How to Plan Your Event

The Registration Process

2009-02-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

We created online registration opportunities for our giveback opportunity in Charlotte, NC.

Some of the information we needed for registration:

Name
Address
Email Address (specify, the email address the volunteer will check most regularly)
Cell Phone Number (specify, the number the volunteer will use during the giveback event at NAYC)
Student Ministry Contact Name (The person who will PARTICIPATE in the giveback opportunity as the Student Leader)
Number of volunteers in your group
Transportation note: Will you have transportation during the giveback event? Yes/No
Transportation note: If yes, would you have any openings for others to ride with your group?
Would you be interested in being a Group Leader? Yes/No (This includes being responsible for LEADING the effort on-site during the event and communicating regularly with the Project 22:39 Coordinator to make sure your service opportunity runs smoothly. You will also be responsible for sending emails to others who volunteer at the same organization)

More to come...

Project 22:39 in Charlotte, NC

2009-02-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

Click here to read more about the HUGE COMMUNITY EFFORT I put together in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Large Community Giveback Effort - Part Two

2009-02-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

Remember, when you are dealing with non-profits, you will need to be flexible. Most non-profits are short staffed, so patience is truly a virtue when working with them to set up giveback opportunities.

Take note of this list of questions you may want to have in front of you when making your calls:

Ask yourself these questions:

On what date are you interested in making a difference in the community?

What time will you begin serving?

What time will you end your community service?

Ask the Executive Director at the non-profit these questions:

What are the non-profit's hours of operation?

How many volunteers can be assigned to their organization?

What needs do they currently have? (It is important to get all the details. The volunteers will want to know exactly what is expected of them during their time of service.)

Who will your contact be on the day of your giveback opportunity?

What is his/her contact information? (exchanging phone numbers is a must.)

For the event I organized, it was important to me that the non-profits I chose were within walking distance of the Bobcats Arena in downtown Charlotte, NC. A good question to ask would be, is the non-profit within walking distance from where your event will be taking place. This was especially important because a lot of my volunteers signed up from all across North America - they flew to Charlotte and had no transportation to and from the Arena. They walked everywhere they needed to go during their stay.

Once you have the giveback opportunities organized, you can move forward with registration.

We had online registration - where volunteers chose the event in which they wanted to participate.

In 2007 our options were:

Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreational Facilities: (the job description looked something like this: painting basketball courts, picking up trash, painting fences, mulching flowerbeds, etc.)

Homeless Shelter: (giving of your time to those in need and making a difference in their lives by encouraging them that others care.)

Crisis Control Ministries Store: (organizing clothing in their store, helping them get things in order in their stock room, etc.)

Second Harvest Food Bank: Every individual who came to NAYC was to bring a canned food item. We placed collection bins strategically around the Arena. Second Harvest came to the Arena, on the day of our event, where we had approximately twenty-five individuals working right at the Arena to create Kid's back packs. We also had a team of volunteers who signed up to work at the Second Harvest Warehouse. They boxed Senior Meals for distribution to the elderly.

Classroom Central: Every individual who came to NAYC was to bring a school supply. We had four Smart Box's (small storage trailers) placed strategically around the Arena where we collected tons of school supplies. On the day of the event, the Smart Boxes were moved from the Arena to Classroom Central - the student volunteers came to the Classroom Central warehouse, unloaded the Smart Box trailers and helped the staff at Classroom Central organize the supplies we collected.

The organization of which I am a part, sponsors two non-profits that we felt may be able to use our assistance: The Lighthouse Ranch for Boys and the Children's Mansion. I worked with these organizations to receive a list of their needs. I then connected with twelve Student Pastors who made this collection opportunity a month long event in their youth groups.

I sent the following to the Student Pastors who took on this giveback opportunity:
A list of the needs from the organization they were supporting
The box size that was acceptable for their collection
The weight that was acceptable for each filled box
What I wanted to see as far as package labeling

I had to be very specific, because these boxes were given to the organizations in a presentation during one of the services at NAYC.

There were other giveback opportunities as well, I will share more with you in my next post.

Large Community Giveback Effort - Part One

2009-02-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

In 2007, I was tapped to organize the North American Youth Congress Community Giveback Effort for over 1,000 individuals in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Whoa! What a HUGE effort!

The difference that was made as a result of the organization of this event, was well worth all the effort I put into planning it.

I am going to attempt to show you how you too can organize a giveback opportunity of this magnitude relatively seamlessly.

This will be a series of blogs - so check back often for... the rest of the story.

1. Determine the area in which you wish to make a difference.

2. Contact the local non-profits in that area to determine the need. Do not waste your time talking to part-time staff members or volunteers at these organizations. Go right to the top - the Executive Director or President/CEO will know more about the need and can make the final call as to how many volunteers they could use and what work will need to be accomplished while your group is there.

3. Remember, DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS - you must have them ALL before organizing the sign-up process for your volunteers.

4. We created a website so that individuals who came to this event from all around North America could get involved.

5. We set a deadline on registration.

6. We encouraged all attendees to participate, free of charge.

7. We had over 15,000 students and adult volunteers in attendance at NAYC in Charlotte and close to 1,500 served during our giveback opportunity called Project 22:39. (Project 22:39 was named with Matthew 22:39 in mind, "Love your neighbor as yourself.")

