YWCA Event Plan

"Field Night" Fundraiser

COM 273: Media Event

Management & Promotion
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Table of Contents

Section 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 4

Organization Description…………………………………………………………………………………….

Event Description………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Event Purpose……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Section 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 5

Stakeholders (Primary & Secondary) ………………………………………………………………….

Target Audience………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Section 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 6

Sponsors……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Section 4…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 7

Date & Time………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Venue………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Parking…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ADA Compliance……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Competing Events…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Section 5………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Page 8

Budget……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Expenses……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Income……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Payment Method……………………………………………………………………………………..

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Table of Contents Continued…

Section 6…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 9

Agenda………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Atmosphere………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Registration………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Technology…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Food……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Drinks…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Section 7………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Page 10

Event Promotion…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Section 8…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 11

Security………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Possible Problems………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Debriefing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Section 1
YWCA – Organization Description

The YWCA of McLean County stands on three main pillars, courage, compassion, and commitment. The goal
of the YWCA is to empower women, eliminate racism, and to strengthen communities and families by
standing up for social justice. The YWCA provides a variety of empowerment and prevention services.

YWCA “Field Night” – Event Description

What is it like to be a woman? Do you want to test your knowledge and test your ethics? Come and challenge
your intersectional knowledge of what it is to be a woman for night.

YWCA “Field Night” – Event Purpose

Our main purpose is to bring in profit for the YWCA while also raising for women throughout history with
incredible achievements who often do not receive credit.  We want to support women from the past,
present, and future.

Objectives

1. The YWCA will raise $5,000 by the end of Saturday, May 8th, 2021
2. 300 community members will attend the event on Saturday, May 8th, 2021
3. The YWCA will partner with 5 community organizations for the event.
4. Increase public awareness of YWCA services by 10%.

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Section 2
Stakeholders (Primary & Secondary):

Volunteers (Primary)

The YWCA is a non-profit institution and relies mainly on the help of volunteers. Volunteers would be crucial
to the success of the event. We would need volunteers to check people into the event, maintain the
obstacle course, MC, and manage food and drink. The event volunteers would most likely already be
volunteers for the YWCA.

Attendees (Primary)

If you host an event and no one attends, then what’s the point? So, attendees are a key primary stakeholder
in this event. The goal of the event is to inform the attendees on women’s history and women's rights so it’s
crucial that people attend otherwise the event will be unsuccessful.

Food/Grocery Vendor (Secondary)

While we don’t have a designated food vendor now, we can conclude that providing food would benefit the
event. If food and drink is provided people are encouraged to stay for longer periods of time, more people
typically attend, and possibly donate more money.

Bartenders (Secondary)

As a group, we have agreed having a bar is not necessary to have this event, however it would definitely add
to the atmosphere we are looking for. Bartenders themselves would be able to make tips while working so
they do have stake in the event.

Target Audience Profile:

Our target audience is Bloomington-Normal Residents ages 18 and 45. We want to raise awareness for
women throughout history for everyone, as well as raise money for the YWCA. Primary interests for
attendees are people interested in history, trivia, gaining knowledge of the struggles of being a woman, as
well as a night out.

Demographics:

Everyone of all races, genders, class, marital status, and at least some completed high school to a bachelor's
degree, we want to raise awareness for all types of problems that women face in their day-day and overall
lives.

Psychographics:

Our audience is looking to be entertained. As a group, we are trying to raise money and our audience is
looking for a day out. We are trying to set up a laid-back atmosphere and let people enjoy their night off.
Competitiveness and a drive to learn more regarding women's history and women's rights would be a key
psychographic.

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Section 3
Sponsors

Butter Twice and Again (Uptown Normal)- A newer addition to uptown Normal, they offer vintage and
secondhand clothing. As a newer company, promoting through charity would be great for them and because
they offer a wide variety of women’s clothing, we could also really help out the women in the community.

Association for Women in Communications (National, Local, and ISU Chapter) - AWC is a professional
development organization that focuses on empowering women. There are numerous AWC members that also
work for the YWCA. AWC could provide both adult and student volunteers for the event. AWC also has
numerous resources for women that are looking to network, find employment, or simply become more
involved in the community.

