Welcome to NYCAASC’s resources page! This is what we use internally as guidelines when organizing our conference, but we wanted to make them public so people like you can use them when organizing in their own communities. Feel free to take a look and use these when planning your own conference, meet-up, or really anything. BIG SHOUTOUT to Lisa Ng for compiling most of this!
This is just a useful way to think about organizing a team! Multiple people can inhabit a role, one person could inhabit multiple roles. It really depends on the size of the project!
The Manager is in charge of organizing and incentivizing the helpers and the consultants to meet the goals that the Approver has set. They are in charge of team / community building, making sure the work environment is a fun and safe place! Yay!!
The project belongs to them! To change a “helper” to an “owner”, invite them to think of a solution to the issue, rather than merely assigning them a job. Ask them how they would approach the problem. Trust them to work on building the solution. This way, they feel like the project is theirs, like they “own” it.
Most of the time, the consultant is an external person brought in to advise the Managers, Owners, Helpers, and Approvers of the project. They usually bring expertise and an objective perspective to the project, which is sometimes needed if the internal staff of the project are feeling uninspired.
The Helpers complete the tasks set by the Managers to make the project come to life!
The Approver sets the goals + deliverables for the project, which are then assigned to the Manager!
Source: The Management Center
Questions? Beef? Hit up Lisa ([email protected])! Shout outs to Richard Lu for the help + Edward Huang for the inspo!!
REMEMBER: You’re there to build a mini community + safe space for your attendees!! The energy you give off will determine the atmosphere of the space.
Additional resources: https://iambrown.org/writing-and-resources/
Shout out to Ruben An, Jeremiah Kim and all the badass facilitators in my life for the help!!
Convince potential sponsors that this is an opportunity for them. Be sure to market your event in a way that caters to the sponsor without sacrificing the identity and the well being of your event. Be prepared to talk about the potential benefits that sponsors can receive. Create a sponsorship benefits package. Some benefits include curated ad space, recognition at opening and closing ceremony, logo on step and repeat banner, an email sent on their behalf to our mailing list, and whatever else you can think of.
Data is super convincing because it’s always seen as this neutral thing. Be sure to emphasize the reach of your organization / event: how many people attend annually, demographic of those attending, how large your social media following is, how large your email list is, and if you want to be extremely transparent, how much money is being spent where.
The main goal of fundraising, in the case of NYCAASC, is to build relationships with potential funders. Before funders become funders, they need to trust the organization. You are there to earn their trust and to foster a relationship between the potential sponsor and your organization/event. Confidence is key! No one wants to donate money to an organization where they doubt the leadership because people want to know that their money is being well spent.
People donate small (or large) amounts of money online, via a crowdfunding platform! With a strong and targeted social media campaign, we can raise a lot of money this way.
NYU has a crowdfunding platform called Rising Violets. Because NYCAASC is a part of NYU, we are not allowed to use any other crowdfunding platform. On the bright side, we get to keep 100% of the money that is received - NYU doesn’t take a cut. The money will show up in the designated allocation in 48 - 72 hours after the amount is donated.
Sponsors, either non-profit organizations or businesses allocate money or in-kind donations (stuff) to our organization! The bulk of our budget comes from sponsorships. Email or in person outreach is needed to build these relationships with sponsors. Medium risk with high / low reward, depending on the partner.
When writing the check, please make sure the check is written out to AHM at NYU with NYCAASC written at the bottom left of the check.
An event held to raise money! When planning the event, be sure the event itself is enticing for attendees and that it actually makes money. This is the most risky and time consuming, because there is no way of knowing how well a fundraiser will go until after it is over. Be sure to pick a location accessible via public transit, and a day that students will come.