Candidate Forums and Meet and Greet Events:

Transcription

1 Candidate Forums and Meet and Greet Events: An Event Planning Toolkit for Communities Created by Community Food Strategies, 2016.

2 Authors This toolkit was developed by Community Food Strategies with support from Plate of the Union. The document was specifically developed as resource during the 2016 election season, but is designed to be a general tool for community forum and event planning. Jared Cates led the content development and editing of this toolkit with support from Abbey Piner, Onte Johnson, Sean Carroll and Rochelle Sparko. Community Food Strategies is multi-organizational team of food systems experts that provides leadership and technical support for food council development throughout North Carolina. Community Food Strategies partners with councils in all phases of development, with the goal of building more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems. The Community Food Strategies Team Abbey Piner - Center for Environmental Farming Systems Gini Knight - Center for Environmental Farming Systems Carlye Gates - Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Jared Cates - Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Megan Bolejack - Care Share Health Alliance Tyler Jenkins - Carolina Common Enterprise Community Food Strategies is an initiative of the Central for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) and is funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. To learn more information about Community Food Strategies, please visit: Plate of the Union is a collaborative campaign driven by Food Policy Action, Food Policy Action Education Fund, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the HEAL Food Alliance to raise the voice of Americans who care about food and farm issues during the 2016 election season. The 2016 NC Plate of the Union Team Sean Carrol - sean@healfoodalliance.org Onte Johnson - onte@healfoodalliance.org Robert Corriher robert@healfoodalliance.org To learn more about Plate of the Union, please visit: 31

3 Development of this toolkit was made possible with support from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. Disclaimer The content of this toolkit is not legal advice. Please consult your legal counsel on all local, state and federal elections law matters. 32

4 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION WHAT CANDIDATES AND ELECTED OFFICIALS WANT MAINTAINING A NONPARTISAN SPACE ORGANIZING YOUR EVENT FOLLOWING YOUR EVENT REFERENCES APPENDIX A APPENDIX B 33

5 Introduction Congratulations on deciding to host a candidates forum or meet and greet event with decision makers in your community! Not only will hosting this type of event help educate decision makers on community concerns and needs, but simply going through the process of organizing an event and taking the suggested follow-up steps will help your council to build more strategic relationships. The tips and steps outlined in this toolkit are based on our own experiences organizing candidates and community forums, our experiences working with elected officials, and on common best practices for these types of events. Most of this document will refer to food councils as the hosts of these events, however any community group can use this toolkit as a guide to organizing a successful forum or meet and greet event. Food councils are groups that are cross-sector organizations that help promote more resilient food systems ion their communities. They typically assess the current food situation, make recommendations on how to improve it, and communicate recommendations to organizations and policymakers that can take action. Going carefully through all of the steps outlined in this toolkit will help your council to host an event that will build relationships with important decision makers in your community. A successful event will help decision makers to see your food council as a local expert on issues related to food, health and agriculture. Making these relationships is critical for the success of any food council or community group working on these types of issues. There are important tips in the Maintaining a Nonpartisan Space and What Candidates Want sections that your council should read before actually starting your planning process. Steps 1-11 in the Organizing Your Event section lays out the steps that your group should take to make your initial plan for the event. Steps of the same section are next steps that must be taken to ensure that your event is successful. Step 16 outlines tasks for the day of your event. One of the most important sections of this toolkit is Following Your Event. Follow up will be critical to leveraging the connections and relationships that you will make throughout your planning process and at the event. Many templates for outreach can be found in Appendix A. Additionally, a Candidates Forum and Meet and Greet Event Planning Tracker spreadsheet comes separately from this document and can be downloaded from the Community Food Strategies website. We recommend that groups download this template and use it to create a Google Sheet for shared event planning and tracking. 34 What Candidates and Elected Officials Want Most candidates and elected officials hope for a large turnout at any candidates forum or meet and greet event. Candidates are typically spread very thin during a campaign season and elected officials are always busy. Your food council and any co-sponsoring organizations should focus on a strong turnout to increase

