organisation’s next event J.

Comments, questions or requests to cover particular topics, email me at spiralcraft1701@gmail.com.