WZND Fuzed Radio - WZND is the on-campus radio station for Illinois State University. It is a credible and
professional station that does all the official things other radio stations do. One of which is remotes. WZND
takes all of their own equipment and team members and provides a fun and engaging experience for event
attendees. If WZND would sponsor a remote for the event, music and other forms of entertainment would be
provided.

Green Top Grocery- Green Top Grocery is a community-owned grocery store that is committed to
cooperative values and directly supports the local economy with access to healthy food. They support
several local charities and have contributed nearly $55,000 back to local charities since the store opened.
The store could provide food and drink for the event as well as a monetary donation.

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Section 4
Date and Time - The Event itself will be held Saturday, June 12th, 2021. We knew we wanted the event to
be held in a warmer month so we could do outdoor activities. We can also make use of the extra daylight.
We plan on starting the event at 5 PM so we can start activities at 6. The event will go till 10 PM.

Venue - The event will be hosted at the YWCA building in Bloomington. We want to host the event outside
in the field next to the building and use tents and tables for everyone to sit and enjoy the nice weather. If
the weather is bad, we can always use the building instead, as we already will have the tables and chairs for
outside.

Parking - The YWCA building holds a parking at which our guests can park. There is also street parking.

ADA Compliance - The YWCA building is handicap accessible; however, since our event will more than likely
take place outdoors it’s important that we make sure the ground isn’t wet and is secure enough to
accommodate those in wheelchairs or physical ailments. Another important accommodation to make is to
provide ear plugs and a “safe place” for people who get overwhelmed by crowds or loud noises. The safe
place could be located inside the YWCA in a private room. Any brochures/pamphlets/signs need to have 16-
point font minimum for those with vision impairments. Volunteers also need to be briefed on how to direct
those who are blind with appropriate directions. If it’s an option, we should also have braille on signs.

Competing Events - In June, there are a few outdoor concerts that take place and farmers markets. The
2021 schedule for Bloomington-Normal is not yet available but for 2020 the concerts take place in the
evenings between June 7th and the 13th. If they are to be scheduled at the same time in 2021 this would be
a minor conflict for evening attendees.

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Section 5
Budget $3,000

Expenses
Outdoor Canopies- a 10-30 ft. canopy can be rented for just under $100 dollars from Walmart. If we rented
5 of them for the event, that would be a maximum of $500.
Speaker System- A speaker system can be rented for about $300 from electronic shops. We could either hire
a DJ (depending on expenses) or use a volunteer to MC the event.
Foldable tables and chairs can be rented in sets to accommodate 40 people for about $200. If we purchased
5 sets of these, that would accommodate 200 people for $1,000.
This still leaves about $1,800 for catering or other expenses if needed.

Income - We will be charging for entrance tickets at $10 a person as well a silent auction in order to
fundraise money for the YWCA. We are hoping to receive donations from local organizations for the silent
auction.

Payment Method - We plan on taking cash, checks, and Venmo payments so we do have to worry about
setting up for card payments. The checks can be made out directly to the YWCA in order to avoid
confusion.

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Section 6
Agenda
5 p.m. - Event opens to attendees, greeted by volunteers
5:30 p.m. - MC (either volunteer or DJ) kicks off games, provides basic directions and information
6 p.m. - Food arrives, YWCA employee shares information about YWCA
6:30 p.m. - Food available to eat
7 p.m. - Food cleanup starts silent auction starts
7:30 p.m. - silent auction closes
8 p.m. - YWCA speakers (if we have a DJ) We could do a dance off or another interactive game
9 - 9:30 - Event begins to close, prizes awarded
10 p.m. - Event ends
Atmosphere:
Our event is intended to be held outdoors. We want to have a sort of rustic feel outside in the field next to
the YWCA. We use rented canopies, tables, and chairs to accommodate for this and will, purchase or create
decorations as needed. With a rustic feel, we want a lot of flowers for table settings and maybe barrels in
the tents to also hold flowers.
Registration:
Registration could be located online at YWCA.com and available at the YWCA building. Registration is
necessary for food numbers and game strategy.
Technology:
YWCA building guest WIFI - Cell phone use won’t be encouraged only to promote social engagement and
interaction
Food:
The goal is to have volunteers help serve food to control rations. The food provided won’t be a full meal
rather appetizer size and snacks.
Drinks:
No alcohol will be served