6 the chances that your guests will attend. Be sure to communicate your expected audience size to your guests in advance. A large turnout at your event demonstrates that your food council has influence on voters and is respected in the community, which can be helpful in building long-lasting relationships with decision makers. Maintaining a Nonpartisan Space When planning your candidates forum or meet and greet event, it is important to remain completely nonpartisan throughout the entire planning process and duration of the event. Not only is it necessary by law for 501(c)3 organizations, but also a guarantee of neutrality will encourage more guests to participate and typically generates more interest from the media. Here are some guidelines from the IRS around staying nonpartisan in a candidates forum or meet and greet: The event should cover a broad range of issues, Each guest should be given equal time to present his or her view on the issues discussed, The guests are not asked to agree or disagree with specific positions or platforms of the sponsoring organizations, The moderator should stay neutral and not imply approval or disapproval of the guests or their statements. Here are more tips on keeping your event nonpartisan from the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network: Invitations: Invite all viable candidates running for a specific office to your forum and make an equal effort to encourage each of them to attend. Confirm with Candidates: If it is a two-candidate race and only one initially agrees to attend, you should not go forward with planning your event if they are the only guests. In a multi-candidate race, you need at least two to confirm. If it is a two-candidate race, and one cancels with very little notice (after having confirmed their attendance in writing) or worse doesn t show up, you may go forward with the event as planned. In the unlikely case that this happens, it is important to announce that moving forward with the event does not qualify as an endorsement of the attending candidate by your food council. 35

7 Questions: Depending on the format of your event, you may want to have one or more food council members in charge of reviewing audience questions before handing them to the moderator. The moderator should avoid asking any leading questions that point to a desired answer from your guests (See page 13 for more information on crafting questions). Organizing Your Event This section will walk you through the process of planning and organizing your candidates forum or meet and greet event. Based on research and our own expertise and experience, we advise that food councils take the following sixteen steps to host a successful candidates forum or meet and greet event: 1. Form a Committee 2. Select a Format 3. Create Ground Rules 4. Plan to Track Success and Evaluate 5. Identify Partners 6. Initial Logistics 7. Develop a Budget 8. Prepare the Questions 9. Invite All Guests 10. Contact the Media / Save the Date 11. Recruit Volunteers 12. Follow Up With Guests 13. Final Logistics 14. Promote 15. Final Event Checklist 16. Day of the Event 1. Form a Committee Timeframe: three or four months before the event. The first thing that you need to do is bring together an Event Planning Committee from your food council to plan and organize the event. Each person has an important role to play in this committee and there are many tasks to be accomplished. 36 Suggested volunteer roles for your Event Planning Committee (roles with specific tasks are outlined in Appendix B on page 30):

8 Administration- keeps group on schedule, sends meeting reminders, manages the budget Partnerships - work to bring in partners and co-sponsoring organizations Logistics - identify space and materials, coordinates with the location hosts Guests- invites moderator, candidates and elected officials, stays engaged with them until the event, preps them for the event, coordinates question development Media & Promotion - gets people to show up, contacts media outlets, takes photos at the event, sends follow-up after the event Volunteer Support - recruits additional volunteers and supports them during the planning process and the day of the event The first task of your committee is to set a meeting schedule. The Administration Volunteer should identify potential planning meeting dates and locations that work for the majority of the other committee members. Try to find a way for members to meet by phone if everyone meeting in person is not possible. The Administration Volunteer is responsible for sending out meeting reminders and keeping the group communicating regularly by , phone and in person during the planning stage. 2. Select a Format Timeframe: three or four months before the event. Next, you need to decide the format of your event. Format is one of the most important things to consider when planning this type of event. It is essential to select the option that best meets your community s needs and your food council s capacity. Having an identified format for your event is also a good way to begin conversations with potential event co-sponsors. Moderated Question and Answer: A moderator asks the guests questions that are not given to the guests before the event. Guests may answer the same questions or may be asked different questions, as long as each is given equal time to answer. Follow - Up Question and Answer: This is the same format as Question and Answer, however follow-up questions are permitted. Town Hall Forum: Members of the audience ask all of the questions. Members of your food council should screen questions to avoid partisan questions and to facilitate stimulating dialogue. Hearings: Focus the event on issues important to your food council. Have experts present concerns and suggested solutions for each of your issues. After the experts presentations, the moderator and/or experts ask the guests to respond with specific proposals to answer the 37

