Event Planning Guidelines

The pre-planning process

Map out at the beginning of every fiscal year (July 1)

  • With your officers and council members, create a yearly timeline of your events.
  • When considering timing, be sensitive to school vacations, religious holidays, major local events, and workday hours.
  • Define your vision: what is this program going to accomplish? How is it fulfilling the goals of the Alumni Engagement Strategic Plan?
  • Don’t overdo it! 2-4 events per year is plenty.
  • Assign different volunteers to be the primary manager for each event. Delegate and share the workload.
  • Consider other Cornell groups, organizations, and classes to partner with when appropriate.
  • Determine events types you want for your group.

Examples include:

SOCIAL CAREER EDUCATIONAL  UNIVERSITY-WIDE
Brunch Networking event Classes (cooking, etc.) MSG pre-/post-game party
Cocktail party or happy hour Speaker/panel event Book talks CALC gathering
Holiday party Industry dinners Tours (museum, garden, campus, etc.) Homecoming gathering
Fitness classes/hiking Resume/interview event Pre-Reunion events
Sporting events (MLB, NFL, etc.) Sy Katz Parade

Please note: In order to maintain equity across all volunteer organizations, we ask all groups to refrain from offering compensation or honorariums to any faculty, staff, or alumni for event participation.

Planning & executing your event

Begin process at least 6-8 weeks prior to the event date

  • Loop in your class staff contact to assist with this process
  • Choose venue/location. Take into consideration:
    • If hosting a paid event, the goal is to break even; try to find a venue with low or no food & beverage minimum.
    • What kind of space is available: public vs. private? Loud vs. quiet? Family-friendly? Make sure it fits your specific needs.
    • Capacity
    • Parking
    • Accessibility
    • Is signage/Cornell branding permitted?
    • Is A/V needed?
  • Arrange payment with your venue contact.
  • For paid events, estimate how much to charge so you can break even. Be conservative with attendance estimates.

Host committee

  • Enlist 5-6 dedicated local alumni with strong networks to form host committee. Duties include:
    • Register early to highlight presence on public attendee list.
    • Lend name to event marketing emails.
    • Recruit friends to attend.
    • Promote event on personal networks.
    • Arrive early, greet and socialize with attendees to help them feel welcome (especially those who are alone).

Marketing

TIMING TASK RESPONSIBLE CONTACT
As soon as date is set Request registration page from class staff contact Class staff contact
4-5 weeks prior to event Send Save the Date email Class staff contact or alumni volunteer trained in iModules
3-4 weeks prior to event Send 2-3 marketing emails Class staff contact or alumni volunteer trained in iModules
2-3 weeks prior/up to event date

 

Post on social media Alumni volunteer event manager
Market on personal networks Host committee & alumni volunteer event manager
Post to class & organization websites Alumni volunteer event manager/volunteer with iModules access

Event tasks

TIMING TASK RESPONSIBLE CONTACT
2 weeks prior to event Request additional materials (class banner, stick-on name tags) from class staff contact & provide shipping address Alumni volunteer event manager
Week of event

 

Confirm final details with venue Alumni volunteer event manager
Create (or request from class staff contact) walk-in list to collect walk-in names and information Class staff contact or event manager
Day before or day of event (must be a weekday) Request final registration list from class staff contact Alumni volunteer event manager
At event Check in attendees, indicate walk-ins and no-shows. *If paid event, send walk-ins registration link. If paying by check, make out to “Class of XXXX – Cornell University” Alumni volunteer event manager or another alumni volunteer
After event (within a week)

 

 

Send final reconciled attendance list to class staff contact Alumni volunteer event manager
Mail any checks to class staff contact Alumni volunteer event manager
If reimbursement is needed, send itemized receipts to class staff contact Alumni volunteer event manager

Check out the event best practices page for more tips.