Are you planning on hosting an event in the WSU School of Social Work? Event planning is a minimum of a 12-week process from concept to completion. We strongly encourage you to follow the steps below and utilize the many university resources available to make your event a successful one. It may be hard to plan a successful event, but we are here to help! 

Step 1

Start: 12 weeks in advance of event

Think through the goal and logistics of your event. Items to consider: What is the purpose of your event? Compose a few sentences describing your event. What is the title of your event? Are you partnering with any WSU school or college, student org or community organization? What type of event will this be? Will you have speakers and/or a moderator?  Will this be a service event (i.e. community garden clean-up)? Will this be a social event (i.e. game night)? Who do you want to attend? Do you want a Social Work Dean to attend? Are you planning to host it virtually, in-person or hybrid? Do you need AV support? What semester will you host your event? Will the event offer free food or other items? What supplies are needed for the event? Will there be music? What is the budget for the event? What are the anticipated detailed costs of the event? Where are you getting funds to support your event from? Have you asked for external funding or in-kind donations to support the event?

Resources:

• DOSO student org resources
• DOSO event logistics guide

Action step:

• Review the WSU School of Social Work Student Event Proposal form and gather the required items for your submission. Think through and consider all of the concepts above when drafting your proposal.

Step 2

Start: 10 weeks in advance of event

You have the basic plan for your event laid out and it is time to get down to the nitty gritty. This week you need to secure resources for your event and bring it all together in the WSU Social Work Student Event Proposal form.

Submit the WSU Social Work Student Event Proposal form now

Resources:

• Campus space: Utilize EMS to view and reserve spaces across campus. Obtain details on university-wide internal and external event spaces on the DOSO reservations page (view the space profiles in the menu on the left side of the page).
  • Social Work community room: Complete this space request form
• Catering: View university catering and food policies
• Disability access support:
  • Do you need to obtain an ASL interpreter for an event? Request support from Student Disability Services for an ASL interpreter for an event or for Computer Assisted Real Time (CART) Services reporting services contact at studentdisability@wayne.edu or 313-577-1851.
• Financial support: Student org. leaders must first apply for funding via The Student Activities Funding Board (SAFB) and if supplemental funds are needed, apply to the WSU Social Work Student Alliance via the WSU School of Social Work Student Event Proposal form.
  • Note: Only Get Involved Event Coordinators may submit for SAFB funding. In order to be assigned the Event Coordinator position, you must attend an Event Coordinator training. Organizations may have more than one Event Coordinator. Learn how to apply for SAFB funding
• Promotional materials: Use Canva (A Beginner’s Guide to Canva and How to create Canva Instagram Posts video) to create an Instagram post (1080 x 1080 px) image for your event. Be sure to include the event name, date, time, location, your student org name/logo, and the WSU shield logo. Once you have completed a draft, click the Share button (upper right hand corner) to share with Andre Iadipaolo at andre.iadipaolo@wayne.edu for review, edits, and approval.

Action steps:

• Submit your WSU School of Social Work Student Event Proposal form. Your proposal will be reviewed and you will recieve a response within 10 business days. Please note, logistics of your event may be adjusted based on other School of Social Work, university-wide, and community events being held. Events submitted after the 10 week prior deadline will not recieve support including funding from the SWSA.
• Bring it all together. Secure the funding, speakers, supplies, space, food, music, etc..

Step 3

Start: 8 weeks in advance of event

Once your event proposal has been approved, it is time to get your ducks in a row and finalize your logistics and list your event publically. 

Action steps: 

• Utilize funds to purchase necessary items and confirm your location, speakers, etc... 
• Create a sign-in sheet. Be sure to collect at a minimum, names and email addresses for all attendees for reimbursement and documentation purposes. 
• List the event under your student org’s Get Involved profile – be sure to list the “School of Social Work” and "The Social Work Student Alliance" as a co-hosts to ensure your event is promoted via the WSU SSW Student Newsletter.
• Include your event in the WSU Warriors Rewards Program via Get Involved to encourage students from across campus to attend and earn a Warrior Reward point. Note: You will need to track attendance for Warrior Rewards Program events. 

Step 4

Start: 6 weeks in advance of event

Promote, promote, promote! It is time to get the word out to ensure an optimal turnout at your event.

Action steps:

• Share the event via your social channels and chat about it with your classmates. Contact other student orgs across campus that may have members interested in attending. Create a promotional post on Academica, where you can share to specific groups such as all undergraduate students.
• Complete the Get Involved Newsletter Promotion Request form for additional event promotion from the DOSO.

Step 5

Start: Day of event

Have you heard the phrase “pics or it didn’t happen”? The School of Social Work doesn’t only want to promote that your event will occur, but we want to share photos and/or short video clips (60 seconds or less) from your event after it occurs.

Action steps:

• Take a few photos (10 or less is sufficient) and craft suggested post text (don’t forget tags and #hashtags) to Betsy Vanderstelt at fq0994@wayne.edu within a week of your event for sharing on our Social Work social channels. Reminder, if you partnered with another organization be sure to mention and tag them.
• Reminder, be sure to collect all attendee contact information for reimbursement and documentation purposes. At the bare minimum, students will need to collect attendees full names and email addresses.