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.