EVENT PLANNING LAB
Presenters:
Amanda Kochirka, Gannon University Small Business
Development Center
Bob Wooler, The Nonprofit Partnership
What We Will Discuss…
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Event statistics
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Event execution
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Things to consider
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Event follow-up and
evaluation
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Planning the event
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Case studies
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Marketing the event
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Discussion and
questions
Event Statistics
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90% of nonprofits rank events as being
important or very important
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Nonprofits host more events than B2B
and B2C combined
Event Statistics
Event Statistics
Event Statistics
Thinking About the Details
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Trends come and go
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Pay attention to what’s popular
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Everything should coordinate
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Keep it all simple
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Keep it all unified with a theme
Thinking About the Details- Food and
Beverages
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Smaller portions, dinner in bites
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Alcohol isn’t always necessary – try a signature
“mocktail,” sparkling water, or punch for
something different
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Current trends to consider:
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Thai and Indian flavor profiles
Creative twists on classic favorites
Gluten free- and vegan-friendly options
Locally sourced ingredients
Quinoa, lentils, grains
Food truck food without the truck
Thinking About the Details- Activities
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Physical activities, but get creative
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Virtual participation
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Peer-to-peer fundraising
Thinking About the DetailsEntertainment/Speakers
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National Groups
 National Speakers Bureau
 Executive Speakers Bureau
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Local affiliations
 NPR, NPM, PBS
 Experts right here at home
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Local bands, acoustic musicians, acrobats,
jugglers, caricature artists, comedians
Event Pre-Planning
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Who is your audience?
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Does your event align with what they
respond to?
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What will make your event different?
Setting Goals for Your Event
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Discuss the difference between a goal and
a tactic
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Collaborate
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Agree on how to measure success
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Keep the goals alive
Setting Goals for Your Event
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Goals to consider:
 Attendance
 Money raised
 Publicity
 Awareness
 Motivation
 Collaboration
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Is it something else entirely?
Finding/Booking a Venue
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Things to consider:
 Budget and theme
 Does the site provide catering?
 Does the site provide what you’ll need- tables,
chairs, stage, projector, microphone, podium,
etc.?
 Will the site provide tech support in case
something goes wrong?
 How much support staff will be on-site the day of
the event to handle emergencies?
Finding/Booking a Venue
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Local Venues to Consider
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Asbury Woods (inside or outside)
TREC (Tom Ridge Environmental Center)
Warner Theater
Erie Art Museum
Arboretum at Frontier Park
Local college or university
Basement Transmissions
Watson Curtze Mansion, Battles House
Erie Maritime Museum
BLOOM Collaborative
The Pilot House
Library, Intermodal Center
Erie Zoo
WQLN
Creating Event Agendas That Work
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Don’t pack the schedule
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Don’t hold complex thought sessions right after
a meal
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Create participation, movement
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Let the attendees relax during meals
Online Registration Management
Options
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Some service providers to consider:
 Ennect Event
 Eventbrite
 WordPress Event Registration Plugin
 Eventbee
 Constant Contact Event Marketing
Ennect Event
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What you get Easy to create website, no HTML knowledge
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needed
Customizable URL
Free to create and send email invites
Send automatic email with confirmation, receipt
Create member/non-member pricing
Free support
Ennect Event
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Pricing
 Pay-As-You-Go- $400/event, no per-registrant
fee
○ For occasional events
 Event Series- as low as $200/event, no per-
registrant fee
○ For those who run multiple events.
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Call for nonprofit discount
Eventbrite
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What you get Tools for publishing an event Web page
 Tools for event promotion- i.e., email invitations
 Custom survey tool to collect additional info
Eventbrite
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Pricing
 Free for events that are free
 Fee for events with a charge:
○ 2.5% + $0.99 per ticket (they guarantee they will
never charge more than $9.95 per ticket)
○ Payment processing charge options- check them
out online
Eventbee
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What you get Create single or multiple ticket types
 Set up dynamic registration form
 Customize form and confirmation email
 Link to publicize event cross platform
 Social media sharing, Facebook fan page
ticketing
 Sales and attendee data available
 Mobile app for event check in
Eventbee
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Pricing
 Basic membership is $1 service fee per
ticket
 Pro membership - $1.50 service fee per
ticket
 Advanced membership - $2 service fee per
ticket
 Credit card processing fees are additional
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Features increase as package price
increases
Constant Contact Event Marketing EventSpot
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What you get
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Create customizable invitations and landing page
Process payments, issue tickets
Track registrations, payments
Ticket templates
Pricing
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0-1 event - $20/mo.
2-5 events - $25/mo.
6-10 events - $45/mo.
Up to 41+ events - $150/mo.
