Where to start when planning an event?

Whether you are planning a fundraising event for your favourite charity or organising a product launch, team building day or conference; here are a few guidelines on where to start. 

Establish event goals and objectives 

• What is the purpose of the event?
• Who will attend and why? 
• How will you achieve the end goal? 
• What will determine that the event is a success?

Identify team roles 

If you're solely organising the event yourself, identify the suppliers or companies that you will outsource some of the work to. 

If you have a committee or team of colleagues assisting with the planning process, then you will need to first establish the Event Manager to oversee and lead the team through to completion. Next, assign roles for the following: 

• Marketing 
• Venue management 
• Entertainment
• Volunteer management
• Sponsors 

Set the date and time

Depending on the scale of the event, usually  4-6 months is enough time to successfully plan your event and with this in mind, be sure to do your research before setting the date:

• Unless you are planning a child friendly event, try to avoid school holidays
• Check that there aren't similar events booked in local venues at the same time
• Find out if there are large sporting events taking place 
• Consult with the council to find out if there are planned road works that will impact guests arriving and leaving your event

Create a plan 

This plan should include all aspects of the event, including:

Marketing 

• Artwork (Posters/ leaflets)
• Website content 
• Social media 
• Tickets 
• Programme 
• Media relations 
• Signage 

Venue Management 

• Set up and shut down logistics 
• Equipment hire 
• Catering 
• Ticket sales 
• Contracts 

Entertainment

• Book speakers or entertainers 
• Ryder requirements 
• Insurance 
• Room specifications 
• Equipment 

Volunteer management 

• Volunteer recruitment 
• Training
• Briefing 

Sponsors 

• Sponsorship 
• Prizes 
• Partnership agreements

Once you've outlined the elements above, your plan should detail start and completion dates, before you assign each task to either a team member or supplier. 

Some event organisers prefer to use a gantt chart, however you can also input the plan into a shareable calendar, colour coding each section for ease. 

Then Voila, it's time for action.

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A couple of the above steps may not be relevant to your event, therefore if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them below.