You are going to read an introduction to a book about how to organise local events. For questions, choose from the sections of the introduction (A-E). The sections may be chosen more than once.
Organising local eventsAre you thinking of setting up a fundraising event for your local school or community?Sarah Passingham, a professional fundraiser, offers advice.
AI have had a lot of fun from running events; it has been hard work but 1 have always done it in the knowledge that I was being paid for my many hours of toil. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of volunteers who work just as hard for
no financial remuneration at all, and I have enormous admiration for them. I have worked with a good many groups and individuals who have had a burning ambition to do something for a particular community, remaining enthusiastic even in the face of
adversity. When things go wrong, it is desperately disappointing and disheartening. Perhaps by looking at some of my suggestions and learning from my mistakes, most of those disappointing times can be averted. However, this guide is not meant as the
definitive work on organising events; rather it is meant as a framework on which to hang your own ideas and methods of doing things.
BA very important piece of advice is: Don’t panic! Organising events can be a fraught business and I have myself come close to falling apart on occasions, but it achieved nothing and did not inspire my colleagues. I hope this book will act as a buffer
- to be used before you go off the rails! - and that it will allow you not only to appear calm and well organised, but genuinely to be those things. In nearly 10 years of working with every type of professional and amateur, indoors and out, when plans
have moved from A to B and sometimes to C due to bad weather or other reasons too numerous to mention, I don’t think the general public have ever realised what was going on behind the scenes. Sometimes what they were experiencing was for removed from
the original concept but nobody minded and, more often than not, nobody knew.
CEven if you have unlimited spare time and resources to set an event up, it is almost impossible to organise the day itself with only one person. You physically cannot be in two or more places at once. Committees can be tiresome, unwieldy groups of
people who may have come out for the evening just to enjoy some social chit-chat. However, if you have a committee that operates efficiendy and decisively, it can relieve you of much of the rime-consuming but necessary work, and allow you to get to
grips with the real nitty-gritty and keep a good overview without getting bogged down by details. And when you are dealing with money from the public, it is always worth having at least a cashier or treasurer as a second person to keep an eye on your
balance or banking. You never want to be put in the position of having the finger of doubt or suspicion pointed at you, even if you know that you are entirely innocent.
DWhen I first started, my critics would say that one of my failings was an unwillingness to delegate. I hope that is no longer true, as in time I have come to realise the value of help, especially from the volunteer. Help can come in many forms apart
from the obvious muscle and brawn. Support, encouragement and an infectious enthusiasm all come from working with people who have chosen to give their time and sometimes their belongings for a cause they care passionately about. But what can you expect
from volunteers? There is one rule of thumb here. Let volunteers know exactly what job it is that they are volunteering for. They can then make the choice to put themselves forward or not. But don’t expect anyone to do anything you would not be prepared
to tackle yourself!
EIn my experience, as long as they are prepared beforehand, people will have a go at almost anything. Of course, you have to be able to rely on your volunteers once they have offered their services. You need commitment from them, and if they can’t
make it on a particular day or are going to be late, you need to know well in advance so that you can make alternative arrangements. Now, what’s in it for them? Fun, companionship, a sense of responsibility or, conversely, allowing someone else to
hold responsibility, or simply an opportunity to get out of the house. But, above all, we all need to feel needed and you will often find that the more you show that you need your volunteers, the more they will be prepared to commit their time and
energy to you, often time and time again. If you, as leader, keep the atmosphere as light as possible by sharing the decisions and being flexible, they will manage to get what they want out of the work and you will get a job well done.
In which section of the text are the following mentioned?
people who get involved in organising events but don’t really want to do any work
ABCDE
the willingness of people to try things they may not have done before
ABCDE
the writer’s natural instinct to want to do everything herself
ABCDE
the writer’s belief that she cannot tell readers everything they need to know
ABCDE
a situation in which you are free to concentrate only on the most important aspects of organising an event
ABCDE
a way in which the writer’s situation has been different from that of people she has worked with
ABCDE
some people preferring others to be in charge
ABCDE
the feeling that you really are in control, not just pretending to be
ABCDE
a situation when it is desirable to have someone else checking what you are doing
ABCDE
times when the writer has felt she may become unable to cope
ABCDE
the assistance provided by people who are physically strong
ABCDE
the difference that may exist between the way events are planned and the way they turn out
ABCDE
the importance of making it clear to people that you value them
ABCDE