8. Define your goals so that everyone can take part in the "win".

9. Our goal was to provide giveback opportunities in Charlotte, NC for 2-3 hours on one day during a huge youth conference. Believe it or not, it was doable. (even when I thought it wasn't.)

10. I found that Parks and Recs were able to fill close to 1,000 volunteer positions during our Project 22:39 efforts. I recommend working with Parks and Recs for any type of giveback opportunity where you expect a large number of individuals to participate.

11. I had 5 students at the local homeless shelter, 20 volunteers at a Crisis Control Minisries Store, 25 individuals at the local Food Bank - but when you are talking numbers of partipants over 1,000 - you need a larger opportunity like parks and recs to put your volunteers to work!

I will write more on this later. Stay tuned...

Red Cross Blood Drive Video

2009-02-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

I am adding this video to this site so that you can see how the room we used, was laid out and you can also catch a glimpse of our decorating.

Planning A Blood Drive with the Red Cross

2009-02-16T05:20:00.001-08:00

Click here to find out more about the Red Cross in your area.

Call your Red Cross representative to ask about a date for your blood drive. (It usually takes 6-8 weeks to plan a successful blood drive.)
Our goal was for 30 individuals to give one pint each.
Once your date is confirmed, start filling in the time slots that your representative will give you. We were given time slots from 9 AM until 1:15 PM. (two to three donors should be signed up every fifteen minutes)
I had over fifty individuals sign up. Thirty-eight of them showed up. Thirty-one of our perspective donors could actually give. It's better to overshoot your goal - in order to meet/exceed the Red Cross' expectations.
While you are filling in the sign-up sheet, it's time to get to work on organizing the refreshments.
I was able to secure five dozen fresh bagels from Brueggers, twelve dozen doughnuts and forty cups of coffee from Krispy Kreme, totally free of charge. I have request letters that I can send your way as a template if you are interested in using what I have created. Email me at chrisponjican@hotmail.com to request my community donation template letter.
I also received a $25 gift card from Walmart, a $20 gift card from Food Lion and a $10 gift card from Lowes Food. Again, I can send my community donation template letter your way if you want your event to cost you absolutely nothing.
It is important to provide plenty of sweets to help your donors recover quickly from giving a pint of their blood.
Remember the diabetics! Orange juice and sugar free blueberry muffins are two great choices to have on hand for those who should not eat doughnuts.
We had our Blood Drive on Valentine's Day - so we purchased heart helium balloons and heart stickers for the kids who came with their parents.
Donors appreciate it when you are accommodating to their children. While the parents gave, our volunteer team directed the children to the refreshment table, where they ate and played with balloons.
As individuals sign up, an email should be sent to the perspective donors confirming the time in which they have committed to donate. This email should include the location of the blood drive with the address, the organizer's cell phone number and a link to the Red Cross' Tips for Successful Giving document. It would not hurt to call your donors the night before the drive to ensure their participation. I can send to you a copy of the email I used for my blood drive that you can use as a template for your drive. Email me.
Once you have your donors... it's time to organize a volunteer team. We had a team of twelve individuals. Here is the breakdown:

We had a GREET Team. Two individuals were placed at the registration table to handle sign-ins, to check photo i.d., to give stickers to children, etc.

We had a FLOAT Team. These individuals were responsible for serving the donors a soda or something sweet, as they came to the end of giving blood. These volunteers also assisted the donors to the refreshment table and took additional drink orders at that time. We had all of the refreshments on the table and replaced plates, napkins, etc. as each donor was well enough to go on about their day.

We had one volunteer who assisted us from the medical field. He stood near the refreshment table at all times to check for signs of those who may be prone to faint. He also looked out for those who may still have bleeding at the needle injection site.

Finally, we had a REPLENISH Team. These individuals took their orders from the FLOAT Team. They were in the kitchen, pouring drinks and replenishing the refreshment table.

I have job descriptions for each of these teams that I can send your way if you are interested in seeing a more detailed breakdown of responsibilities for the volunteers during the Blood Drive.

Overall our event was a great success.

Happy planning!

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2008-04-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

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Find a rental company that you can count on!

2007-10-09T20:25:00.001-07:00

Stick with one rental company to receive discounts on linens, glasses, bar towels, etc.

My main rental company is Elite Rentals in Winston-Salem. If they do not have what I need, it's off to Hauser Rental I go.

I have cultivated great working relationships with both of these rental companies, and they are eager to help me (as a non-profit organization) because I go through them for each event I plan.

A few things that are a MUST for your event...

2007-10-02T04:26:00.000-07:00

No matter how big or how small your event is, the bullet points below will help your event become more personal.

First off, live music is a MUST! (background music, that is)
Name badges are nice, when guests enter - they have RSVP'd, and they should receive a name badge - this helps your guest remember names of those they haven't seen in a while.
A gift for each couple/individual that comes to your event - a gift given as they leave is another very simple way to say, "THANKS" for coming and we appreciate your willingness to "show up" tonight.

There is more that I can share on this - stay tuned for next week's entry.

My First Post...

2007-09-25T13:49:00.001-07:00

I plan various receptions and events in the Piedmont Triad for a number of organizations.

I love, love, love planning events - and I think I am relatively decent at it. =) (thankfully!)

I will give you one resource today, then begin blogging more about my experiences in event planning next week, sharing various other resources that have been helpful to me in my journey.

A tremendous magazine for you to subscribe to is Special Events Magazine - it is FREE - and full of great insights for your event planning needs.

Check back soon.