Hosting a

Signature Event

Presented by

Red to Black®

• Peer-to-peer financial coaching to TTU students (all levels)

• Recently moved from student organization to Student Affairs

• Just hosted our 9th Annual Financial Education Week

Financial Education Week

• Typically takes place late March/early April• Gone through lots of variations

– Information booth– Financial check-up sites– Presentations– Guest speakers– Offer extra credit– Games– Free stuff!

First things first….

• Plan ahead• Surround yourself with good people• Plan ahead• KISS• Evaluate every aspect so you can….• Plan ahead for next year

Plan ahead• You can’t start planning early enough. • Be clear on your expectations of every project.

– Set up a time line– Make checklists– Have regular meetings with support staff/volunteers– Have firm deadlines

• Take on only the projects that you can complete in a reasonable amount of time.– Don’t bail out other projects to the detriment of your

primary purpose (serving the students on campus)

Plan ahead• When planning your activities, think about

these questions:– Who is my target audience? (students only;

grads and undergrads; faculty, staff and students; community members)

– What do I want to accomplish with this activity? – How much time can I dedicate to the projects

for this activity? (don’t forget to include marketing and fundraising in this time projection)

Surround yourself with good people

• Who will – help you plan?– help you execute?– help you deliver?– Volunteers? Staff? Both?

• Consider partnering with another 1 or 2 departments on campus or in community

• Create committees (ex: fundraising, volunteer, programming, and marketing)

Keep It Simple…Seriously

• Brainstorm lots of ideas• Pick the best 2 or 3• Use a timeline and cost

projection– If it is too costly (including your

time) or has an unrealistic timeline….DROP IT!

• Or save it for a later date when you have more time and resources

Example Idea-info booth• What is the purpose?• What day(s) will it take place?• Where will it be located?• Do we need special

permission to be at that location?

• Is there a cost?• Times?• If we are outside and the

weather turns bad do we have a back-up plan?

• Who is in charge of reserving the space?

• Who is getting the supplies together?

• What supplies will we need each day?– Table – Tablecloth– Runner– Display board– Pens– Business cards– Brochures– Other giveaways– Activity?

• Prizes for participation

– Extra credit slips

Activity at info booth-Spin the wheel• What is the purpose?• What days will it be at the booth? Times?• Cost to rent or buy?• What supplies do we need?

– Wheel– Questions and Answers– Prizes

• Cups• Stress reliever dollar signs• Gift cards

• Who is renting or buying the wheel? • Who is compiling the questions?• Who is getting the gift cards? Donations? Purchasing?

Fundraising• What do you need to fundraise?

– Cash?– Gift cards?– In kind gifts?

• Who is in charge of fundraising?• How much do they need to get?• Do you have a letter you can give businesses?• When is the fundraising deadline?

– ALWAYS make this earlier than you need it.

• What happens if you don’t get enough donations?

Marketing• How will you get the word out?

– Email list serve– Flyers– Posters– Professors/instructors– Campus newspaper– Local t.v. station coverage– Social Media

• Who will design the marketing materials?– Are the items consistent with

college/university standards?

• Make yourself a recognizable brand!

Be flexible

• Things will come up…be ready to roll or bend

• Usually no one will know things didn’t go perfectly except for the people behind the scenes

• Have a backup plan, especially for outdoor events!

Evaluate• Did you reach your target audience?

– Why or why not?

• Did you accomplish your activity the way you thought you would?– Why or why not?

• What 3 things were really successful? What are 3 things you can do better next time?

• Ask the other people involved to evaluate

Plan for next year

• Take the good– If things worked really well, use them again!– Some ideas may have worked ok, but just

need a little tweak.

• Leave the bad– If an idea didn’t work at all, scrap it. – Figure out why it didn’t work (if possible) and

put your resources into some other ideas

Don’t be scared!

• Try something new! – If it works, great! – If it doesn’t, that’s ok, too.

• Ask someone on your campus or from another campus if they have experience with your idea.

Sample Themes

• Change the Channel, Change Your Life

• ONE: change one thing, change everything

You tell me

• What has worked?• What has not?• What ideas are you thinking about, but

can’t quite commit to?