Who, What, When, Where, Why & How?

You have an idea of what you want to do and now you need to plan your event. It’s easy to get lost in the details and many facets that are involved in planning programs, so here’s an outline of what you need to know!

The Golden Rule of programming is to plan ahead! As with any news report, it is important to address all five Ws and the H of your program.

What is the event? Is it a lecture, picnic, band, workshop, trip, comedian? If there is a presenter or performer, is it someone from the campus or an outside group?

Why are you planning this program? What is your purpose?

Who is hosting the event? Are there other groups that share an interest in your goal and can help your organization plan or finance the event? Who is it for? Is it for a specific group on campus, such as first-years, women, students who live off campus, or those who wear socks that don’t match? The whole campus? What about faculty and staff? The Portland community?

When is your program? What date and time are best for this event?

Where will you have it? What is your venue? Will it be outside or inside? How many people do you expect to attend?

How are you paying for the program? Do you need additional financial assistance? Are you charging people to attend?

How will your prospective audience learn about it? What kinds of publicity are you going to use?

These are certainly not the only things to consider, but they are among the most important. The following pages will go into further detail about each of these aspects and cover other details of your event.