Chapter toolkit
Event planning checklist
Walk an event from first idea to follow-up, with a checklist for each stage.
Event basics
- Event name
- Date and time
- Location
- Lead organizer
- Goal (what should people know, feel, or do afterwards?)
- Expected audience
Four or more weeks before
- Agree on the goal and the audience
- Choose a date that avoids exams and major campus events
- Check your school’s rules for registering events and booking rooms
- Reserve the room or space
- Invite and confirm speakers or partners
- Draft a budget and identify funding
- Assign roles: lead, promotion, logistics, host
Two weeks before
- Create graphics using the SOS brand kit
- Post on your chapter’s social media and campus channels
- Set up an RSVP or sign-in method
- Confirm accessibility needs (location, captions, seating)
- Order supplies, food, or printing if needed
- Share speaker details: time, place, run of show
Week of
- Send reminders to RSVPs and volunteers
- Confirm the room, tech, and setup time
- Prepare a run of show with timings
- Print sign-in sheets and any handouts
- Plan how you will share photos (ask for consent first)
Day of
- Arrive early to set up and test tech
- Welcome people and collect sign-ins
- Keep to the run of show
- Take photos only of people who agreed
- Clean up and return the space
After
- Thank speakers, partners, and volunteers
- Follow up with attendees (next meeting, how to get involved)
- Post a recap
- Hold a short debrief: what worked, what to change
- Record attendance and results for your semester report