Event planning guide
Thank you for volunteering your time to the Wood Acres PTA! Below is an outline of resources available and documents you may need to begin your new role.
General Resources
Visit Who We Are to see who’s on our PTA board and committee leadership. There is also an org chart; remember that we are a team, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Please visit PTA Forms & Docs, for budget info, Bylaws, sales tax-exempt letter, check/cash deposit form, and event template form.
Please review this document to learn more about your role.
Planning a PTA-Sponsored Event
PTA events can be promoted in three ways:
the PTA website event calendar
Dr. Zaks’s Sunday emails
The PTA’s Weekly Wednesday emails
1. CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE FLYER FOR YOUR EVENT
Six weeks prior to your event, meet with your committee’s VP to begin solidifying your event details. Review the completed PTA Event Chair Template from previous years (see below), or speak with last year’s Committee Chair if available.
Create an event flyer to include the who, what, where and when for your event in a concise manner. Any relevant links and points of contact should be included. To generate links for ticket sales please (see Step 2 below). On the website main page, you can go back in time on the calendar to find last year’s flyer as a starting point.
Draft your flyer in a text-only word document. The Comms team will help with formatting.
Need volunteers? Include a contact email for interested volunteers or create a SignupGenius link for inclusion in the flyer. Parents and MCPS students needing SSL hours are two potential sources of volunteers.
For student volunteers: MCPS Student Service Learning (SSL) Form — you can print copies and complete your section in advance.
For parent volunteers: MCPS requires Online Training on child abuse and neglect for adults volunteering on school grounds during school hours.
2. SET UP TICKET SALES (event dependent)
Set up ticket sales by contacting the Online Payment Systems volunteer: onlineforms@woodacrespta.org
Be sure to include ticket price, number of available tickets and cut-off date.
Be clear regarding who requires a ticket. Should parents/caretakers purchase a ticket to attend or just students?
Once established, review that the store is correct. Include the link to the ticket store in your event flyer. The website will feature an icon on the main page to link to the ticket store.
3. EMAIL FLYER TO THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
Send your flyer at least four weeks before the event. Please provide this time to allow for drafts to be iterated on before final upload.
As things develop on the ground, please loop in the Comms team. If details change (e.g., event sells out, date change), the changes should be quickly reflected on the website and newsletters.
Check in the the Comms Team a few days before the event if you require a final email blast.
**When planning your event, please consider eco-friendly practices. Some ideas have been compiled by our PTA Green Team.
COmplete POST-EVENT TASKS
Complete PTA Event Chair Template. We want to build off the legacy (successes and learnings) of your event. Send it to your Chair and Webmaster for record keeping. See below for records from past events.
Use the Check Request Form to get reimbursed for event expenses paid out of pocket or invoiced expenses ahead of time.
Use the Check Deposit Form to deposit funds collected from your event.
Submit any event “thank you’s” (Committee Chairs thanking volunteers and VPs thanking Committee Chairs) to include in the PTA’s Wildcat Wednesday email by Monday at noon.