September 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 83

are familiar enough with all of the different sections of your proposal, you can approach your budget manager, potential
sponsors, marketing team, etc., and begin to put your plans in place.

DAVID FOWLER / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Building Your Team
Although your given budget may not have
room for spectacularly appointed programs, it's still possible to host exciting
events at no cost to the public. You may
be surprised at how many businesses
are willing to sponsor your event in return for free publicity. Present your event
proposal to businesses in scale to the size
of your event (e.g., local mom-and-pops
for small group gatherings, larger corporations with a local presence for your biggest annual celebration) and lay out ways
they can participate. Emphasize benefits
you can offer, such as acknowledgement
in program and marketing materials, discounts or event apparel for employees,
admission to VIP-only sections, etc. Then
make your request. Depending on the
size of your event, a tiered system with

increasing levels of benefits and publicity for larger contributions may appeal to
your potential sponsors.
" Sponsors today want an honest exchange of their assets for possible benefits that an event can provide, " says Vern
Biaett, a professor of special events management at Arizona State University. " If
a sign [with a sponsor's name or logo] is
seen by 10,000 guests, that has real value
for a sponsor. "
Once you've developed your plan, secured your sponsors, and have a good
idea of your working budget, you'll be
able to more precisely estimate the size
and strength of the volunteer corps you'll
need to staff your event. However, don't
assume that more is always better in
terms of helping hands. " A lot of times,
organizations overreact to what their
need is, " says Florence May, president
of The Registration System (TRS), a special event-management software company. " Rather than focusing on finding
the right people, they focus on a number. Frequently, they need fewer people

if they've done a good job going out and
seeking the right people. " Especially
when it comes to larger events, you may
not get to know each volunteer personally, but if you effectively prepare team
leaders to recruit, train, and supervise
smaller crews, managing the entire team
becomes significantly simpler.
Joelle Baugher, account manager and
contracting coordinator for TRS, adds,
" Once you define what the jobs are, where
you want the volunteers, and what kinds of
things you want them doing, a lot of ideas
for where to find volunteers will become
obvious. " For example, high school and
college students who are studying parks
and recreation-related topics can often use
volunteer experience for class credit, and
community organizations are often more
than willing to lend a hand.

Getting the Word Out
Of course, the most exciting event in the
world will be dead if the public doesn't
know it exists, so it's important to present
your information in an easy-to-understand

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September 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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