Community Event Planning by Christie Koehler

Hosting in-person events is a great way to develop and grow your local Python community. If you’ve ever thought about hosting a code sprint, hackathon, (un)conference or workshop, this talk is for you. I’ll present quick overview of what you need to know to get started planning a successful event.

Transcript

1. Community Event Planning Christie Koehler PyCon US 2013, Santa Clara, CA
2. Objective Enable you to jumpstart your event planning.
3. Introductions
4. Who am I?
5. Who are you?
6. Why do we have events?
7. To share knowledge
8. To get stuff done
9. To play
10. To build community
11. Event types
12. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
13. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
14. Articulate your goals • Clear goals help you assess progress • Make sure there is a measurable aspect to your goals: ◦ Workshop: Increase user group participation of women by 15% over a 3 month span ◦ Hackathon: On-board 10 new contributors ◦ Conference: Have 250 attendees, with an average attendee rating of 4/5 ◦ Code Sprint: Close 20% of open bugs and implement 3 priority 1 features
15. Know your audience! • Every decision about your event is informed by your audience. • Consider the demographics you have/want: ◦ age ◦ gender ◦ social and/or economic status ◦ education and employment level ◦ family situation ◦ existing skillset ◦ occupation • Provide community guidelines
16. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
17. Recruit Your Team • It starts with you • Add an enthusiastic collaborator • Start with your existing community • 5-8 dedicated people can produce events larger than you think... • With motivated on-site volunteers
18. Roles to consider • leadership role(s) • logistics: venue, A/V, catering, wifi, etc. • content • outreach • registration • fundraising and sponsorship • activity planning
19. Tips for good teamwork • Don't over specialize • Assign leads • Avoid single points of failure • Communicate early and often • Document, document, document! • Follow an open planning process
20. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
21. When and Where • Type of event will dictate venue. • Get creative in your venue search: schools, company offices, churches, libraries, pubs, community centers, museums. • Ask about vendor lock-in. • Verify accessibility. • Get insurance.
22. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
23. Create budget & timeline Budget • Even the smallest events need some money • Create a budget (a simple one is okay) • Track what you actually spend. Timeline • Make a list of planning milestones • Deadlines are good tools • Don't be afraid to adjust as needed
24. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
25. Raise Funds • 4 Ways: ◦ Contributions from individuals ◦ Contributions from companies ◦ Registrations fees ◦ Grants • Know how you're going to accept payments • If you collect funds personally, you may be liable for taxes • Consider fiscal sponsorship
26. Fundraising Tips • Start with your local community • Be clear about what people get for their money • Make it easy for them to give it to you • Take care of them when they do • Stay away from word "donation" • Prioritize community • The first time is the hardest • If you don't ask, no one can say yes!
27. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
28. Spread the word • Marketing is not a dirty word; people need to find out about your event somehow. • Grassroots marketing need not be expensive, but it does take some effort and planning.
29. 4 easy steps 1. Write an invitation 2. Cross-post everywhere 3. Get the whole team involved 4. Ask for help from willing partners 5. Do 1-4 over and over again.
30. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
31. Commit Attendees • Attendees are a must-have for events • Sell tickets or collect RSVPs • Why? ◦ allows you to plan resources accordingly ◦ allows you to raise money earlier ◦ allows you to communicate with attendees • Just as important for free events
32. Registration Options • webform (google docs, wufoo) • eventbrite, eventbee, brown paper tickets • CMS plugins • registration service
33. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
34. Logistics • Venue • Power • Network infrastructure • Audio / visual needs • Catering • Participant and activity needs
35. Content • Event type determines how much effort you have to put into content. • Speaker-driven: consider volume, subject and quality of content • Unconference: diverse, enthusiastic audience, coaching • Hackathon: facilitating teams, ensuring everyone has what they need to work • Workshop: curriculum and instructors
36. Activities • Mix in different kinds of activities • Be sure to enable hallway track or hackerspace • High and low energy; loud and quiet • Be inclusive
37. Day of preparations • materials and transportation list • schedule run-down • on-site volunteers • signage • swag • greeting • registration
38. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
39. Feedback & Thank Yous • Send thank yous ◦ to sponsors, volunteers, participants, speakers ◦ make them personal and relevant • Gather feedback ◦ during event ◦ after event ◦ from your planning team (retrospective)
40. Planning Steps • Articulate goals • Recruit your team • Determine when and where • Create a budget and timeline • Raise funds • Spread the word • Commit attendees • Plan logistics & develop content • Gather feedback & say thank you • Take a break and then do it again!
41. Questions!
42. Thank you! Christie Koehler christiekoehler@gmail.com @christiekoehler Submit a talk proposal to Open Source Bridge! opensoucebridge.org CFP closes 3/23
43. Photo Credits Slide 1, 2, 12, 13, 16, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, 33, 38: http://www. flickr.com/photos/scottloftesness/8438803599/ Slide 3: http://www.flickr. com/photos/akrockefeller/7208427782/ Slide 4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oreillyconf/7586672244/ Slide 5: http://www.flickr. com/photos/cesar_pinera/6891099866/ Slide 6: http://www.flickr. com/photos/40052117@N03/6891670282/ Slide 7: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reidab/7537536444/ Slide 8: http://www.flickr. com/photos/allhandsvolunteers/6775775328/ Slide 9: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kkseema/2042946052/ Slide 10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reidab/7678214980/ Slide 11: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crdot/7827425552/ Slide 14: http://www.flickr. com/photos/43052603@N00/3780675624/ Slide 15: http://www.flickr. com/photos/thomashawk/155918164/ Slide 17: http://www.flickr. com/photos/ittybittiesforyou/2299598686/ Slide 18: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigusr0/2352351336/ Slide 19: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant1_g/6913508663/ Slide 21: http://www.flickr. com/photos/brandon_brubaker/2231224887 Slide 23: http://www.flickr. com/photos/mezzoblue/8404839166/ Slide 25, 26: http://www.flickr. com/photos/ejpphoto/2382053839/ Slide 28, 29: http://www.flickr. com/photos/floeschie/4345518893/ Slide 31, 32: http://www.flickr. com/photos/planetschwa/1392652671/ Slide 34: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecstaticist/4434864256/ Slide 39: http://www.flickr.com/photos/__olga__/2822660113/ Slide 41: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/ Slide 42: http://www.flickr.com/photos/manachar/3127739124/