9 concerns presented. Guests are typically allowed to make a closing statement after all proposals are heard. Prepared and Spontaneous Debate: Guests are given questions before the event and the moderator asks a selection of the questions. The moderator, other guests and/or the audience can then ask additional questions. Discourse Debate: The moderator asks a question and the guests discuss the issue. A confidant moderator is important to help control guests who may try to dominate the conversation. Adding On Informal Q&A: An informal question & answer session at the end of the event can work with any of the above formats. Informal Meet and Greet Event: Invite elected officials and candidates for elected office in your community. Give a welcome to set the stage and tell the audience the goal of the event. Each guest can then be given an equal amount of time to introduce him or herself (optional). Then attendees are encouraged to engage entirely in informal Q&A with guests. Providing tables or spaces to interact around certain themes might help to encourage discussion. This type of event can be done as an event over coffee or food, but if you are providing food or beverages for your attendees, it is important to be aware of local political contribution laws if your food council is a 501(c)(3) organization. Create Your Own: As long as you follow the guidelines of nonpartisanship, you do not have to follow any of these specific formats. One creative example of an event with candidates and elected officials from the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network is a Karaoke with the Candidates, which took place at a bar. Each candidate sang a song, followed by 3 5 minutes of addressing the audience. Be as creative as you can to increase attendance and dialogue. 3. Create Ground Rules Timeframe: three or four months before the event. Identifying some ground rules will help your guests and attendees to know what to expect at the event. The Administration Volunteer should draft some ground rules and then send them out to the whole committee for input and feedback. Below are some tips on ground rules from the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network: Equal Time: In a candidates forum it is very important to give each of your guests equal response time to all questions. It is also important (in any of the formats listed above) to 38

10 give guests equal time if they are given time to make any types of introduction or closing statements. Partisan Materials and Attire: You may want to ask audience members to leave their partisan materials at home. This means no partisan buttons or signs in the event space. Audience: Ask the audience to respectfully refrain from excessive excitement for or against a particular candidate. Literature: Provide nonpartisan voter guides, voter registration and get-out-the-vote materials for your audience. You can go to your local Board of Elections websites for the voter guides and to Democracy NC s website ( for get-out-the-vote materials. It is important to have a separate table outside the room of the event for candidates to place their campaign literature. It is also important that all candidates are made aware before the event that they are allowed to leave materials. 4. Plan to Track Success and Evaluate Timeframe: three or four months before the event. Tracking the success of your event is important to show the impact on your community and an on your food council. Tracking different metrics around your event will you to plan for future events and will can be helpful with grant applications. Attendee and guest evaluations will also help you to improve future event planning processes. The Administration Volunteer should craft metrics to track and run them by the whole committee for input and feedback. Creating a Google Sheet to track metrics is an easy way for all volunteers to enter in different measures of success during the planning process and at the end of the event. The volunteer should also create an evaluation form (template in Appendix A on page 27) for attendees and guests to fill out on the day of the event. Here are some suggestions on metrics to track to measure event success: number of volunteers involved with the event, number of new volunteers involved with the event, number of new media contacts made, media coverage before and after the event, number of partner / co-sponsoring organizations, in-kind or fiscal donations, number of event attendees, number of new relationships made with guests, number of new food council members, number of meetings with decision makers that resulted from hosting the event. 39

11 5. Identify Partners Timeframe: three or four months before the event. Work together as a committee to identify potential organizational partners for collaboration on your event. A strong coalition of sponsors will help to encourage guests to attend and will strengthen community participation. Also, co-sponsoring organizations and groups can help achieve nonpartisanship by ensuring that the forum covers a range of issues. Co-sponsors are not necessary but are helpful by providing support with promotion, logistics, volunteers, name-power, constituents, and more. Identify a Partnerships Volunteer to follow-up with each potential partner about possible collaboration. Remember to be flexible with your partners and be open to adjusting the format of the event to best fit the needs all collaborators. Use the template provided in Appendix A on page 23 to create a Partnership Agreement Form. This can be made into a Google Form and sent to potential co-sponsors and partners. This volunteer should be the main point of contact between your council and any partners during the event planning process. 6. Initial Logistics Timeframe: three or four months before the event. Date and Time: Ideally, your event should be held during the middle of the week and in the early evening to allow time for attendees to arrive after work/daytime commitments. It might be difficult to find a date and time that will work for multiple guests and your council members to attend, so be sure to think about other community events that might be happening on that date. If you are hosting an event with County Commissioners, it might be a good idea to call the Clerk of Commissioners to check on any other event that might pull your guests away from your event. Location: Try to host the event in a central location near public transportation access. Remember to choose a neutral site that is not associated with any party, candidate or overly partisan issue. Make accommodations for childcare and make sure your location is disability accessible. As a committee, identify potential locations that would be a good space for your event. Food: Also, as a committee, decide whether or not you will be providing food and/or beverages at the event. Identify the potential budget that can be specifically spent on food or beverages. Food councils are encouraged to source any food or beverages from locally owned businesses that are purchasing food from local and regional farmers and producers. The Logistics Volunteer will also follow up with these options to bring back to the group for a final decision. This volunteer should also maintain contact with food and beverage providers during the planning period. 40

