The following checklist is based on an eight-week timeline for planning. Take more time for planning if you have it, or condense the timeline if you have less than eight weeks to plan a health and enrollment fair. Just be sure to check all the items!
Week 8
- Identify potential planning committee members and schedule your first committee meeting.
- Begin researching possible venues. Visit each location and meet with location representatives to discuss core event components.
- Identify potential sponsors, including local media outlets, that might be able to provide funding and/or services for the health and enrollment fair.
- Draft a letter to potential sponsors and create a mailing list.
- Identify local celebrities who might attend the health and enrollment fair.
- Identify potential spokespersons from your committee.
- Compile a list of community organizations and health care providers that can help boost attendance and/or provide services at the health and enrollment fair.
Week 7
- Decide on a venue, date and time for your health and enrollment fair. Remember to choose locations and times that allow for maximum attendance by members of the community and press. If your planned venue is outdoors, secure an alternate location or select a rain date in case of inclement weather.
- Log on to www.CoverTheUninsured.org to register and post information about your event to promote attendance.
- Host the first planning committee meeting.
- Develop a schedule for regular (e.g., weekly or biweekly) meetings or conference calls.
- Establish subcommittees to manage portions of the planning, such as:
- Site logistics – Supervise the set-up and clean-up, equipment rental, volunteer management and floor plan
- Media and promotion – Pitch to the press, create media lists, write media materials, and provide media training for spokespersons
- Crowd-building – Advertise the event to the community, local organizations, businesses and the media to increase attendance and recruit volunteers for the day of the event
- Participant and exhibitor recruitment and management – Solicit organizations to provide health and enrollment fair services and information
- Attendee services – Organize check-in and information booths with materials on follow-up care, medical screenings and testing, and enrollment
- Sponsorship and fundraising – Ask organizations and businesses to sponsor the event through contributions or in-kind donations
- Evaluation – Evaluate the effectiveness of the health and enrollment fair
- Create and distribute a contact sheet for all committee members, including work, home and cellular telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses.
- Find out what requirements are necessary to secure the venue.
- Draft an event budget based on expected contributions from your fundraising efforts.
- Visit the venue to discuss event components and work through site logistics. Be sure the location has enough power sources for booth participants.
Week 6
- Revise the event budget to include estimated costs related to the health and enrollment fair, such as equipment rentals (e.g., tables, chairs, signage, staging, power, etc.).
- Discuss fundraising needs with the planning committee.
- Draft and send invitation letters to organizations that you would like to participate.
- Draft and send invitation letters to groups that reach people who would benefit from attending the health and enrollment fair.
- Develop a media list.
- Continue to recruit volunteers for the day of the event.
Week 5
- Develop an e-mail listserv to update all interested participants. Provide weekly updates to generate interest and enthusiasm.
- Actively recruit participants to provide a variety of services, including enrollment in public health care coverage programs.
- Create a fact sheet for recruiting additional organizations that lists planned events, planning committee members, facts and statistics about the uninsured in your state and community, and information on local organizations.
- Designate spokespersons to attend the event and speak to the media.
- Log on to www.CoverTheUninsured.org to add details about your event, including secured speakers, special guests, screenings that are being offered, activities for children and entertainment.
- Identify community members who are uninsured or covered by CHIP and willing to speak to the media.
- Meet with representatives from the event venue to clarify the site layout, the date of the event, set-up and clean-up times, security guidelines, a point of contact during the event, unforeseen fees, power source needs, and restroom locations. You may need to rent portable toilets to accommodate large crowds.
- Research and purchase event insurance, if needed. You can often do this through the venue management.
- Reach out to radio and TV stations that might broadcast from the health and enrollment fair. Begin by calling the stations' communications and community affairs departments. Schedule meetings to pitch the concept.
- Create a PSA script to be sent to local radio stations encouraging attendance at the health and enrollment fair. You can find a template script at www.CoverTheUninsured.org .
- Draw a map of the layout of the health and enrollment fair to show where booths and services will be located.
- Continue to recruit volunteers for the day of the event.
Week 4
- Follow up with local businesses about funding opportunities and in-kind donations such as giveaways and refreshments.
- Finalize contracts with vendors, such as the event venue, equipment rental company, printers and transportation provider.
