A PIECE OF CAKE
The Guide to Planning Your Centennial
Chapter/Section Event
This guide is designed to help you plan your chapter/section’s special event in 2016. It is not a required document
for any process. However, it will help ensure that your chapter/section does not miss any details when planning.
Step 1: Identify the goal.
Before you do anything else, it is important to establish why you are organizing event and what will make it a
success.
What is the goal of your event?
Tips:
As fun as putting together an event
may be, it is also a lot of work.
Make sure you have a goal that
aligns with the Mission of OSA.
Learning outcomes are the things
you want people to learn or
remember from your event.
Don’t forget the other pieces of
the Centennial Anniversary Kit
experience (CAKE) that can be
useful tools for your event.
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IMPACT:
Is your event focused on:
 Professional Development
 Youth Education Outreach
How many people should participate in your event for it to be a success?
What are the learning outcomes for the event?
1.
2.
3.
What else will help make this event a success?
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Tips:
Step 2: Define Your Budget and Consider Sponsors
Income = Expenses For typical
non-profit events, income should
equal expenses.
Plan your budget from the beginning to make sure you maximize the funding you have.
Expense Reason
Expense Amount
Income Reason
Total Expenses:
Income Amount
When inviting sponsors,
remember that they are more than
$$$. Try to find a way to
incorporate their professional
development opportunities and
professional knowledge into the
program.
Total Income:
Is there any company or institution that you are confident will sponsor your event before you have any confirmed
details. List their names and contact information:
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Avoid mass emails/mail merges to
sponsors. When you contact
sponsors, remember that calling
them directly or sending
personalized emails is more likely
to be effective.
Checklist:
 Income = expenses.
 Potential sponsors have been contacted directly.
 The event can accommodate any logo/branding agreements required by sponsors.
Tips:
Step 3: Determine the Key Details.
As you move from the goal into the planning of the event, make sure to set all of the major elements of the
event first.
Event Name
Keep in mind that there are many
factors to choosing a date/time.
For example, students are rarely
available when they are taking final
exams and speakers traveling from
the United States are not available
during the Thanksgiving holiday
the last weekend in November.
Make sure you can guide
participants on how to reach the
location and that it is somewhere
people will want to visit.
Event Start Date/Start Time
Event End Date/End Time
Try to think of an event name that
will make people want to attend. If
the event is for the public,
remember that many people do
not know technical terms like
“plasmonic” or “hyperspectral.”
(if different)
Event Location
Contact Email Alias
(ex. [email protected])
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Event Website URL
Checklist:
 The event time/location does not conflict with major holidays and the availability of participants.
 Location cost is considered in the budget.
 An organizer is assigned to answer emails that come into the event alias.
 Event is added to OSA Global Calendar/OSA Centennial Calendar (see calendar at osa.org/100).
Steps 4 and 5: Confirm the program details and their corresponding logistics.
When planning an event, every aspect of the program has a corresponding logistic. The following will help you
brainstorm the major aspects of the program. The CAKE kit also includes a program template that you can use.
Program
Logistics
List the presentations, speakers, demonstrations and
List the travel funding and accommodations you can
panels you would like to be in the program:
provide or recommend to speakers/participants:
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Tips:
Support for speakers: You may not
have to pay for everything, but
your communication to speakers
should show that there is value in
their participation.
Who is in charge of invited speakers and confirming the
Who is in charge of making sure that speakers have
program?
accommodation, booking the venue and arranging for
Breaks are important since they
provide are valuable networking
time. Make sure they are long
enough; 30 minutes for coffee
breaks is ideal.
food/beverage?
List the times for any meals/coffee breaks.
Food/beverage and corresponding costs:
Checklist:
 Website is updated with the program and agenda.
 Website is updated with travel information for attendees.
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Remember that organizers may
have to preside over sessions and
emcee the event. You may need a
set of power point slides to use
before, after or between other
presentations. You can use the
OSA Centennial Powerpoint Slides.
Tips:
Step 6: Determine the Registration/RSVP Procedure
Registration/RSVP Lists: Make
sure you request Names and Email
Addresses from participants. You
may need to contact them with
important changes. You can use
this Registration List Template.
How will someone register for the event?
 Online form
 Contact event email alias
 Other
Contact your network: Event
organizers should contact their
personal network directly to
encourage them to attend the
event.
What is the cost to attend or register?
If there is a cost, how will you collect funds from participants? Does your university provide this service?