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Section 7
Promotional Tactics

1. Radio Announcement - Our target age range is between 25 and 50, this age group is likely to have
children or a family that would attend the event. A radio announcement would be fitting for this group
since this generation is more likely to listen to the radio during peak drive time hours. If we utilized
WZND we could have a YWCA employee discuss event details on Wakeup Normal, this would be no
charge. For this tactic it would be crucial to contact WZND or other radio stations as soon as we set
the official date for the event since spots can fill up quickly and promotions are typically scheduled a
few weeks in advance.

a. WZND radio spots at the station sell for about $8 a spot. If we start advertising our event on
radio broadcast three weeks before our event, we can run a 60 second spot three times a day
until the event for $504. This keeps us on budget and is in our crucial ticket selling period
leading up to the event. Also, by running spots at different times of the day, we will hit
different listeners.

2. Facebook Event Campaign

a. Because of the age range of our target audience, a Facebook campaign would be the most
appropriate social media platform. This would be a zero-cost tactic and a great opportunity for a
YWCA intern to gain some social media experience. The only relationship that would be
necessary for this tactic is the one between the event managers and the person responsible for
posting. It’s crucial during a social media campaign to update regularly, share new details to
other pages, and provide accurate information

3. Promotional Signage

a. There are numerous places to hang promotional signage, like on public grocery store boards
and local businesses. Promotional signage can be cheap depending on how extravagant the
signage is. For this event we’d probably use flyers 8.5x11. At office depot the price range for
this size varies from $0.74 up to $2.00. Even at the most expensive we could get 200 good
quality flyers for $400. The YWCA does have their own materials to print so if an employee or
intern could design a flyer, they could print their own and distribute the flyers that way. For this
tactic it would be important to maintain a positive relationship with local grocers and businesses
so that they are more willing to put the flyers up in their establishment.

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Section 7

Security:

We don’t believe a heavy security presence will be necessary. The volunteers checking people in should be
enough. We also discussed giving each attendee a wrist band rather than a ticket. Wristbands would allow
volunteers to quickly notice anyone at the event who hadn’t paid, because they wouldn’t have a wristband.
Wristbands would also be a safety precaution for children, parents could write an emergency number,
allergies, and medications on the wristband (if they wanted).

Planning for problems:

Since the event is like a “field day” and will take place outdoors, our main disaster is rain or inclimate
weather. The plan currently is to move the event into the gym of the YWCA. While this location isn’t nearly
as spacious, we could utilize rooms in the YWCA to serve as a location for food and other small games. The
only time we would reschedule or host a “rain date” (June 26th, 2021), is if the YWCA building was
unavailable due to renovation, storm damage, etc. This plan would be the same for extremely hot weather
as well.

Another disaster for this event would be lack of volunteers or volunteers not showing up. Since volunteers
don’t get paid for their time it’s probable that they bail out. In this case we would create a list of available
PAID YWCA employees that are available to attend the event if need be (a standby list). We should also plan
to have more volunteer’s sign-up than needed. For instance, if we need 20 volunteers, have 30 people sign
up.

Debriefing:

The success of our event would have a monetary value. The more money raised for the YWCA, the better.
We would have to raise more than we spent to run the event, but we would hope for a lot more than just
breaking even. As for debriefing the team, I think a full formal meeting would be unnecessary. We could
tell them how much we raised at the end of the night after cleaning to have a little celebration and then
send thank you emails out to everyone for volunteering. I think sending a survey out to the attendees would
be very beneficial to see how we could make the event better in the years to come. The questions would be
simple, just asking what they liked and did not like about the event.

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