Convergence Events welcomes the participation of everyone in the community and we invite people with great ideas to contribute. We have a number of projects in our pipeline, but we’re looking for more. If you want to submit an event proposal for development, funding and management, and/or partnership with Convergence Events, please email Development. Be sure to include your contact information. It is suggested you follow the outline below when planning your proposal.
Event proposals should have some thought behind them, but not every detail needs to be worked out. Instead what we need as an organization is a sense that the proposed project accords with our mission, the primary basis for our decision making. We serve a growing community which expects that their combined resources will be used with a wider good in mind. Proposals will have a better chance of success if they flow in this fashion:
Why > How > What
That is the basic framework we use for making strategic decisions, and ideas which use this structure will help us make more informed decisions. People need to know why a particular idea is important, how it distinguishes itself from other ideas, and then what it’s going to involve to make real.
Why
Convergence Events’ mission is to create exciting events that connect, enrich and expand our diverse community. We are dedicated to inspiring each other through creativity, learning, and service. Everything we do must fit that mission. That is the reason we want to continue making great events: to connect, enrich, and expand. We are celebrating a diverse community.
If an event furthers that mission, the highest hurdle to moving it forward is already accomplished. At the very least, event proposals should answer these why questions:
- Why is a proposed event relevant in the context of our mission?
- Why would our community need or enjoy this event?
- Why is it worth doing at all? (Having fun is an acceptable answer!)
How
This is where a proposal would discuss the overall premise of an event, a sense of the audience served or unique character it possesses, and a sense of the kind of conditions necessary to realize it. This section should describe some of the suggested strategies to make the event happen. A proposal is expected to answer at least these questions:
- How are the aspects of this event going to connect, enrich, and expand people’s lives?
- How would you draw the audience or attendees?
- If you want an event to happen, how does the current situation/environment need to be adapted to support it?
- If your event already exists elsewhere, how does a Convergence version of it both further the mission and be sustainable?
What
This section should get into some of the finer strategic and tactical details of an event. Again, a proposal would not need to fill in every detail, particularly as those things will likely change between the time of the proposal and the day it goes out in front of the public. Here is where proposals will say what their vision is for how the event will happen, how long it will take to plan, what resources are needed (budget and personnel), and what it needs to be sustainable. Like resources, sustainability is again a function of budget and personnel—in that an event is unlikely to move forward if it’s incapable of covering its expenses or requiring effort out of proportion to the number of people available. Answering at least these questions will be necessary to make an informed decision:
- What is the event?
- Who is it for?
- What functions does it need to operate? (personnel, equipment, venue(s), promotions)
- Who is needed to lead it? (existing personnel, specific personalities, specialists/professionals)
- Are the proposers prepared to work on making the event happen? In what way(s)?
- What is it likely to cost?
- When would this event happen? Is it annual? Monthly? One-time?
Event Evaluation Process
1. Development will receive proposals from potential events for Convergence Events to either create, or on which to collaborate. These will be discussed by the Event Design Team under the direction of the Director of Development, to get a sense of whether or not they fit the Convergence Events mission, if they are feasible, and what some of the tactical details would be to make them happen. This step will likely require
- external research of the market by the Event Design Team,
- conversations with proposers, and
- internal evaluation of existing timelines and plans.
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- If the Event Design Team believes a proposal should be realized, they will submit a report and executive summary, along with copies of the original proposal, to the Convergence Events Board of Directors. It is expected that the Event Design Team will coordinate communications if duplicate or similar ideas are proposed, and give the proposing parties the choice to work together or competitively.
- If their evaluation or recommendation is negative, the Event Design Team will inform the proposers of their intent to decline the proposal, and the proposers’ right to make an appeal directly to the Board of Directors. Such appeals should be directed in writing to the President and Secretary of Convergence Events.
2. The Board will receive the report from the Event Design Team and take one of the following actions: accept, accept with changes, decline, or ask for additional details. It will then inform the Design Team and the event proposers. If the Board accepts with changes or asks for clarification, that process will be delegated to the Event Design Team who will be expected to work with proposers to present answers to the Board.
Process for Proposing Events