Getting Started with Event Planning

Depending on the various elements of your event, there are several factors that will affect the time and resources that will be needed to make your event successful. Before jumping ahead to reserving space or designing the publicity for your event, take the time to consider your goals, intended audience, accessibility considerations, and the resources you’ll need for the event.

Event planning generally follows these stages:

1. Design / Conceptualizing -- take the time to brainstorm a solid event idea
   2. Budget & Space -- an approved location and funding are equal essentials that need to be secured first
   3. Logistics & Promotions -- an organized plan of timelines, tasks, and ways to get the word out about your event is critical to success

You are not alone! Be sure to connect with a club advisor, the Club Hub staff, and/or The Centers staff for help. The Viking Union 5th Floor Administration Desk can also help to find a staff member to answer questions.

Is this event educational, community-building, a showcase of artistic talent, taking on a social issue, or maybe all of the above? Determining the various goals, or purpose, of the event is useful as a guiding compass to consult often when shaping the event and when making tough decisions about what to include or how to spend limited resources.  

You may want to come up with a single statement or description that all co-planners can agree on. Or, if it is important to assess to what extent you have reached your goal after the event is done, you may want to develop a short list of intended outcomes for the event and survey attendees afterwards to find out if these were accomplished.  

Tips for writing Goals & Outcomes:

• Guide to Writing S.M.A.R.T. Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound)
• Writing Outcome Statements is EASY
• Creating Effective Event Evaluations

Sample questions to ask yourself:

• Is this an Internal (members-only) event? 
• Are you trying to grow your organization’s membership with a recruitment drive, outreach plan, or bring-a-friend night? 
• Are you hoping to get more freshmen, sophomores, or students from the Residence Halls to the event? Or is it being promoted openly and broadly out to the whole campus? 

Answering questions such as these will help you create an event description that speaks to the audience you’re going for. Also, when you create the online event in WIN (Western Involvement Network), you have the option to make the event viewable by members-only, everyone in the Western community, or everyone in the general public.  

If you’re hosting an educational event, will the content be at the beginner/entry-level (like a 101 course) or deeper dive into advanced concepts (like a 301 or 401 course)? Or both? Think about how you might convey this in the event’s description and promotion.  

If your event has a focus on identity, culture, or ADEI (accessibility, diversity, equity, inclusion) topics, it can be important to name if there is an intended primary audience.  

An event with the goal of raising awareness of historical injustices may benefit from a very broad audience, while an event looking to meet the needs for community-building or enhancing well-being for students holding intersecting underrepresented identities will benefit from clearly naming the intent of the space.   

Can I state that my event audience is limited to only people who hold certain genders, ethnicities, or other aspects of identity? No. As a part of our commitment and obligation to non-discrimination, all campus organizations and departments must follow WWU’s and WA State’s equal opportunity and non-discrimination policy which prevents differential treatment on the basis of several protected identity characteristics. Visit the Civil Rights & Title IX Compliance office to learn more about this topic.  

While campus activities cannot exclude anyone, it is perfectly acceptable and often recommended to state whom an event space is primarily intended for, as mentioned above. And anyone who disrupts a campus activity or won’t allow it to go on as planned can be barred from the event space and made to leave.  

Are you wondering if your event idea will sound appealing and connect with the audience(s) you’re going for? The best way to find out is to gather feedback from peers and members of the intended audience(s). Ask around. Share the idea. Ask what could be changed to make it better.  

Do people sound excited about it? Are they genuinely interested? If so, you’re on the right track! 

1. Designate a contact person for any questions about accommodations and event details. Put their email address on print publicity and on event descriptions on WIN and on social media.  
2. Spend some time reviewing WWU’s Inclusive and Accessible Language web resource page. 
3. Become familiar with what the Disability Access Center (DAC) can provide, such as text transcribers, sign language interpreters, and live captioning.  
4. Use the Guidelines to Increase Accessibility & Belonging at Events created by the Disability Outreach Center (DOC) to check your event’s plan for many ways to enhance accessibility.

There are several different types of approvals needed to make an event a reality: 

• Space Reservation 
• Budget / Funding Request 
• WIN Event Calendar approval 
• Event-Specific: contracts, film licensing, catering exemption, Health Department, etc. 

AS Program offices and departments will get event approval from their managers or advisors. 

Clubs will need to fill out an Event Planning Checklist to submit their event plan for review and approval. Once this is approved by the Club Activities Office (aka “Club Hub”) or the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) staff, your space request is free to be confirmed and you can move ahead. 

Generally, once you have the funds and space secured and the event does not pose any unacceptable risks, you can move into handling all the logistics and promotions needed for a successful event.  

NOTE ON RISK: 

If your event involves these, or other, potential elevated risks, you will need to meet with your assigned advisor or manager to discuss how you plan to mitigate or respond to the risks:  

• increased likelihood of physical injury 
• topics that might lead to emotional distress or harm 
• events involving minors (under 18) 
• potential to damage facilities, grounds, trees, etc 

• Club Meeting - just reserve the room and let members know!
• Reserve aTable in Red Square or inside the Viking Union
• Reserve a Table and organize a bake sale on Vendor's Row

• Film Showing
• Karaoke Night
• Craft Night or Social with minimal purchasing of supplies: 3 – 4 Weeks (more if you want the best promotion options and more people to attend)
• Panel Presentation (this short of a timeline could work if you already have panelists identified and committed; otherwise, you'd need more time)

• Concert or Speaker for the whole campus: 6 – 7 Weeks (or more for a big-name performer; time to book them and do quality promotion) 
• Large banquet, dance, or festival: 7 – 8 Weeks (allow for collaborative planning, several interactive elements, special attention to the theme, booking, menu, etc.) 
• Day-long conference with many presenters, workshops, and food: 10+ Weeks (usually organizing a planning committee, lots of logistics, budgeting, arranging many speakers, etc.)