12 Event Services: As a committee, decide if you are going to provide childcare and/or translation services for your event. Think about any potential budget that you have to cover these services and about potential in-kind donations or volunteers that could be accessed from within your food council or through other community partners. Then, identify a Logistics Volunteer to follow up with these all of these options to gather information on each of these logistical issues. The volunteer should identify all options available and bring them back to the committee for final approval. This volunteer should also maintain contact with the event space and any potential services throughout the event planning period. 7. Develop a Budget Timeframe: three or four months before the event. Next, determine what budget your food council might need for this event. It is entirely possible to pull of an event with a budget of $0 do not think that you cannot host a successful event if you have a limited budget. But, potential costs to keep in mind include: event space rental, printing, promotion, translation services, childcare, and food/beverages. As a committee, think of possible ways to raise funds or solicit in-kind donations for event costs. The Administration Volunteer will take on the responsibility for managing any budget for the event, for following up on potential fiscal or in-kind donations opportunities and for coordinating with the other committee members around potential co-sponsorship / in-kind donation opportunities. 8. Invite All Guests Timeframe: three months before the event. Work together as a committee to decide which public offices you will be inviting candidates and officials from to participate in your event. Will you be inviting only local offices (School Board, County Commission, Mayor, etc.), or state offices (State Representatives and Senators, Governor, etc.), or maybe some federal Congress people? You can also do a mix of all different types of offices and candidates to bring many different levels of government together. Identify a Guests Volunteer who will take on the role of coordinating guest invitations. First, send an invitation letter to each potential guest (template in Appendix A on page 24). Then, call their offices and let them know that the letter is coming. Make additional phone calls after the letters have arrived to encourage responses. Once invitees have confirmed, the volunteer should maintain contact with them and their aides to keep them engaged with the event. This will help to ensure they are comfortable with the format and will participate as planned. 41

13 As a committee (depending on the format of your event), identify a potential moderator who is well respected and viewed by the public as politically neutral and nonpartisan. The objectivity of your moderator will be very important to guests, the media and any potential co-cosponsors. A journalist can be a good moderator because of their objectivity. Ideally, they should be someone who lives outside of the voting district. As a group, also identify a backup moderator. The Guests Volunteer will also invite the moderator, confirm their attendance and prepare the moderator by reviewing the process and format with them and giving them questions in advance, depending on the format. 8. Contact the Media / Save the Date Timeframe: two or three months before the event. As a committee, discuss an overall strategy for getting people to your event. Make a list together of media sources, with contacts, where you would like to promote and/or cover the event (newspaper, radio, television, etc.). Designate a Media & Promotions Volunteer who will contact these media contacts, as well as centrally coordinate all efforts to build attendance. This is a good role for a food council member with communications experience. The first job of the Media and Promotions Volunteer is to develop an event flyer. The flyer should be visually appealing, concise and include the following information: 1. Event Name 2. Event Type 3. Event Point of Contact 4. Event Description 5. Event Sponsors 6. Event Guests (if confirmed) 42 This volunteer should then send all media contacts an and hard copy of a press release, (template on page 25) which should include date, time, place of the forum, co-sponsoring organizations and the flyer. This Media and Promotions Volunteer will also follow up with media regularly. Also send a Save-the-Date announcement (template in Appendix A on page 26) with the flyer to all of your network contacts. Advertise on your food council s website, lists and social media.

14 Create a hashtag for your event (template in Appendix A on page 26). Be creative! If you have cosponsors for the event, each organization should target their own constituents and members by sending out an announcement. Everyone on the committee should also ask other community leaders to promote the Save-the-Date to their networks. 9. Recruit Volunteers Timeframe: two or three months before the event As a committee, make a list of additional volunteer roles that might need to be filled for both publicizing the forum and on the day of the event. There are many roles for volunteers from your food council and your co-sponsors. For example: hanging up flyers, translation for promotional materials and for the day of the event, childcare, set-up and break down, signing-in attendees, managing parking, etc.. Then, brainstorm whom in your council, or your extended network, has the skills and potential interest in filling these roles. Make a list of potential volunteers. One very important volunteer role is to give the welcome for the event and closing out the event. Ideally, the welcome and exit will be done by food council leaders who can set the stage for the event and direct attendees and guests towards follow up actions at the end of the event. Then, designate a Volunteer Support Volunteer to and the potential volunteers to request their assistance. This Volunteer Support Volunteer should be the main point of contact for all of the additional volunteers and should support them in fulfilling their roles on the day of the event. 10. Prepare The Questions Timeframe: two months before the event. Depending on the format of your event, it is important that an independent and nonpartisan individual or panel prepare the questions for your guests. No matter the format of your event, all guests should be aware that the focus of the event will be on issues related to health, food and agriculture. Candidates should not be asked whether they agree or disagree with the positions, agendas, platforms, or statements of the food councils or any other co-sponsoring organizations. As a committee, decide if a nonpartisan individual or a panel who will be asked to come up with the questions. Brainstorm on potential people to fill these roles. The Administration Volunteer should follow up with the group s suggestions to confirm who will create the questions for the event. 43

