Small Budget Event

We had an open house at work last week for our new CEO. Almost 100 people came. They were from agencies in the city we work with, friends of the Center and various other connections.

When it comes to planning an event there are a lot of things to consider.

• Theme
• Colors
• Goals for the event (a key and often overlooked step), 
• Budget
• Food
• How you want people to mingle and move (This was going to be a lot of people's first time to the Center, so we had tours and staff to direct visitors). 
• Volunteers - you might need them more than just on the day of the event. For each step along the way think of what needs to be done. If you can delegate - do it!

It helps me to come up with a list (to the left). We actually had two events last week, but I am just going to focus on the Open House.

An event is like a mini project management task.

• What needs to be accomplished for the event to be a success? For you to gauge that, you have to know what a "successful" event is.  
• How are you going to get there? Write out steps and name who has to be there for each step along the way. 
• Are you going to stay inside or outside of the company? We could have done the flowers ourselves, and sure, there are a lot of things that can be done internally. But take into consideration cost of supplies AND the time of your employees. With the flowers, when I added in the time of my going to get the supplies and the cost of my (plus one or two other) people's time to assemble them - it was a no brainer. We went with an independent florist. And the flowers were amazingly beautiful!
• Who can help with your event? We went with independent companies for both our flowers and the cupcakes. It saved us the time of our employees, they were cheaper than a larger organization, and it helps them to get exposure. Do a favor and put their cards out so people can see who made what they are enjoying.

We had a small budget for the event. So we chose to focus on a few key touches. We started shooting for the moon - our ideal event would have welcome banners, wine, more decorations through out the building, dishwasher safe serving pieces, etc. Our budget would allow for a few key decorations (like the flowers) that could carry the theme across a wide space. When a budget is tight prioritize what you need and what you want and proceed accordingly.

We chose to do food in-house, because the cost of catering would have been more than doing it ourselves.
Look at numbers. Don't assume. I did a Costco run and made a list of every food item we would buy. I multiplied that out. Sometimes the prep things you can do before hand will save you money later on.

Get help. Give people the chance to be involved. We have a dedicated crew of people who help with every event, but this was a key event for the whole building. And so I opened it up and had people sign up so it all didn't rest on four or five people and it lets people get connected. Get supervisors to require their staff to sign up, pull on people's hidden talents. This only works well if the executives at your organization get that it is not just up to the admins to pull an event off. I had most of our executive staff helping with clean up - that says something. 



We spaced the tables out to get people to move around the Center. In hindsight we should have had our CEO in the room with the food, but we'll do that next time. Here are a few pictures from the night.
 

In the end, have fun. I have been doing events for almost fifteen years. Just because you are the organizer doesn't mean you need to be stressed out. If you are, then you are probably not delegating enough. And, one final thing, don't bark at people all night. If you treat people like they don't matter then no one is going to help you. So if no one is stepping up to help, you might need to ask if you are hard to work with or tend to be a bit micromanaging. People are willing to help people who treat others with respect. Just saying.

Any other tips you have? What have you found works or doesn't in the events you've plan? Any secrets you'd be willing to share? 

Sand Dunes Adventure

I recently spent some time at the Sand Dunes. It was an incredible adventure. A friend and I went for a long weekend. We rented a trailer and got out of town.

I miss the quiet of morning. I remember it from the ranch - when I could walk down the road and only hear the ground crunch under my feet and, perhaps, the sound of the horses getting collected for the day.

At the dunes I laid in the camper and listened to morning come. There were creatures stirring, the wind soft and faint. It was bitter cold (our heating died) but it was magical. It carried me back to the uninterrupted morning of my childhood, when nothing seemed to exist but the sun on the horizon and the promise of a new day.

One morning we built a fire and ate breakfast, watching the sun hit the dunes and give the sand definition. We determined that every time we looked at the dunes they were different. You could probably take a photo every morning at the same time and end up with a different image. 

There is something magical about the Dunes. If you have never been, go. It's only $3 and so worth it. You can play on the dunes and fight to get to the top. We took a Frisbee and used it to determine our path. There is some childlike quality to the sand and the chance to just run and be free and silly. 

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. ... If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on." (Steve Jobs)

 

what is that for you dear friends, what is that for you? 

 

Update

I know it has been a while, sorry about that. Things are seemingly crazier than ever.

I started a new job,working at an organization assisting people with disabilities to live independent lives. It is really amazing to come to work everyday. I am blessed to be surrounded by people with really amazing hearts, and get to see the power of creativity, love and endurance our clients have. My boss is amazing, and is doing a lot to redefine and set a vision for the organization. I am learning a lot about how to manage a board and the inner constructs for a functional NGO, which is helpful because...

I am registering my own NGO. A dear friend of mine is doing the work to file paperwork (saving my sanity!) and then we can start fundraising and work to get this thing off the ground.

Between those two things, friends and moving this weekend, life is busy. I can say that I feel lighter than I have in a long time. Life is good friends. I've come to realize that good doesn't mean lack of conflict, or being settled, or everything is ideal. It's more the ability to say in the midst of life that there is clarity and a direction and I can see it all as stepping stones.

