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Hosting a Signature Event. Presented by. Red to Black ®. Peer-to-peer financial coaching to TTU students (all levels) Recently moved from student organization to Student Affairs Just hosted our 9 th Annual Financial Education Week. Financial Education Week.
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Hosting a SignatureEvent Presented by
Red to Black® • Peer-to-peer financial coaching to TTU students (all levels) • Recently moved from student organization to Student Affairs • Just hosted our 9th Annual Financial Education Week
Financial Education Week • Typically takes place late March/early April • Gone through lots of variations • Information booth • Financial check-up sites • Presentations • Guest speakers • Offer extra credit • Games • Free stuff!
First things first…. • Plan ahead • Surround yourself with good people • Plan ahead • KISS • Evaluate every aspect so you can…. • Plan ahead for next year
Plan ahead • You can’t start planning early enough. • Be clear on your expectations of every project. • Set up a time line • Make checklists • Have regular meetings with support staff/volunteers • Have firm deadlines • Take on only the projects that you can complete in a reasonable amount of time. • Don’t bail out other projects to the detriment of your primary purpose (serving the students on campus)
Plan ahead • When planning your activities, think about these questions: • Who is my target audience? (students only; grads and undergrads; faculty, staff and students; community members) • What do I want to accomplish with this activity? • How much time can I dedicate to the projects for this activity? (don’t forget to include marketing and fundraising in this time projection)
Surround yourself with good people • Who will • help you plan? • help you execute? • help you deliver? • Volunteers? Staff? Both? • Consider partnering with another 1 or 2 departments on campus or in community • Create committees (ex: fundraising, volunteer, programming, and marketing)
Keep It Simple…Seriously • Brainstorm lots of ideas • Pick the best 2 or 3 • Use a timeline and cost projection • If it is too costly (including your time) or has an unrealistic timeline….DROP IT! • Or save it for a later date when you have more time and resources
Example Idea-info booth • What is the purpose? • What day(s) will it take place? • Where will it be located? • Do we need special permission to be at that location? • Is there a cost? • Times? • If we are outside and the weather turns bad do we have a back-up plan? • Who is in charge of reserving the space? • Who is getting the supplies together? • What supplies will we need each day? • Table • Tablecloth • Runner • Display board • Pens • Business cards • Brochures • Other giveaways • Activity? • Prizes for participation • Extra credit slips
Activity at info booth-Spin the wheel • What is the purpose? • What days will it be at the booth? Times? • Cost to rent or buy? • What supplies do we need? • Wheel • Questions and Answers • Prizes • Cups • Stress reliever dollar signs • Gift cards • Who is renting or buying the wheel? • Who is compiling the questions? • Who is getting the gift cards? Donations? Purchasing?
Fundraising • What do you need to fundraise? • Cash? • Gift cards? • In kind gifts? • Who is in charge of fundraising? • How much do they need to get? • Do you have a letter you can give businesses? • When is the fundraising deadline? • ALWAYS make this earlier than you need it. • What happens if you don’t get enough donations?
Marketing • How will you get the word out? • Email list serve • Flyers • Posters • Professors/instructors • Campus newspaper • Local t.v. station coverage • Social Media • Who will design the marketing materials? • Are the items consistent with college/university standards? • Make yourself a recognizable brand!
Be flexible • Things will come up…be ready to roll or bend • Usually no one will know things didn’t go perfectly except for the people behind the scenes • Have a backup plan, especially for outdoor events!
Evaluate • Did you reach your target audience? • Why or why not? • Did you accomplish your activity the way you thought you would? • Why or why not? • What 3 things were really successful? What are 3 things you can do better next time? • Ask the other people involved to evaluate
Plan for next year • Take the good • If things worked really well, use them again! • Some ideas may have worked ok, but just need a little tweak. • Leave the bad • If an idea didn’t work at all, scrap it. • Figure out why it didn’t work (if possible) and put your resources into some other ideas
Don’t be scared! • Try something new! • If it works, great! • If it doesn’t, that’s ok, too. • Ask someone on your campus or from another campus if they have experience with your idea.
Sample Themes • ONE: change one thing, change everything • Change the Channel, Change Your Life
You tell me • What has worked? • What has not? • What ideas are you thinking about, but can’t quite commit to?