Whether it’s a rally, a day of community service, an educational forum, or a community town hall, big events are often important to your success. Why organize big events?
  • They can help you win your campaigns. Big events can help you get your message across to a decision-maker, generate media attention for an issue, educate the public, etc.
  • They create a ton of good visibility for your student government.
  • They are a chance to team up with important people on campus and build your relationship with them. Events provide an opportunity to work closely with other student organizations, campus administrators, local VIPs, etc.
  • They help to develop more leaders within your student government. You need a lot of people in your student government to step up and take on more responsibility. Helping plan a big event is a good chance for up-and-coming students to learn the skills that will make them better leaders.
How to organize a big event:
  • Start with a goal.
  • Create a plan.
  • Get people involved.
  • Nail the logistics.
Setting goals:
  • Things to set goals for:
    • How many people you want to attend the event
    • How many coalition partners on campus should be involved
    • How much publicity you will do
    • How many media stories the event will generate
    • How much other campaign work you will accomplish at the event (petitions collected, voters registered, etc.)
  • Why set goals?
    • Goals allow you to plan.
    • Goals help to motivate your student government members and create a sense of shared vision for the event.
Making a plan:
  • Start with the goals you’ve just set.
  • Then, work backwards week-by-week to figure out what you need to do to hit those goals.
Get people involved:
  • Recruit volunteers.
  • Recruit coalition partners.
  • Get VIPs involved.
  • Invite the media.
Nail the logistics. Some common requirements include:
  • Space
  • Materials
  • A/V equipment
  • Food and drinks
  • Transportation
  • Budget