Nonprofit discounts 10%-30% depending on level
Sponsorship
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Consider the event- don’t forget relevant
sponsors
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Set sponsorship levels- benefits should be
clear
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Get on the phone, send packets (keep the
packets simple)
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Follow up
Sponsorship
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Cultivate the relationship with sponsors
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Cultivate the relationship with non-sponsors
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Give them plenty of publicity
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Follow up after the event
Recruiting Volunteers
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Recruit more than you think you need
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Colleges and high schools
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Businesses
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Clubs and associations
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Solicit through your website/social media
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Newsletters
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Current volunteers
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Friends and family
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Board members
Marketing the Event Using Social
Media
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Tips for event marketing using social media
 Integrated approach
 Link from the event website
 Organic approach to building followers
 Show and tell
 Team effort
 Start early
 Creative
Marketing the Event Using Social
Media
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How to use social media to market your
event
 Twitter
 Facebook
 Instagram
 Blog
 Other event marketing tools
Marketing the Event Using Social
Media
Marketing the Event Using Twitter
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Hashtags
 #npday
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Give the event its own Twitter account
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“Please RT!”
Marketing the Event Using Facebook
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Page then event
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If it’s a large event, it can have its own
Facebook Page
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With recurring events, you can build a
following over time
Marketing the Event Using Facebook
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Use the features Facebook provides Take out Facebook ads and target them to your
desired audience
 Events tab on all pages
 Ask people to share
 Two excellent resources○ The Nonprofit Facebook Guy
○ Non-Profits on Facebook
Marketing the Event Using Instagram
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Give attendees a visual and location for your
event
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Use the event hashtag, make
your own - #booth701
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Tag speakers, vendors,
sponsors
Marketing the Event Using a Blog
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You can use an existing blog or start a new
one, but leave time to build a following
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Create posts announcing the event, call for
presenters, volunteers, and sponsorship
opportunities
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Follow up with guest posts from presenters
who should welcome the opportunity to reach
a wider audience
Marketing During the Event Using
Social Media
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Marketing during the event (for events that
are longer than a couple of hours)
 Hashtags for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
 Live streaming
 Vine
 Post consistently
Using Hashtags During the Event
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Make sure everyone knows the hashtag
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Put it everywhere
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Use the hashtag for monitoring
Using Video During the Event
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Quick interviews and speakers with attendees
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Live streaming – get speakers’ permission first!
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Use YouTube, Vimeo to post longer format
videos
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Vine for short format videos- six second,
looping
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Editing software comes with some cameras,
otherwise see what’s available on your
computer
Marketing the Event Using Email
Marketing the Event Using Mobile
Marketing the Event Using
Traditional Media
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Use free online media – community
calendars
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Send meaningful releases
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Personalize your release
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Know who you’re sending to
Coordinating Communication for
Event Day
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Who is responsible for what?
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Have contact information for site
manager, maintenance/physical plant,
caterer, etc.
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How is the team communicating?
What Event Follow Up Method is
Best?
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Consider your audience
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Combinations can work
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Where do they go from there?
Marketing After the Event
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Reflective blog post
 Talk about what you learned, ask for comments
 Post something similar on Facebook
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Thank you on website
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Email blast
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Send a link to a highlight video
Marketing After the Event
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Photo tagging
 Encourage attendees to tag themselves in photos
so they are shared with their connections
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Slideshare
 Ask presenters for permission to post slides on
Slideshare- use appropriate tags, titles and links
Wrap-Up Meeting After the Event

cri·tique [kri-teek]noun 1. an article or essay
criticizing a literary or other work; detailed
evaluation; review

crit·i·cism [krit-uh-siz-uhm]noun 1. the act of
passing judgment as to the merits of anything
Keeping Organized From Year to Year
(For Annual Events)
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Create a folder on your computer or a binder
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Use a form like the event wrap-up guide
handout
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Collect the results of the follow up
Case Study- Desert Bus for Hope
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Money goes to Child’s Play – provides toys
and games to kids in hospitals nationwide
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Video game Desert Bus – kind of like Oregon
Trail
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Improv comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun
rediscovered the game in 2007 and decided
to use the game to raise money for charity
Case Study- Desert Bus for Hope
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Never. Stop. Driving.
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2013 event raised almost
$525k
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Moral: keep your activity
aligned with your cause
Case Study – Flatwater Foundation
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Mark Garza’s father diagnosed with stage 4
prostate cancer
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Mark decided to host a paddle boarding event
to raise awareness of mental health of those
dealing with cancer diagnosis
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“Dam That Cancer” event
Case Study – Flatwater Foundation
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Paddlers travel from dam to dam in Lake
Austin (TX) – 21 miles
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First event raised $35k, wasn’t even a goal to
raise money, just awareness
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This year was 5th event and raised $250k
Case Study – Flatwater Foundation
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Event capped at 75 people for safety
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Paddlers dedicate to raising $2k through
peer-to-peer fundraising
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It’s an honor to be selected to paddle
Case Study – Free Wheel
Foundation’s RIDE 430 Challenge
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Four day, 430-mile journey to support injured
military service personnel and their families
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Every participant asked to fundraise, average
rider raised $6,600 by end of campaign.
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Event’s initial goal was $350k, ended up
raising more than $440k.
Case Study – Free Wheel
Foundation’s RIDE 430 Challenge
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Bridge the gap between your event and the
people you serve
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Create options for those who can’t participate
in the traditional sense
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Video
A Few Helpful Resources
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Free E-Books about event planning- Event
Manager Bloghttp://www.eventmanagerblog.com
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Event psychology specialist- Andrea Sullivanhttp://www.brainstrength.net
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Event checklist – www.wildapricot.com
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Classy Blog – www.classy.org