15 11. Follow Up With Guests Timeframe: one month before the event The Guests Volunteer should confirm the attendance of all candidates and elected officials. If you ve not heard back from a guest, contact them again. Let them know which other guests have confirmed. You generally should have at least two candidates from a specific race, unless the candidate attending your forum is running unopposed. Request brief bios from guests to use when introducing them at the forum. Notify guests about the format of the event, the schedule, and other arrangements (parking, arrival time, literature table, opportunity for one-on-one contact with voters, etc.). 13. Final Logistics Timeframe: one month before the event. As a committee, come together to finalize these few last steps: 1. Craft the final event agenda 2. Discuss final plans for event set up, flow and clean up 3. Discuss final plans for food 4. List all materials and supplies you will need (parking signs, restroom signs, sign-in sheets, nametags, pens, clipboards, easels, etc.) 5. Make sure that you have your introductions and/or bios for the opening of the event. 14. Promote Timeframe: one month before the event. Good attendance is critical for these types of events. The Media and Promotions Volunteer should follow up with the media contacts and keep them updated with any new event information, including which guests have committed to attend. Ask the media contacts to promote the event in community events calendars or with a public service announcement. Provide media contacts with promotional materials about your event, your food council and any co-sponsoring organizations. Provide food council members with these same materials and ask them to distribute the information at other community meetings with an ask for people to attend your event. 15. Final Event Checklist Timeframe: one month before the event. Administration Volunteer Check-in on the event budget and make sure that any vendors have been paid Continue to keep the group on schedule 44

16 Partnerships Volunteer Check back in with partners and co-sponsors and coordinate any needs with the other members of your committee Logistics Volunteer Reconfirm site arrangements. Make sure that your reserved site has all of the accommodations you need including set-up instructions for the room, tables, microphones, etc. Print evaluations and all other printed materials. Gather all needed supplies for the day of the event Guests Volunteer Get a written confirmation ( is fine) from each participating guest. This will allow you to go forward with the event even if a guest cancels at the last minute. Reconfirm moderator Media and Promotion Volunteer Send another press release (template in Appendix A on page 25) to all media contacts. If possible, provide media packets to media contacts that include information on your organization, co-sponsoring organizations and guest information. Write an op-ed piece on the importance of informed voting and promote your event as an opportunity for the public to learn more about their elected officials and candidates for public office. This also might include issues your food council hopes will be covered at the event. Be sure to restate that the event is nonpartisan. Ideally, the leader of your food council should write this in coordination with this volunteer. Volunteer Support Volunteer Reconfirm volunteers. Remind volunteers of their duties and reconfirm their attendance. Depending on the format, you may need to identify a timekeeper for the event. This should be a volunteer from your council who will prioritize keeping the event on schedule. Provide the timekeeper with color-coded cards: green card = start, yellow card = 30 seconds remain, red card = stop. Have plenty of volunteers to collect audience questions before the event if your format has a Q&A section. Identify an event photographer/videographer 45

17 16. Day of the Event Logistics Volunteer Set-up a table outside the forum area for guests to distribute materials and for cosponsoring organizations materials. Set up a table on the inside of the forum area to distribute general voting guides or registering to vote information from nonpartisan sources. Set-up a head table where candidates will speak from during the forum. Include nameplates, a table skirt and microphone(s). Check that microphones and speakers work. Post signs in the building with arrows directing attendees to the event and the restrooms Provide sign-in sheets and all other supplies to appropriate volunteers Guests Volunteer Greet guests and provide nametags if they do not already have one Ensure that guests have water and anything else that they requested on stage Ensure that the moderator and/or welcome volunteer has guest bios for introductions Volunteer Support Volunteer Delegate responsibilities to additional volunteers Support volunteers in their roles Notes for The Welcome / Moderator Review the ground rules for the forum. Remind the audience of the nonpartisan nature of the event, including that no cheering/shouting will be allowed. Following Your Event The best time to start thinking about what s happening following your event is when you first start planning your event. Hopefully this can be a spring-board to get more done down the road because your council will have better relationships with community groups, more access to decision-makers, more members of the public who know about you and your mission, and new members and volunteers. 46 Here are a few questions to think about: What are your long-term goals in the community and who are the people you need involved to accomplish those? How can you follow-up with those people right away?

