Source: Town of Kindersley
Welcome to the Community Toolkit! Over the next few weeks we will show you what it takes to plan and develop community events.
The Community Toolkit guide has been created to assist individuals and organizations in understanding the steps required to plan and develop successful community initiatives, and to know what resources are available. The information compiled can be considered accurate and up to date as of the date of publication or most recent edit, however, this guide may not necessarily be inclusive of all conditions or considerations required for some projects. Plan- ning any initiative, whether large or small, involves many details and it is our hope that this guide helps to get your project off to a good start.
If you require additional assistance or would like to suggest information that could be included in the next revision of this Community Toolkit, please con- tact the Town of Kindersley at 306-463-2675 or office@kindersley.ca.
STARTING YOUR OWN PROGRAM OR SERVICE
Community programs bring people together, creating opportunities for people to share talents, knowledge, and skills. They can be de- signed in many ways depending on what they are intended to deliver, having the potential to grow over time through word of mouth, inter- est, and need.
The following steps have been provided to help you to start a new program. Feel free to add more items to your list as you need.
Steps:
1. Determine what your program will be.
A. What will it teach/share/contribute to the community or space?
B. Will it be a new initiative or extend a current program?
C. Will it run year-round or only be offered dur- ing specific seasons?
2. Reach out to any friends, family, co-workers, or community members to see if anyone is available to work with you. Additional support is always great when it comes time for promo- tion and coordinating logistics.
3. Together with your partner, or independently if working solo, define the structure of the program. Once you have answered these ques- tions, secure all of the elements.
A. What dates will it take place on? (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
B. What time will it run? (start time, end time, length of program activity time)
C. What is the location? (this space will need to be coordinated with the owner)
D. What is your intended audience? (age range, gender, couples, physical ability, etc.)
E. What is the maximum amount of people that can participate?
4. Consider what is required to operate the program. Once you have answered these ques- tions, secure all of these elements.
A.What materials will you need? (craft sup- plies, sporting equipment, costumes, etc.)
B. Who will host/lead the program? (will you hire an individual with a special skill?)
C. What is the cost of running the program? D. Will there be an admission or registration fee for participants?
5. Build support for the program by connect- ing with organizations that have a connection to your program theme. These organizations may be able to support through sponsorship, donation, expertise, partnership, or lending of supplies.
6. Promote your program. Advertising can be done through a variety of forms. Remember to include all of the relevant information above to ensure that community members are aware of the opportunity and can easily decide if they will participate. Promotion should take place well in advance (2-3 months) to enable people to coordinate their schedules. All advertise- ments should include a lead contact, dates, times, locations, fees, and program name.
7. After the first run of the program, consider:
A. Gathering feedback from participants to improve your program delivery, dates, times, locations, etc.
B. Was the program successful? Do you wish to continue? Expand?
C. Was the program unsuccessful? Do you wish to discontinue? Scale back?
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