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Step 7: Promote the event
Tips:
If you send a promotional email, it should include a short description of why someone should participate in the
event.
In 1000 characters or less, please describe why someone should attend this event. Make sure to read over it and
put yourself in the perspective of a potential participant.
Keep emails short and sweet: You
want to convince people to
participate in as few words as
possible.
Use photos and graphics: One or
two tasteful graphics that show the
location of the event, a speaker in
the program or the student group
organizing the event can compel
people to attend. Be sure to
consider including photos in any
promotional emails or websites.
Does your chapter/section need a
website? OSA will host one at no
cost to you- email
[email protected].
Identify anyone who the event organizers know who can be contacted directly either in-person or with a direct
phone call or message.
Make sure posters/brochures go
to the right places and seen by
people who will be interested.
Certificates of Participation
Collect information on who will
need certificates of participation
with the registration process. You
can use the OSA Certificate of
Participation.
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Checklist:
 Registration/RSVP information is posted online.
 Organizers contact attendees whom they know personally directly.
 Gut-check: when you read the emails or website content promoting the event, does it make you want to attend
your own event?
Tips:
Step 8: Consider Additional Sponsors
Once you have some event details decided, you can consider additional sponsors. The aspects that you list in the
boxes below would likely make good options for sponsorship.
Just like when you first invited
sponsors, remember that sponsors
are more than $$$.
List the parts of the program that do not have funding in your current budget. (Ex. meals, receptions, speaker
travel, student/participant travel)
Sometimes, when first begin
planning you think of many ideas,
but as the event comes closer it’s
important to be realistic and
decide what is possible with
regards to both time and funding.
List things that you would like to do but cannot do because you do not have the funding.
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Checklist:
 Contact any additional sponsors directly.
 All sponsor logos are displayed appropriately on the website, materials and/or program.
Tips:
Post your event on campus or
community calendars.
Step 9: Publicize your event.
Make sure you consider using OSA’s resources to help you share your event. The CAKE includes the following to
help guide you:
News Release Template: Want to share you event with local media and school publications to help get the word
out? Download the news release template, customize it to include important information, and share with
journalists who might be interested in attending or covering the event.
Social Media: Refer to the social media guide for tips and resources for engaging via social media leading up to
Suggest to media and school
publications that the event be
included in calendars of events.
Share details about the event on a
regular basis via social media and
use a special hashtag for your
event.
Ask friends and faculty to share
your event in their social
networks
and during your event.
Post flyers and posters in public
places.
PowerPoint Template: Download and use Centennial PowerPoint template to help create slides and make the
Reserve a table in a high-traffic
area on campus.
event visually appealing for attendees.
Ask faculty to help promote your
event by making announcements
in classes.
Build coalitions by asking other
student and community
organizations to help you
advertise, or asking them to
cosponsor the event.
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After your event is over, evaluate
your publicity campaign. What
can you do better next time?
Checklist:
 Download CAKE templates as guides to help publicize event.
 Use PowerPoint template to create compelling slides for event.
Step 10: During/After the Event
Tips:
Even when your chapter/section is excited to be finished with all of the planning and
Thank you gifts: Make sure you
show your volunteer speakers that
they are appreciated.
execution of the event, there are still a few things left to do.
1. Reconfirm all logistics before the event. If you have contracts/agreements for food
Email your attendees: An email
thanking everyone who attended
will help to ensure attendees come
to future events.
and beverage, conference space or anything else, make sure you confirm any final
guarantees one last time before the event begins.
2. Check registrants into the event and confirm who attended.
3. Make sure to thank your speakers and attendees. For events that you may host again,
you may want to consider surveying attendees for feedback.
4. Consider recognizing achievement amongst the event organizers. You can use the
OSA Certificate of Achievement template.
5. Compile your final budget and determine the best use for any leftover funding.
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6. Send OSA and/or others sponsors a report. If you received OSA funding, you may be
required to submit your report through the OSA Grants Database. Email
[email protected] if you need a reminder of your username and
password.
7. Share your photos! Choose the best photos to share with OSA and/or other sponsors
in high resolution formats. Attendees may want to access photos from the event, so
you can consider using a site like Flickr or Dropbox where they can view and access
all photos.
Checklist:
 Reconfirm all logistics.
 Thank speakers.
 Thank attendees.
 Prepare final budget.
 Submit required reports.
 Website is updated with a post-conference summary.
 Share photos.
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