Event Planning Checklist & Tips for the Perfect Event

Successful event planning reduces stress and avoids common mistakes. But how can veteran and first-time booster club fundraisers organize the perfect event? Often the simplest answer is the best, such as an event planning checklist.

The easiest way to plan a successful booster club event starts with the humble checklist. It’s a simple and low-tech, yet highly effective strategy that ensures events organizers don’t forget anyone or anything. The secret to a great list is to make sure it’s comprehensive without being exhaustive. Your list needs to cover all the necessary steps related to the specific type of function, no more and no less.

After a short read, you will know how to organize and execute a successful booster club fundraiser. Our event planning tips help simplify preparation and avoid common blunders and oversights. Proper planning matters as it results in less stress and better preparation.

Event Planning Checklist Best Practices 

Polymath Benjamin Franklin once said that people failing to plan are preparing to fail, and he’s right. Preparation is everything. It ensures your fundraisers stay on track and within budget. And the earlier you start preparing for an event, the better. That includes confirming your staff of willing volunteers well ahead of time.

Much of your success or failure rides on having the right attitude. Getting into the right mindset helps lay the foundation for your event planning strategy. The best way to lay the groundwork is to conceptualize your function using the 5 W questions. Answering these five questions makes it much easier to prepare an organized checklist.

The 5 W’s for Planning Event Essentials

WHO is all about the people related to your booster club fundraiser. WHO is the target audience? Knowing how to attract your stakeholders, i.e., community members, sponsors, and groups, is crucial. This will help bring together creative elements and fundraising ideas during brainstorming sessions. But also, WHO is involved on your side of the event? There should be no question marks when it comes to volunteers and who is in responsible for ensuring each step of your checklist is completed.

WHAT are the event type and main takeaways? WHAT must-have facilities and amenities do you need to organize? What needs preparing in advance and on the day? Make sure the what of your fundraiser meets the needs and expectations of your attendees. WHAT is everyone’s responsibility, WHAT fundraising supplies are needed, etc.

WHERE will you hold the event? Consider the logistics carefully. Is your preferred venue big enough to accommodate the expected numbers and easy to access and park? Also consider questions like, WHERE can you store supplies and WHERE is the best place to promote your event.

WHEN will your booster club fundraiser take place? Think about your choice of venue, its availability, and the time of year, especially for outdoor gatherings. WHEN questions will help you iron out the timeline for your event and its preparation, such as what time you need to be out of the venue and how long will it take for ordered supplies to arrive.

WHY this particular event focus? WHY should people be interested? What should they experience, and how do you want them to interact? These WHY questions will help you understand motivations, expectations, and ensure all the important bits and pieces are accounted for in your planning.

This guide assumes you have already formed your planning committee and are ready to start preparing your fun day. So now it’s time to create a of checklist items for your booster club’s outing.

#1 Create Your Event Planning Checklist Template

Event planning management software has its place, but you don’t need expensive software to prepare a rock-solid checklist. Try not to overthink things at first, and spend a lot of time making sure each item is in the right chronological order. You can easily rearrange checklist items as you go along. Your priority is to get all the puzzle pieces down first then you can arrange them.

The items in this guide are all you need to get focused and organized. Also, consider adding a heading to each task and setting a calendar reminder as a backup, e.g.

 Perform Six+ Weeks Before | Assigned to NAME

No two booster club fundraisers are the same. So, ensure your event planning checklist covers items related to your specific event. That said, every list should include these points.

• Set the budget with your organization’s treasurer
• Line up volunteers and back-ups early
• Reach out to sponsors and vendors early
• Develop promotional strategy
• Prepare a plan B as backup for the most common complications
• Create a timeline for your event

#2 Work with the Treasurer and Agree to a Budget

Allocating a budget and targeting funds is central for any booster club fundraiser. There are several considerations here, including, but not limited to:

• Cost of venue
• Miscellaneous costs (known and potential), e.g., new spirit wear
• Equipment (hired or bought)
• Decorations
• Food and catering
• Paid entertainment

Add other known or probable costs to the budget as you think of them. Your budget and finance committee will ultimately have the final say in this critical step.

