Resource:How to organize a kickass planning committee

Introduction

Are you looking to start an event at your school but don't know who you should bring in or how to even begin? Well this is the “how-to” for you! This “how-to” guide will help you find and build a kickass planning team for your event and help you advertise the event... and then pass it on to the next generation.

Forming a kickass planning committee

In order to form a kickass planning committee, you have to identify the ones that will support you and your cause. You may be asking yourself, " How do I do this?"

For your very first event, make sure your friends join. Then ask those friends to invite their friends, and hopefully, those friends will invite their friends. Host the event. See how it goes. But also make sure enough other people are reached for your event. The more promotion means you use, the more people are likely to show. Think about posters, flyers, buisness card which are given personnally and promotion talks before audiances.

The most active people can be spotted during this event. To spot them easier you can ask yourself the following questions:

Who's left after most of the crowd has left?

Who put their entire self into this event?

Who couldn't help it but to assist you in organizing this event?

Who's genuinely intrested and having passion to do the work in the Long-run?

The people that you pick out as you go through this list are the ones you need to make it all happen.

Another aspect to keep in mind is the fact that it is a good idea to create a group with all kinds of individuals from different disciplines. Think about Who will be taking the lead? It is also a good idea to make each person responsible for different parts of the organisation (think about a treasurer if needed, head of promotion etc). To decide the division of roles, aks them to write a motivation letter beforehand and hold interviews.

Advertising

Now that you have your kickass planning committee, how can you get the word out about your events? Of course, there's the obvious ways: posters, Facebook Events, emails. But how can you step it up a notch? Here's your answers.

Meet and involve the person in charge of communications at your university in your organization.This person can get your name and organization out there in your university so that others can see your cause and maybe even join.
Place enough posters in the right place, and that could make all the difference in the turnout of your event. Place the posters where people will have time to read them: like elevators or hallways by classrooms. Avoid places where they will get lost or looked over.
When trying to hook people in to your cause or organization, present it as an advantage to them. Try to sell your organization or event. You're giving them an advantage whether that'd be extra credit for a certain class, a resume builder, or even food. We all love food!
Use tangible advertisements. Do NOT just write out long paragraphs on Facebook or in an email. People won't read them. Make your advertisements easy to read and to the point.

Inspire people to be apart of the next planning committee

Now for the next generation for your planning committee. You have succesfuly built and ran your event with your team and it is time to pass the torch and keep the ball rolling. How do you find these people and inspire them to contnue and improve the event.

Talk to who ever stays after the event has ended they tend to be the most passionate of the participants who would want the event to happen again.
"Sweeten the pot" by asking a professor or the school to give students who are involved in running the event a little something. A bit of extra credit in one class or a bit of fame through the school's paper.
Show them that their goals align with what they would gain and get to work on as part of the Kickass planning committee.

The last step is the hardest one out of everything in this "How to". To empower the others of the committee, you will need to step back and allow it to run itself. Allowing each member to take on their own responsibility and run the next event as they choose. This is what will ensure that this group and event that you worked to create will continue even after you have moved on.

Other Fellows

Don't forget, there is an entire network of University Innovation Fellows that could possibly help you with road bumps along the way! Many other Fellows have already planned and coordinated speakers, conferences, 24 hour "Make-A-Thon" events, and the list goes on! So don't shy away from reaching out to other Fellows for advice.