EVENT PLANNING

Have you identified a community need which your event can help to solve?

• This might mean that you look through previous community consultation and remind yourself of what people said were barriers for them, or ideas of events and activities they’d like to attend. Let’s not guess at what people would enjoy or want to know more about, if you ask, they’ll tell you!

Has your organisation got sufficient funds to host the event or are you looking to source funding to allow you to host?

• Funding can be a huge factor which community groups can struggle with. Not all groups have financial reserves so sourcing additional support can make or break an event. See if your project fits into one of our two small grant funds here or reach out to us to discuss your needs and we’ll do out best to help identify where funding can be sourced. We appreciate it’s not always appropriate to include a charge to community events, particularly if part of your event aims to tackle inequalities – a door charge can be a huge barrier to participation so please reach out to us to discuss your options.

What date will you decide on?

• When will your event take place within the Highlands and Islands Climate Festival? Be sure not to clash with any other events taking place within your community and host your activity on a day/time when most of your target audience, staff and volunteers are available. Be sure to decide the date in plenty time to that you can comfortably promote it and if you require volunteer support, circulate this request BEFORE publicly advertising the event to ensure you have the adequate team in place to welcome the community to your event. If you can, host your event on a day/time where there are active travel opportunities to reach your chosen venue!

Have you got the right people in place to make the event happen?

• If your event requires expertise or support with equipment from another organisation or third party, be sure to have this confirmed and any costs agreed before the event is published publicly. Working in collaboration with other groups can be a brilliant way to forge relationships and take the pressure off smaller organisaitons when there’s lots of planning work to be done.

How will you promote your event?

• What resources can you use to let people know your event is taking place? There are so many free opportunities to let your community know you’re hosting an event, here are a few hints to help you spread the word:

  • Use the festival’s branding pack to create a simple but effective poster to highlight your event and have it recognizable as part of the celebrations.

  • Use the festival’s handy ‘submit an event’ tool to have your event listed on the digital programme of events and therefore via the festival’s official digital platforms.

  • Write to your local newspaper with a press release – we can help you with this by putting you in contact with media representatives in your area or by giving you sample press releases.

  • Use social media as a free tool but be mindful that there’s often a large audience of people who are not online users, this will differ depending on the type of event you’re hosting.

  • Reach out to your local radio station to see if you can submit details of your event to be read out as part of the community news section or if you can pop along to give an interview on your activities.

  • Print posters and display them in places where you know people look for local information – perhaps in various shops, the local library or a community notice board – be mindful however of the cost and environmental impact of printing temporary documents.

Are you prepared for on the day issues?

• As we’re all too aware, last minute issues can and will, crop up. Try to be as prepared as possible for all eventualities. Over the years, we’ve developed an ‘admin bag’ which contains all the ‘bits’ you might find yourself wishing you had. A pair of scissors, electrical tape, a pencil case, sticky notes, cable ties, string – anything and everything you can think of. Pop it in the bag!

  Be prepared, as best as you can to promote your event as it happens, take lots of pictures of the hard work you’ve put into the setup, people enjoying themselves (use our handy release forms to make sure people are comfortable to have their picture taken) and the end product of your event. This will come in really handy when you’re doing the evaluation process.

  Are all your staff and volunteers prepared to welcome the community? Are they well versed in what the event is, where things are, what time things are happening so they can answer questions quickly and effectively? Perhaps think about calling a team/volunteers briefing with a cuppa and some biscuits half an hour before the doors open so you can offer all the information they need. Depending on your event, you might consider circulating a document with all the important information on it before the event and having a printed copy in a suitable place where all staff/volunteers can access.

Have you considered all Health and Safety obligations of your event?

• Depending on the nature of your event, different Health and Safety requirements will be necessary. It’s important to consider these in good time and make sure you’re prepared for all eventualities. Perhaps your venue has a step to enter but you know of somewhere you can borrow a ramp for any wheelchair users attending? Making amendments to welcome all members of your community goes a long way. Check with your venue to see if there are any planned fire drills you need to be aware of, have you popped a first aid kit in the ‘admin bag’ etc. For a much more in depth look at Health and Safety for community events, use this link where you’ll find template risk assessments and lots more handy hints & tips.

Is there anything else you can achieve while you have the community gathered at your event?

• You’ve worked hard to get people along to your event, it’s often easier said than done to get people along so think carefully about how you interact with attendees. Make sure they feel welcome and know you’re grateful for their support but also – use the time to do some gentle community consultation, provide feedback forms, ask what they’d like to see more/less of from your organisation – you might get some ideas which you’d never have thought of or even a new volunteer signaling interest on the form!

Don’t forget about reporting and evaluation!

• Ok, not the most glamorous of tasks but so important for lots of reasons. How will you remember if the event was a success in a year or two if you don’t take some time to write up some quick report style notes on how it went and any lessons learnt. Not to mention that funders expect reports to be submitted along with pictures they can use to promote your organisation and their fund.