The cat-a-lyst Book

Action
How to do it

It will be helpful to look through a "How to go into Business" book because it will give suggestions of what information you may want to use to plan and monitor your event and how (in what form) to collect it.

First, make some decisions about what your Coference/Festival might be like. Possible dates for the event, sites, costs, and the schedule of events will give you a place to start gathering specific information that can turn your "ideas" into a reality.

Try sitting down together and having a brainstorming session. After designating a secretary to capture all the ideas on paper, start saying the first thing that comes to your mind about things you would like to see happen at a Coference/Festival. (This is the planning stage.) From this starting place, you can build any organizational structure you need. You probably will have many "brainstorming" sessions about many parts of the Coference/Festival before you finish.

A SAMPLE BRAINSTORM FOLLOWS:

GETTING THE FACILITIES

o What facilities are available to non-profit organizations at little or no charge? Church halls, grange halls, service club auditoriums, school facilities, etc.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

o Be a Non-Profit Group.

o Pay help if the need arises.

o Keep accurate records/accounting.

o What about handicap access?

o Coordinate with other events in area at same time.

o Will there be fees, exhibitors, advertisers, and advertising for exhibitors, etc.?

o Number, size and availability of meeting spaces?

o What about parking?

o Provide housing and transportation for "special guests" from out of town.

o Security and safety requirements need to be listed & met.

PUBLICITY - GET IT FREE WHERE YOU CAN

o News release - Use well known names to generate media coverage. A politician or a media star will help

o Organization newsletters

o Public service announcements

o TV - radio lead-time

o Go to organization meetings, make a presentation, and ask for participation. If you get them to participate, they will not only help advertise for the event but will attend.

WHEN YOU HAVE TO PAY, MAKE IT COUNT

o Sample Public Service Announcement (PSA), poster and media process are in appendix "D."

INFORMATION

    Some examples of more specific information you will need in order to actually produce the event are contained in appendix "A."

    It is crucial that you have an information collection process. You will collect many, many bits of information, and accessing that information easily and accurately will enhance correct decision-making.

    It is helpful to have a simple form (See Illust.1 - PERTINENT INFORMATION FORM) to keep track of your communications, ideas, arrangements, expenditures, etc. Everyone who works on the project must understand that proper record keeping is vital! Keeping information on scraps of paper or in someone's head is not acceptable, as the information may be easily misplaced or forgotten.

    If you have a computer, create an "information form template" and an "information collection form." Match info on the form to a template on the computer. If you are working without the benefit of a computer, type a "master form" and make photocopies. Then be sure to create a filing system to enable rapid access to information. Later in the project, the staff will refer to the information files often. You will be amazed at how quickly you can forget details.

ILLUSTRATION 1

PERTINENT INFORMATION FORM

INDEX #__________ DATE_____________TIME_____________
SUBJECT_____________________________________________
COMPANY/ORGANIZATION_______________________________
PERSON(S) TALKED TO:_________________________________
BY PHONE #____________IN PERSON_______MAIL___________
INFORMATION_________________________________________
CONCLUSION__________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION_____________________________________
COPIES TO:___________________________________________
BY___________________________________________________

    Begin to organize a Coference/Festival by enlisting the main talent or primary performers who will insure the success of the event by attracting a significant audience.

    Talk to everyone you know to see who knows someone famous well enough to enlist their support. Then do just that! This makes sense for three reasons: first, well known participants will insure a crowd on Coference/Festival day; second, your promotional news releases will receive more attention; and third, when someone with fame endorses your event, it becomes much easier for others to do likewise.

    If you have no useful contact, choose a performer and correspond with her or him about a donated appearance. You may be surprised at how effective this can be. Try to ask those who -- through statements in their art form -- have clearly shown they are committed to Peace and are willing to take strong socially responsible positions in their public life. Remember, though, that famous people are in high demand and may not be available even if they wish to help.

It is not necessary to recruit talent from outside your community at all!

    Some feel that your group should recruit all the participants and talent from the local community. The goal in presenting a Coference/Festival in the home community is to bring it together to promote the cause of Peace and social action as well as to raise the consciousness of participants; it is not merely to go to the park to have fun. However, when you have a Coference/Festival, you can, and will, do both.

    When you have decided what events you will host, stop and make certain you understand exactly what that means. Get your notepaper and pencil out and start making a list for each event.

o What type of facilities will a specific event require?

o What possible facilities will satisfy the requirements you have listed?

o What specific chores are needed to physically produce each specific event on your program?

Do not address how to promote the event yet. Rather, at this point, make a list of specific steps required to produce it.

    Finally, Create a decision tree or a chain of command so that problems or questions will be addressed at the appropriate level. This method can solve problems surprisingly quickly.

    Be sure that the decision tree also serves as a communication tree. When everyone takes the responsibility to inform other people and everyone does their part, the communication is very rapid.