18 47 What is the next thing on your calendar after this event? Can you go ahead and get invites ready to share at your candidates forum or meet and greet event? How can you promote this event to people that didn t attend? A one-page write-up a video or photos can do a lot? What would make your council stronger? How can you use this event to reach out to the people that can help you do that? 1. Immediate Next Steps Timeframe: Take the following actions within a week after your event Volunteer Role: Partnerships Send your partners and co-sponsors thank you letters (templates in Appendix A on pages 28 and 29). Volunteer Role: Media and Promotion Contact attendees from sign-up sheets within the next two days (while the event is fresh in their minds) to ask them about doing something else with your group Use your website and social media to recap the event Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op Ed piece about the event and send to your media contacts Thank your media contacts for promotion / covering the event Volunteer Role: Guests Send your guests and moderator thank you letters (template in Appendix A on page 28) shortly after the event and include any anecdotes from the audience. Also thank anyone who helped to make questions for the events. Volunteer Role: Volunteer: Send all of your volunteers thank you notes (template in Appendix A on page 29). 2. Continue to Engage Timeframe: Ongoing Your council should build on the success of your event by continuing to stay engaged with the candidates and elected officials who attended your event. Occasionally update your guests on issues relevant to your food council. Take care to thoroughly inform them on how your community will be affected by specific issues or topics. Keep decision makers engaged with your issues by sending them stories with pictures. It will be even better if those stories are from their constituents.

19 Send annual reports from your council. 3. Increase Your Capacity: Timeframe: Ongoing Your council can also continue to hold spaces for advocacy and engagement around policy. Develop a standing policy action committee. This committee could be responsible for drafting/crafting local ordinances, or legislative ideas or resolutions that can be adopted by their elected officials. Connect with other local, regional and statewide groups who are working in these issues. Develop or strengthen your outreach and engagement efforts by going through a community mapping process to identify additional resources and potential partners. 48

20 References A Nonprofit s Guide to Hosting a Candidate Forum, Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network, accessed July Hosting Candidate Debates Bolder Advocacy, accessed July How to Get An Elected Official to Attend Your Event, National Council on Again, accessed July How to Organize a Town Hall Meeting: A Planning Guide, Faces and Voices of Recovery, accessed July

21 Appendix A Thank you for your interest in co-sponsorship! Sample Co-Sponsorship Agreement Form will be hosting an event with elected officials and candidates on! and are sponsoring this event. They are supporting with. We encourage your organization to join the effort to get elected officials and candidates for public office talking about farm and food policy; please join and as co-sponsors of our event! Please confirm your interest below. will be hosting an event with elected officials and candidates for public office on. The event will be non-partisan and will not involve electioneering. The food council will invite all candidates for selected offices to the event. Every candidate and/or elected official will be given equal time to speak. Are you willing to cosponsor with the understanding that food council will do its best to ensure that these events are non partisan and to prevent any electioneering? * Yes No Your Organization What is your organization's name? Please provide the name you would like on materials promoting this event. What's the name of the person at your organization we should contact if we have questions about your involvement with the event(s)? What is that person's phone number? What is that person's address? Is your organization a... o 501(c)(3) non profit o 501(c)(4) social welfare organization o Church or religious organization o For profit business o Other: Co-Sponsorship Options Co-sponsors must help ensure a successful event. How will you contribute? You can (if you have capacity, we'd appreciate it if you would) choose multiple options. 50

22 o o o o o o o o o o o Send a "Save the Date" to your networks in mid-late September about the event(s). Follow up with a reminder in mid-october. Post a "Save the Date" to your social media accounts in mid-late September about the event(s). Follow up with another post in mid-october. Recruit volunteers from your network to support the event(s). Staff or volunteers from your organization will attend the event(s). Communicate with elected officials and candidates you know to encourage them to attend the event. Provide financial support to cover costs associated with site rental, food and event promotion. Provide food for the event(s). Translate promotional materials for the event(s) (Spanish or other language). Provide interpretation (ASL, Spanish, or other language) at the event(s). Provide or help connect host organization with child care services during the event(s) Other: The benefits to your organization are listed below. Which benefits would you like to receive? Chose as many as you'd like. o Your logo included in a list of cosponsors on materials promoting the event(s). o Your business or group listed as a co-sponsor in press releases and other public outreach about the event(s). o Submit a food or farm policy question! Food council members may choose to use your question at the event(s), or distribute the list of questions to event attendees as a tool for engagement at the events, or send the questions to candidates and public officials after the event. o Inclusion on a list of all co-sponsors provided to invited candidates, elected officials, and media. o Acknowledgement of your group at the event itself during introductory, and on printed materials. o Continuing input into food council's work after this event. Thank you! Thank you for supporting these events! We look forward to working with you. You will be contacted soon to confirm details and to discuss deadlines. If you have immediate questions, please contact at. 51 Sample Guest Invitation Below is a sample letter a member company can use when inviting guests to participate in a forum or meet and greet. It can easily be adapted for different levels of elected office. [Date] [Address] [Appropriate opening title depending on office of elected official] :