- Download materials at www.CoverTheUninsured.org /content/guides-templates.
- Begin event promotion by finalizing your event details on the Cover the Uninsured Web site and sending community calendar listings to media contacts. Make follow-up calls.
- Print fliers and posters to post throughout the community. Fliers should be easy to read and should include the event date, time and location, as well as a list of services and participants. Be sure to provide fliers in languages appropriate to the community being served. Send them to each participating organization for distribution.
- Finalize the list of participants. Review the list to ensure that a range of basic services and health care information is provided. Design a sign that lists the sponsors to recognize them for their support.
- Begin to develop press materials, including descriptions of all the organizations involved in the event and the services they will be providing.
- Continue to recruit volunteers for the day of the event.
Week 3
- Send official confirmation letters and kits to all participants with details of the event, including suggested arrival time, set-up instructions, contact information, power availability and parking.
- Conduct a final walk-through of the site with the venue representative to confirm specific participant requests such as power availability, a certain booth location or extra equipment.
- Print plenty of signs for the health and enrollment fair. If there is a walk from the parking lot to the event site, make sure it is clearly marked so that participants and reporters do not get lost and arrive late and frustrated.
- Contact groups who are responsible for crowd-building to ensure they have asked organizations to send out e-mail reminders and posted fliers throughout the community, including schools, recreation centers, libraries, places of worship, clinics, hospital emergency rooms, pharmacies, stores and businesses.
- Buy film or disposable cameras to document the event. If your budget allows, hire a professional photographer to take pictures of the event.
- Confirm volunteers. Assign working group members and volunteers specific duties before, during and after the fair. Assignments may include:
- Set-up/tear-down
- Volunteer management
- Parking/security
- Participant check-in and assistance
- Attendee check-in
- Information booth staffing
- Follow-up care information
- Create a "day of event" checklist that includes a minute-by-minute timeline for the health and enrollment fair, a list of coalition and volunteer assignments, and important contact information. Make sure you will have enough volunteers and materials on hand.
Week 2
- Finalize the health and enrollment fair layout, including entrances, exits, information booths, restrooms, power sources and booth numbers or names. Make copies for all participants and volunteers.
- Confirm arrangements and details with all vendors.
- Establish a system for measuring the number of attendees (e.g., a sign-in sheet).
- Draft a news advisory and press release. Get sign-off from spokespersons on press release quotes.
- Assemble press kits containing the press release, a listing of the day's activities, a fact sheet, working group member descriptions, local resources for the uninsured, etc.
- Follow up with volunteers about their assignments for the day of the event.
- Provide media training to spokespersons, including uninsured spokespersons or families covered by CHIP.
- Contact groups that are responsible for crowd-building to ensure they are continuing to reach out to the community.
Week of Event
Four Days Prior to Event
- Log on to www.CoverTheUninsured.org to confirm that all information about your event is accurate and listed clearly on the Web site.
- Fax or e-mail the news advisory; make follow-up calls to media contacts; and contact the local Associated Press daybook editor. (See the News Conference Planning Guide, available for download at www.CoverTheUninsured.org /content/guides-templates.)
- Schedule pre-event media interviews for spokespersons. Consider assigning planning committee members to do interviews on various local radio stations during morning and evening drive times to promote the event.
- Send volunteers throughout the community to promote the event and encourage attendance.
Day Before Event
- Place reminder calls to all media contacts. Resend the news advisory.
- Host final planning committee meeting to run through last-minute details.
Morning of Event
- Check in with media contacts to confirm attendance. Distribute press release to those on your media list.
- Meet with volunteers to make final assignments and answer any questions or concerns they may have. If your budget allows, provide them a light breakfast such as muffins, donuts, juice and coffee.
- Place sign-in sheets for the media and others at the entrance to the health and enrollment fair.
- Have volunteers staff a sign-in table to be sure all attendees sign in.
- Ensure that the health and enrollment fair is set up according to the map layout, all signage is posted correctly, and all exhibitors have what they need to set up their booths.
- Enjoy helping families get connected to health care coverage!
Following the Event
- Send thank-you notes to all participants, volunteers and sponsors.
- Return all rented equipment.
- Track media coverage.
- Organize folders and file contact lists and notes for future use.
