1. What's the purpose? To fundraise, grow your membership, celebrate an achievement, raise awareness, or engage with the public? Your purpose shapes every other decision.
2. Who's your audience? Members, new students, the wider public? E.g. if you're fundraising, some groups have more to spend than others. If you want to reach the public, an off-campus venue might work better.
3. When will it happen? Do you have enough time to plan and promote it? Watch out for semester breaks, exams, sports competitions and other big events. Is a suitable venue free then?
4. Where will it be? Check all the costs, and never sign a venue agreement until the rest of the committee has looked over it. See our Booking Spaces & Equipment page.
5. What do you need? People, equipment and facilities. Think past the obvious: toilets, parking and rubbish are often overlooked but essential. OUSA lends lots of gear for free.
6. What's the budget? List all your expenses and income. If you're relying on ticket sales, what happens if you don't sell as many as you expected? Overestimate costs, and add a "miscellaneous" line for surprises. Could a grant help?
7. What are the risks? Think about the lead-up (e.g. transport) and the clean-up, not just the event itself. Do a risk assessment. See our Health & Safety Planning page.
8. Any legal obligations? Alcohol, food, noise, traffic management, venue capacity limits? See our Legal Responsibilities, Risk & Insurance page.
9. What's your emergency and backup plan? What would you do if there was an injury, fire, aggressive behaviour or unwanted media attention? If your event depends on the weather or ticket sales, will you cancel, postpone or move indoors?
10. How will you promote it? See Promoting your club & events below.

2-3 months out (medium or large events)

• Agree the purpose, audience, date and rough budget as a committee
• Pick an event lead, and share out the jobs
• Book your venue, and apply for any campus or council approvals
• Apply for a grant if you need one, as grants take time

4 weeks out

• Complete your risk assessment and emergency plan
• Book equipment, catering, transport and any suppliers
• Start promoting, and send requests to OUSA's channels
• Set up ticketing or sign-ups, with payments going to the club bank account

1 week out

• Finalise your run sheet and volunteer roster
• Confirm everything with the venue and suppliers
• Brief your team on safety, first aid and who's in charge
• Check the weather, and your backup plan
• Send a final reminder to attendees

On the day

• Arrive early for set-up, and check fire exits, first aid kit and hazards
• Welcome people, especially newcomers
• Have two people count any cash together, and record it
• Leave the space clean and tidy

Most medium-sized events need a run sheet: a timeline of everything that happens on the day, who's responsible, and what they need. It keeps everyone on the same page and makes things much calmer if plans change.

Include key contacts at the top: the event lead, first aider, venue contact and Campus Watch (0800 479 5000).

OUSA has partnered with Recreation Aotearoa to bring you Kia Rite Hoea, a one-stop package for planning great activities, programmes and events. Created by professionals, it's packed with templates you can use straight away, so you can skip the "where do we start?" phase and get going.

Preview it: Resource preview · Template preview

We have an open-door policy and are always happy to help, but working through the toolkit first makes our planning meetings much more productive.

• All event money goes through the club bank account, never a personal one.
• Give a clear payment reference, e.g. name plus event name, so the Treasurer can match payments.
• Decide your refund policy upfront, including what happens if the event is cancelled, and say so when people buy.
• No drink tokens or drinks included in ticket prices. That counts as selling alcohol. See our Legal Responsibilities page.
• Count cash with two people, record the total, and bank it within a few days.
• Keep every receipt, especially if a grant is funding the event.

Start promoting at least 3-4 weeks out, with reminders closer to the day. Some OUSA channels need more notice:

What to include

• What, when, where, and how much
• How to get tickets or sign up
• Who it's for, e.g. "newbies welcome!"
• Whether there's food, whether it's alcohol-free, and access info for the venue
• Key info in the caption, not just the image (for screen readers)

Make it accessible

Social media is great for building interest and staying connected with members. A few things make a big difference:

• Have at least two committee members as admins on every account, so you never get locked out
• Store logins in the Clubs Portal, not someone's personal phone, and change passwords at handover
• Post regularly. A simple plan (e.g. one post a week, plus event reminders) beats bursts of activity
• Tag @ousaclubsandsocs so we can reshare your events
• Join the Affiliated Clubs group chat on our Instagram to share events with other clubs

Keep it on brand

Your club's channels must follow the Club Conduct Policy.

For eye-catching, professional designs, we recommend Canva. It's free, with loads of templates for posters, social posts and invitations. Approved OUSA logos for affiliated clubs are available too. Just ask the CDO.

Need printing? Affiliated clubs get free or reduced-price A4 and A3 printing at the Clubs & Socs Centre.

There's a Clubs Day each semester, and it's the biggest recruitment opportunity of the year.

Space is limited, so register as soon as applications open. We'll let you know through the newsletter and your club email.

Stall checklist

• Roster at least 2 people on the stall at all times (including set-up and pack-down), and remind them the week before
• Clear signage with your club name and logo: banner, posters, tablecloth
• Photos or videos from past events, plus something fun or interactive to draw people in
• Flyers with your socials, contact details and first event date
• QR code or link to your Clubs Portal sign-up form, and a charged laptop or tablet (or a paper sign-up sheet as backup)
• Tape, Blu Tack, scissors, snacks and water for your stall team
• After the day: add new members straight away and send a welcome email

1. Return gear and settle up. Return borrowed equipment, pay any outstanding invoices, and process reimbursements (with receipts).
2. Say thanks. Thank your volunteers, sponsors and attendees, and share photos (with permission).
3. Review how it went. Did you meet your purpose? Look at numbers, money raised, new members, feedback, and any incidents or near misses.
4. Debrief as a committee. What worked, and what would you change?
5. Write it all down. Save your budget, run sheet, suppliers, venue, contacts, grants applied for, and lessons learned in the Clubs Portal. Future committees will thank you!
6. Grant-funded? Send OUSA your receipts showing the money was spent as approved.