23 On behalf of [food council name], I would like to extend an open invitation to you to participate in a nonpartisan [candidates forum or meet and greet] with our food council members and the general public. As we work to connect people across our community around community food system issues, we encourage all members of [the City Council, the County Commission, Congress, etc.] to visit with our members and interested citizens for the opportunity to see and understand the importance of food, health and farming in our community. [Overview your food council in two or three sentences you can your mission/vision and describe how long you've existed]. This event is an opportunity for you to speak candidly with our members. We expect the entire event to take no more than minutes. Let me suggest the following dates: [Insert Day, Month, Date suggested time frame] [Insert Day, Month, Date suggested time frame] [Insert Day, Month, Date suggested time frame]. We sincerely hope you will accept our invitation to participate. Please let me know at your earliest convenience if one of these dates will work with your schedule. If not, please feel free to suggest alternative dates. Our members would truly appreciate the opportunity to have you see their hard work firsthand. Please feel free to contact me at [phone number] or [ ] if I can provide any further information or to RSVP. Sincerely, [Name] [Title] Sample Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: [Name of Event - ex. Public Candidate Forum ] set for [Date] at [Time] at [Location] Food Council is pleased to announce they will be hosting a [type of event - ex. public candidate forum ] on [Date] at [Time] at [Location]. The purpose of this event is to introduce the public to [guests, ex. elected officials candidates running for public office ] in the [month - ex. November] election. The event will be nonpartisan and the goal is for the public to hear the positions of each candidate on issues related to food, health and agriculture. [Info on guests invited, guests attending, and/or on public offices that are up for election] [Info on format of the event] For more information, please contact at. 52

24 Everyone is welcome! Please mark your calendars now and don t miss this opportunity to meet and ask questions of the [candidates, elected officials, etc]. Sample Save The Date SAVE THE DATE! [Name of Event - ex. Public Candidate Forum ] set for [Date] at [Time] at [Location] Food Council is pleased to announce they will be hosting a [type of event - ex. public candidate forum ] on [Date] at [Time] at [Location]. The purpose of this event is to introduce the public to [guests, ex. elected officials or candidates running for public office ] in the [month - ex. November] election. The event will be nonpartisan and the goal is for the public to hear the positions of each candidate on issues related to food, health and agriculture. [Info on guests invited, guests attending, and/or on public offices that are up for election] [Info on format of the event] For more information, please contact at. Everyone is welcome! Please mark your calendars now and don t miss this opportunity to meet and ask questions of the [candidates, elected officials, etc.). Sample Social Media Messages Share social media messages to share your council s excitement about the upcoming event, and then send a picture while the event is going on. Use social media to publicly thank the candidate or elected official for visiting and engaging with the council. Be sure to cross-post to the guest s own social media feeds so they can respond. Here are a few sample Tweets and Facebook posts: Twitter: Excited to official Twitter handle) council Twitter handle) s forum on community food systems! 53

25 Great to official Twitter handle) council Twitter handle) today! Glad to hear (his/her) enthusiasm for food, health and farming! (attach picture with lawmaker) Facebook: Thank you to (candidate/elected official Name) (Tag his or her official Facebook page) for visiting (food councils) s event in (City Name) today! We had a great discussion with (him/her) about the issues important to our food council, its members, and our community! (Attach picture with lawmaker) Sample Event Evaluation Please rate your overall level of satisfaction with our event. Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied Please rate your overall level of satisfaction with the following aspects of our event. Date Time Location Guests Moderator Food Very Dissatisfied 1 Dissatisfied 2 Neutral 3 Satisfied 4 Very Satisfied 5 What did you like most about this event? What did you like least about this event? How do you think this event could have been improved? Was this the first time you attended one of our events? YES NO How likely are you to attend one of our future events? Not Likely At All Not Likely Neutral Likely Very Likely