I will try to be more consistent here, time management seems to be my nemesis right now. But it's coming. I am trying to balance it all and fit it some things that make me smile. I am writing again, trying to work on the manuscripts I have and process them towards publication. It's one money at a time, but I am slowly learning the beauty of busyness and the joy of retreat. I feel like this is a planting time, there is a song I love that I always go back to in terms of the phases of life:

The Desert Song - Hillsong

This is my prayer in the desert, when all that's within me feels dry. This is my prayer in my hunger and need, my God is the God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain. There is a faith proved of more worth than gold, so refine me Lord through the flame

And I will bring praise, I will bring praise. No weapon formed against me shall remain. I will rejoice, I will declare God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle, when triumph is still on it's way. I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ so firm on His promise I'll stand

And I will bring praise, I will bring praise. No weapon formed against me shall remain. I will rejoice, I will declare God is my victory and He is here

All of my life, in every season, You are still God. I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship.

This is my prayer in the harvest, when favor and providence flow. I know I'm filled to be emptied again, the seed I've recieved I will sow.

 

Listen to it here.

Inspiration

site

The 36th Avenue wrote a blog for U-Create about decorating her workspace. She found old wine boxes, painted and then accented them.


I want to try this in my office (if I had an office). One would have a map, another a camera, maybe a typewriter. There is a great quote (find it here) that I would put on the board, next to pins to be able to list my goals for the next year. 


What would drive your creativity? What makes you feel inspired?

Finances

Being on starting the journey to work place freedom means money is tight. I did the opposite of what almost every blog I read said and did not plan too long-term before I left my full time job. In an ideal situation, the decision to go independent would come enough in advance to allow you to save for months (ideally up to 9 months from what I've read) of living expenses.

I didn't do that. I am a fairly frugal gal anyway, I don't really have a vice (except books ;-)). I sensed the time was coming to move into working for myself,. and so had created a base budget. Some people will tell you this is what you need to live on - period. But like a restricting diet that leaves you eating lettuce and radishes, you are bound to cheat, and eventually, blow your budget.

I started with the bare minimum I needed to make to cover my set bills: student loans, car and old credit card debt. Rent and utilities are negotiable, because it is possible to move somewhere cheaper, get a roommate, work to conserve energy, etc. I moved home, which might not be a possibility for everyone, but is for me because my parents are amazing.

Don't forget to add it things like groceries and gas. I collected these for a few months prior to see how much I needed to get by. I enjoy eating well -- no TV dinners and ramen for this girl -- and so kept those relatively the same as they had been, realizing I had the flexibility to cut back on food or ride my bike more if I needed to downsize the gas line.

Then I deviated greatly from the old wisdom - I added in fun money. I take out $60 a week and split that between being able to eat out and my other expenses envelope - that includes runs to Costco, or the movies, or birthday gifts, essentially any expense not covered above, meaning it is outside my set budget.

Now, I don't use my debit card except for gas. I don't use my credit card at all. But by building into my budget fun money I also don't have to worry about splurging and blowing my overly restrictive budget.

So I took all that - set bills, rent + utilities, the basics like food and gas, add in fun funds and then divided that total by four. That is how much I need to bring in a week to survive.

I also included health insurance and savings into my plan. I refuse to live on savings, and if the last year has taught me anything - the unexpected will always come when you don't have any savings (hello credit card debt!), so as much as you can, stop living from your savings account immediately and get on income again

To make it work, you need to cut down on your spending. You do not need Starbucks every day, you do not need new shoes (or books!), it is possible to shave off a lot of funds a month by cutting out additional spending. You will be amazed to discover how much you do not "need" and how much you can do without spending money.

Ultimately, as Jason points out, make a plan. You will never be able to save money or get out of debt if there is not a plan. I have a countdown in the back of my binder and cross off my car and credit card payments every month.  Keep it simple, don't have twenty categories when seven will do. Don't spend any money that has not been delegated to that expense. Old wisdom for getting out of debt and being able to save money - save more than you spend!

If you cannot control your spending, give your credit cards to a friend and go to the envelope system. When I was trying to get out of debt in DC and was on a (even more) bare bones budget I did this. It is a super easy way to control your funds and see where your money goes. When you only have $10 for the rest of the week, that daily latte looks a  lot less "necessary."

Any money tips you've found that works?

Water of Life.

Water of Life is Compassion's new initiative to fight the illnesses found in the dirty water many around the world are forced to drink.

According to their site, every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-related illness. 15 seconds.

That's four children  a minute, 240 an hour, 5,760 kids a day. 

Almost 6,000 children die a day from water-related illnesses. Treatable water-related illness.

But Compassion is doing something about it. They are bringing safe drinking water to individual homes, for far less than you might expect.

How? By providing families with a filter...

Each filter is made up of tiny microtubes with pores hundreds of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. These pores remove deadly bacteria and allow only clean water to pass through for drinking. The Water of Life system effectively eliminates parasites and bacterial contaminants that cause cholera, typhoid, E. coli, amoebic dysentery and many other devastating diseases.

Dirty water from sources such as lakes, rivers, ponds or puddles is poured into the system’s bucket. As the water flows through the filter, it comes out completely safe to drink.

When the flow rate begins to slow after multiple uses, the user simply disconnects the primary filter unit and rinses it with clear water. Depending on the level of contaminants in the dirty water, some systems may require more-frequent rinsing. Unlike typical water filters, the Water of Life filter will remain highly effective over time while purifying at least one million gallons. (site)

Watch the video here.

Find out more about Water of Life. Then make a $55 donation to provide a filter to a family.