How to Plan an Event - Penn State Erie

Penn State Behrend

These are your
contacts for
questions about
any information
provided in this
PowerPoint
program.
Student Activities
Nicole Fedders
Coordinator, Student
Organizations and
Program Development
naf13@psu.edu
Christa Morris
RUB Info Desk Manager
SAF Coordinator
cdb120@psu.edu
Dianna Morris
Student Activities Staff
Assistant
SGA Financial Advisor
dkm7@psu.edu
Office Staff:
Stephen Burger
SGA President
srb5125@psu.edu
Hannah White
SGA Vice President
hfw5001@psu.edu
Jeffery Tseng
SGA Treasurer
jat357@psu.edu
Briana Newstrom
SGA Secretary
ban5027@psu.edu

Program Planning
“Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail”
6 P Plan
~Kris Motta Torok
“Prior Planning Prevents Pretty Poor Performance”
~Jake Gallo

Program Planning
Begin Planning events one
semester in advance
Submit requests for Fall semester at
the end of Spring semester
Do at least one Fundraiser a
semester

Small budget
Proposal calls
approximately once per
month
Funds smaller events
Focuses on the club’s
mission
DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
SGA AND SAF?
Only active student
organizations can access
funds
See Nicole Fedders,
Dianna Morris or Jeff
Tseng for assistance
Large budget
One main proposal
call, five smaller calls
Funds larger events
Funding on campus
events is highly
regarded
Anyone (students/
faculty/staff) can
access funds for
student programming
See Nicole Fedders or
Christa Morris for
assistance

Program Planning
Where to begin
Come up with an idea in club meetings for events you
want to do
Plan events that pertain to your club’s mission, that
will provide entertainment for students on campus or
close to campus
These events can run the from sledding, going ice
skating, having a picnic, a dance, bringing a speaker,
DJ, or comedian onto campus

Program Planning
If you want to bring on a comedian or act, but do not
have the resources to know who is out there – stop into
Student Activities – brochures are sent to our office all
the time

Program Planning
Look at the proposal forms well ahead of time
Figure out what different items you will need and what
offices you will need to contact
Get quotes for everything you are requesting money
for a week before the proposal is due

• Please type or print. Single sided documents are preferred.
• All proposals are to be turned in to the Office of Student Affairs, Reed 115, no later than 5:00 PM on
the deadline day.
•
•
• Program/Project Title: __________________________________ Amount Requested: _______________________
•
• Organization Requesting Funding:__________________________ Program Date:
___________________________
•
• Contact Person: _______________________________________ Phone: __________________________________
•
• Mailbox/Address: __________________________________ Email Address: ___________________________
•
• Anticipated Event Location: _____________________________ Anticipated Number of Attendees:
____________
• WHEN QUOTES ARE REQUIRED, THEY MUST COME FROM THE VENDOR AND MUST BE CURRENT.
QUOTES THAT ARE FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR’S PROGRAM WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

This is an important part of the proposal,
please be thorough. What is the nature of the
program/activity? How will students and/or
the campus as a whole benefit by the funding
of this proposal? How did you determine the
need for this program/activity?

• Lion Entertainment Board holds a mission to bring safe
alternative for on campus entertainment throughout the
academic area. Each weekend, there is no less than one
band or comedy act in Bruno’s or special event on campus.
This concert would be one of our larger events for the year
to bring in more student attendance. Due to The Clarks
being a popular artist in the Pittsburgh area, we believe
that this well draw in a large student crowd from Behrend
and other local colleges. LEB will also be co-sponsoring
this event with KDR to increase attendance and encourage
collaboration between campus organizations and Greek
Life. As this will be sponsored by SAF, the concert will be
free to all students and entry will be $5 for the general
public. Funds collected will be allocated back in to the SAF
fee to defray some of the costs.

The nature of this activity would be a reward for
the students for coming out and help the
student organization “X.” This Halloween Party
would be a great way to show the students that
all hard work pays off and also a way to get the
entire student body together for a fun costume
party. This activity would also be a great way to
give students an outlet to have fun without the
use of alcohol and no worries of underage
drinking. Also, this is great incentive to get the
student body out for community service
projects.

Club X is requesting funding for supplies that
are pertinent for our club’s functioning. All of
our other supplies were lost or stolen.

In addition to the Student Activities List Serve, how
will the program/activity be marketed to all students?
Who is the targeted audience? Please be as specific as
possible.
Have a plan how you will advertise and ask for funding
for this plan – Be creative
• Repeat program? If this is a request for funding for a
program which you have planned or have worked on
the planning in the past, please provide information,
to the best of your ability, such as the success of the
previous program, approximate number of students
who attended, and any other information you feel is
important.

• Do you have funding from another source in
support of this program (i.e. SGA, cosponsorship
with another club/ organization,
or a University office)?
If so, from where? SGA $ unknown
or
If so, from where? School of Engineering $
500
It is recommended to ask both SGA & SAF for
funding

• Publicity
• Total publicity costs $ 5 (The standard award for copies
from the Copy and Multimedia Center is $5 for 100 copies. If
you are requesting more than the standard, please either provide
a written quote from CMC or provide a clear itemization of what
you are requesting from the priced brochure provided by CMC.
If your publicity includes an ad in the Beacon, please include a
written quote from a Beacon staff member.) Quotes are required
for all other forms of publicity expenses as well.
• Type of publicity with costs: $___
______________________
• (quotes required) $___
______________________
$___
______________________

Go to CMC – in the basement of Kochel and
meet with Carolyn Brown about your order
Take an example of what you want and they
will give you a quote; either on letter head or
an e-mail from her will do
EXAMPLES: posters, multi – colored signs, etc.