#3 Line Up Volunteers and Back-ups Early

Get your volunteers on board early, but think carefully before accepting help. It’s important to assign duties that best match the person’s ability and or skills. Enthusiasm is great, but eagerness without competence can cause kinks in your event’s planning timetable or day-of execution. You also want to arrange backup volunteers in case someone drops out at the last minute.

Why Booster Club Events Liability Coverage Makes Sense

Every club event should have liability coverage. Sadly, people sometimes do have accidents at community gatherings. AIM’s liability insurance protects your organization, its volunteers, and all those who attend your fundraiser against injury. Moreover, coverage through AIM includes event setup and teardown, starting at $65 for a year’s worth of events.

Learn More About AIM’s Affordable Events Liability Insurance

#4 Reach Out to Sponsors and Vendors Early

Getting the support of local sponsors and vendors is an excellent way to raise money for school events. The best approach is often the ‘what’s in it for me’ angle. With a well-attended nonprofit booster club function, that typically means promotional benefits and positive public relations. For example, names on banners, apparel, brochures, and press coverage of the event.

Remember to highlight the other benefits of aligning a business with your community gathering. Explain their sponsorship will reach a local target audience, thus earning them a reputation for supporting a worthy cause in the community. These are significant benefits to local small businesses and larger companies.

#5 Develop a Promotional Strategy

The best-planned event in the world can be for naught if the people don’t know it exists. Word of mouth from students, teachers, and volunteers is great but rarely enough to fill an event. The more folks that know about your fundraiser, the more likely it is to succeed. A free and highly targeted way to reach community members is to make event promotion posts on social media.

Use Facebook groups and pages, Twitter, school websites or blogs, and even mailed letters to previous donors. Also make sure to reach out to local media outlets. Try and get your event added to local events calendars and get on-location coverage of your event.

#6 Prepare a Plan B as Backup

You need to have a plan B to cover all eventualities. Contingency plans vary depending on the type and size of your function, but you must have them. Develop tactical plans for any incident that could derail your event. For instance, inclement weather, technology gremlins, and missing volunteers or vendors are common event production woes. You get the idea.

#7 Create a Timeline for Your Campaign

Timelines are a massive help for organizing booster club events. The idea behind these roadmaps is to give you a clear chronological overview. The timeline typically shows the times allocated for activities or processes and their completion dates.

Here are some ideas of things you may want to map out:

• How long (weeks/months) will the task take?
• When to start promoting, where to promote, how often, using what resources
• Progress meetings, when, what to discuss, and with whom
• What day(s) and times will events take place, e.g., fun runs, auctions, etc.?
• Add anything else that needs to go on your timeline

Protect Individual or Club Decisions from Liability

Directors & Officers(D&O) coverage protects your booster club and its officers against potential person-to-person disputes. That typically includes events issues that arise through miscommunication, discrimination claims, and wrongful or negligent acts. In such incidents, our coverage pays to defend individuals in your organization.

See a Breakdown of Our Booster Club Professional Liability Plan Here

Closing Comments on Event Planning Checklists

A regimented checklist guarantees a smooth process for your booster club fundraiser planning. Once the team agrees on a way forward, you can ensure your event is well-organized, on schedule, and creates minimal stress. Encourage feedback from others and expect to be flexible and make compromises. The more harmonious your team is, the better the event. But remember to choose your team with care to avoid personality conflicts.

Cleaning Up

Your day hasn’t ended when the guests leave. For larger fundraisers, it’s important to include an effective cleanup plan at the end of your checklist. It’s the less glamorous side of volunteering, but a necessary job nonetheless. You’re in luck if the venue fees include cleanup tasks like trash removal. But if it’s not, you will need some willing helpers to clean up.

(See our booster club events checklist template below this guide)

Booster Club Event Checklist Template

Feel free to use this basic checklist as a template for your organization’s forthcoming event. You can add, delete, or modify the list as it relates to your fundraiser.

NAME OF BOOSTER CLUB HERE

EVENT TYPE HERE

Name of Event ……………………………… Date of Event ……………………………..…….

X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

 X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

 X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

 X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

 X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

 X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

 X Weeks Before | Assigned to (Name Here)

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