PLANNING AN EVENT

1. PLANNING AN EVENT Tips on planning events that will be remembered and move things FORWARD! October 3, 2006

2. Context • According to NASA chief climate scientist James Hansen, we have less than 10 years to halt and reverse our pollution to prevent catastrophic climate change. • Global Warming IS the challenge of our generation… but not everyone knows that.

3. Context (cont’d) • In the US, college campuses only consume about 5-6% of our electricity. So even if every campus in the country went climate-neutral tomorrow, it still wouldn’t be enough to stop global warming! • That’s why in addition to passing policies, we need to educate everyone we can about this issue and what they can do to help. • Events are a great way to do this!

4. Why Plan Events? • Educate your fellow students (and yourself) • Spread the word about your campaign • Recruit more volunteers • Work with other groups and individuals • Media opportunities • Action opportunities • Create a “buzz” on campus • Have a good time!

5. Different Strokes for Different Folks • Big events vs. small events • Quick events vs. events that take months of planning • Education vs. fun (and everything in between) • Targeting the whole campus or just a small portion

6. Brainstorm – Types of Events

7. PLANNING AN EVENT • A big event requires a lot of advance planning. Some events, like a screening of “An Inconvenient Truth” or a big campaign kick-off, might take weeks or months to plan. • Other events only take 1 day to plan, like tabling, petitioning, and visibility. It depends.

8. PLANNING AN EVENT • Either way: • Set concrete goals (# of people there, # signatures collected, # media hits, etc.) • Work backwards from those goals • if you want 25 people at your event, how many names do you need? • If you want music at your event, what do you need to get it there? • For small events: create a checklist • For big events: create a work plan (we’ll go over this in a later slide)

9. 7 Steps To Organizing an Event

10. 1. Plan Out the Logistics • Start planning early (especially for big events) • Set the date • Find a location • If necessary, line up food, supplies, etc. • Reserve any necessary equipment (eg. microphone, and speakers) • Make visuals Tips: ** Make a logistics checklist** ** Confirm everything**

11. 2. Build a Coalition • The more you can involve other groups in your events, the better! They bring: • Credibility • Resources • People • Time • Diversity • How-to: • Create a target list of coalition groups • Contact all targeted groups to ask them to sponsor/sign them up for some level of involvement (endorsing the event, helping to publicize it, providing volunteers, etc.)

12. 3. Find Speakers • Depending on your event, you might want to invite an on-campus or off-campus person to speak. If you do: • Research and prepare a list of potential speakers. • Invite them. • Some speakers (eg. some legislators) will ask you to send them a letter requesting their attendance. In that case, send them the letter, then call one week later to follow up. • Make sure that all presenters are familiar with the topics, the format for the event, how much time they will have to speak, etc. well in advance of the event itself. Tip: ** Designate a point-person to take care of, inform, and guide your speaker(s)**

13. 4. Visibility Visibility is helpful for two reasons: 1. Advertising your event beforehand 2. Getting the word out afterwards

14. 4. Visibility (cont’d) Tips: - Get the media to cover your event (campus, local) • Ask them to do an announcement before the event • Ask them to cover the event when it happens. • Hang posters around campus. • Chalk the campus sidewalks. • Hand out flyers. • Make announcements in related classes (even better if professors agree to give extra credit to students who attend!) • Email, Facebook groups, etc.

15. 5. Ensure Turnout • In addition to visibility, there are other more active tactics you should use to ensure turnout: • Go to other groups’ meetings and invite them (campus groups, Greek houses, etc.) • Ask coalition groups to recruit their own members • Hold tabling events for sign-ups and visibility • Phone-bank everyone who expressed interest AND everyone on your volunteer list • Remind all volunteers who said they’d help with a phone call the night before

16. 6. Actually Hold the Event • Be early! Get there in advance to set up chairs, equipment, hang banners and signs, clean, etc. • Greet presenters as they arrive – have volunteers assigned to take care of them • Set an agenda with times for the event and stick to it • Have a volunteer coordinator who can plug in volunteers as they arrive • Make sure that EVERYONE (including you) puts down their information (phone, email) on a sign-up sheet • Have a great time!

17. 7. Follow Up Afterwards • Follow up with the media to confirm coverage. • Send thank you letters to presenter(s). • Debrief with leaders. • Check in with coalition partners. • Celebrate!

18. Sample Event – Save the Ales Week • Background - Major climatic shifts and dry summers will hinder the harvest of hops and barley (key ingredients for beer brewing) in the US. • Idea – Host a party and speaker as part of “Save the Ales” week on campus to highlight this great injustice, draw in a new constituency, and have a great time. • Example at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3469/is_47_52/ai_80757908

19. Save the Ales Party - Goals • Primary Goals - Present global warming as a problem everyone should be concerned about. • Secondary goals • Recruit 200 new people to your list (50 at talk, 150 at party) • Build 5 new coalition partners (fraternities, sororities, etc.) • Engage – 25 people into planning • 4 media hits • Use the “ales” draw to bring 50 people to a keynote address on global warming impacts (and solutions) and use to recruit

21. What Events Have You Done? How did they go?(What was the goal, who was invited, how many people came, how did you get them there, etc.)

22. What Events Are You Planning to Do? • If you haven’t yet, we suggest you plan 1 big event and 1 small event for the month of October

23. Stay in Touch! Thank you for coming! Have fun at your events! We can’t wait to hear about them! • Please send all feedback – the good, the bad, the interesting – to eliza@ssc.org • Feel free to contact the rest of us, too! • Eliza Simon, SSC National Campaign Organizer, eliza@ssc.org • Kim Teplitzky, SSC PA, OH, MI, WV Organizer, kim@ssc.org • Maura Cowley, SSC Northeast Organizer, maura@ssc.org • Josh Tulkin, CCAN Organizing Director, josh@chesapeakclimate.org • Matt Stern, CCAN Maryland/DC Campus Organizer, matt@chesapeakeclimate.org • Tom Owens, CCAN Virginia Campus Organizer, tom@chesapeakeclimate.org