Catering/Refreshments
Itemized food costs $ total goes here
*Any estimated food or refreshment costs must be
accompanied by a current estimate in writing from
Housing & Food Services or the outside caterer. A
copy of the most current “Student Programming
Pricing” sheet that shows the items for which you
are requesting funding is acceptable.
Type of food and specific costs: $_______ ___________________
$_________ ____________________
$_________ _______________________

If your event is in Bruno’s, Dobbins, the Clark
Café, the sand volleyball court, residence
halls or the Logan House, you must utilize
Behrend’s Housing and Food Services for your
refreshment needs.
Basic Refreshment:
http://www.behrend.psu.edu/student/groups
/StudentProgramPrices.pdf - no need to
meet prior to submitting a quote

Specialty Items: Meet with Al Vogan
amv1@psu.edu
Catering can make any food item you would
like
Students can provide specific recipes
Meet with Al at least a week and a half
BEFORE the proposal is due for a quote
He will get you a specific quote for
your organization for you to submit
• Lines, plates, and silverware are provided

Caterers must be on the approved list
If they are not on the list they can fill out
forms through Student Activities (month+)
You must use Pepsi Products at all events
Approved Caterer List
http://www.controller.psu.edu/Divisions/Ri
skManagement/vendors/caterers/
Ask if linens, plates, silverware, and napkins
are provided – this may cost you extra

When you order in the Student Activities Office,
most places in the area give us discounts
We are tax exempt
Pepsi products only can be purchased
We can give you quotes
Just come in the day of the event and we will order
More than 100 – come in the day before

Bringing a speaker, performance, DJ, band, etc. to Behrend:
Total costs $_____________
(The maximum allowance is $4,000 for a speaker/performance
inclusive of travel.)
$_____________ Speaker (quote required)
$_____________ Performance fee (quote
required)
$_____________ DJ (quote required)
$_____________ Travel costs (quote required)
$_____________ Lodging (quote required) A
flat rate of $75.00 per room has been set for lodging accommodations
through a local vendor for speakers, performers, DJs, etc. coming to
Behrend. You do not need to supply a quote unless you are using a
vendor other than the Days Inn on Interstate 90.

Any time you bring someone on campus
he/she will need a contract: Even if it is FREE!
NEVER SIGN a contract from an artist, DJ
vendor etc.
Penn State uses their own contracts
When getting quotes ask for performance
cost and a copy of their Rider
Ask does the performance cost include travel!

Set-up/Tear-down
Maintenance set-up/tear-down costs
$_____ (quote required)
Maintenance work hours (6:30am to 3:00pm)
Overtime will be charged if set-up and tear
down is after 3:00pm
Tom Guth rtg3@psu.edu
Melanie Lee: mat3@psu.edu

Figure out what you need, how you want it set
up and e-mail both:
Tom Guth rtg3@psu.edu
Melanie Lee: mat3@psu.edu
Tell them in detail your needs, diagrams help
and the time you will need the work done.
Make sure in specify that you need a “QUOTE”

Other
Other costs; please specify. $________ ___________________
(quotes required) $________ ___________________
$________ ___________________
Go to a company’s website, go to their shopping
cart, print out the list of desired material, and
use that as a quote
Don’t forget shipping
We don’t pay Pennsylvania Sales Tax

Equipment
Itemized equipment costs
$______________ (quote required)
*If the proposal is to purchase equipment,
who will be responsible for the equipment
(i.e. keeping track of inventory); where will it
be located; and who will have access?

Program or trip off campus:
Total costs $_total goes here__
$_____________ Entry fee, ticket cost, etc.
(quote required) (List per student cost x # of
students)
$_____________ Travel costs (quote required)
(List TOTAL travel costs even though SAF will
consider funding only half of the expense.
$_____________ Lodging (quote required)
$_____________ Amount, if any, that students
are paying toward this program, trip, etc. (Give per
student amount.)

Total costs $_____________
$_____________ Registration fee per student x # of students (quote
required)
$_____________ Lodging (quote required)
Who is going to benefit from this conference, i.e.
individual benefit vs. benefit to College. On the first
page of the proposal, in the first section, the question is
asked, “How will students and/or the campus as a whole
benefit by the funding…” This question must be clearly
answered.
This request must be accompanied by a copy of the
conference brochure, conference materials, or web site
URL – not just the prices, but information about the
conference content, focus, and purpose.

Standard funding consideration guidelines:
Registration on a per student basis, no travel, no meals
unless included in the registration fee.
Conference materials giving description of conference is
required – off web, brochure, etc.
Funding for conferences is considered a lower priority
item. Funding will be awarded based on a competitive
process.
Consideration of lodging expenses would be a
maximum of two rooms – the intent is one room for
females and one for males who are attending.
The SAF Committee reserves the right to review each
proposal individually.

Ask both organizations for the same amount of
money
They communicate so you don’t have to worry about
getting double funding or asking for double funding
Copy and paste descriptions from SAF into SGA (as
the SAF form is more specific)
Make sure you have quotes for everything!
No Quotes = No Funding
Don’t be surprised if they tell you to submit the same
proposal the next month
You can attend the meeting in which your proposal is
to be voted on and speak about it for 5 minutes if
you feel you need to explain anything or if you think
the group may have questions