26 How likely are you to recommend our events to a friend or colleague? Not Likely At All Not Likely Neutral Likely Very Likely Additional comments or suggestions: [Recipient's Name] [Address line] [State, ZIP Code] Sample Co-Sponsor or Partner Thank You Letter [Subject: Normally bold, summarizes the intention of the letter] -Optional- Dear [Recipient's Name], Thank you for working with us to host the [name of the event - ex. Candidates forum, meet and greet, etc.]. We greatly appreciated the ways that partnering together made this event more meaningful and successful for our community. We look forward to keeping in touch and finding ways that we can all work to improve County s community food system. Sincerely, [Sender s Name] [Sender s Title] [Name of Food Council] [Recipient's Name] [Address line] [State, ZIP Code] 55 Sample Guest Thank You Letter [Subject: Normally bold, summarizes the intention of the letter] -Optional-

27 Dear [Recipient's Name], Thank you for attending our [name of the event - ex. Candidates forum, meet and greet, etc.]. We appreciate you sharing your thoughts and views with our food council members and the broader community. We look forward to keeping in touch and finding ways that we can all work to improve County s community food system. Sincerely, [Sender s Name] [Sender s Title] [Name of Food Council] [Recipient's Name] [Address line] [State, ZIP Code] Sample Volunteer Thank You Letter [Subject: Normally bold, summarizes the intention of the letter] -Optional- Dear [Recipient's Name], Thank you for volunteering at [name of the event - ex. Candidates forum, meet and greet, etc.]. We appreciate the personal time that you took to support the work of our food council. This event was very important to us, so your help was critical. We look forward to keeping in touch and finding ways that we can all work to improve County s community food system. Sincerely, [Sender s Name] [Sender s Title] [Name of Food Council] 56

28 Appendix B Event Planning Committee Roles and Tasks Administration Volunteer 1. Schedule committee meetings 2. Send out meeting reminders and notes 3. Keep group on schedule 4. Draft event ground rules and send them to the whole committee for input and feedback. 5. Draft metrics to track success, collect feedback on those metrics from the other volunteers 6. Finalize plans for event evaluation 7. Manage any budget for the event 8. Look for any potential fiscal or in-kind donations to support the event 9. Make sure that any vendors or service providers are paid Partnerships Volunteer 1. Follow up with potential partners or co-sponsors to bring them on-board for support 2. Obtain agreement detailing what the partner will do and how the council can use its name/log - use Google Form 3. Be the main point of contact with any partners or co-sponsors and coordinate any needs with the other members of your committee 4. Follow up with partners or co-sponsors to thank them after the event 5. Coordinate outreach and publicity efforts between the Media and Promotions Volunteers and any partners or co-sponsors 6. After event: a. Send your partners and co-sponsors thank you notes (template in Appendix A on page 28) Logistics Volunteer 1. Follow up on potential dates and hosts that work for your council members (and guests if possible) and schedule the event location 2. Follow up and confirm with any food or beverages that will be provided at the event 3. Follow up and confirm any event services (translation, childcare, etc.) 4. Be the main point of contact for the event location, food and services throughout planning and the day of the event 5. Reconfirm site arrangements. Make sure that your site has all of the accommodations you need including set-up instructions for the room, tables, microphones, etc. 6. Print evaluations and all other materials. 7. Gather all needed supplies for the day of the event 57

29 58 8. Day of event: a. Set-up a table outside the forum area for guests to distribute materials and for cosponsoring organizations materials. b. Set up a table on the inside of the forum area to distribute general voting guides or registering to vote information from nonpartisan sources. c. Set-up a head table where candidates will speak from during the forum. Include nameplates, a table skirt and microphone(s). d. Check that microphones and speakers work. e. Post signs in the building with arrows directing attendees to the event and the restrooms f. Provide sign-in sheets and all other supplies to appropriate volunteers Guests Volunteer 1. Send an invitation letter to each potential guest (template in Appendix A on page 24). Then, call their offices and let them know that the letter is coming. Make additional phone calls after the letters have arrived to encourage responses 2. Once invitees have confirmed, maintain contact with them and their aides 3. Get a written confirmation ( is fine) from each participating guest. This will allow you to go forward with the event even if a guest cancels at the last minute. 4. Invite and confirm the moderator, re-confirm their attendance 5. Prepare the moderator by reviewing the process and format with them and giving them questions in advance, depending on the format 6. Day of event: a. Greet guests and provide nametags if they do not already have one b. Ensure that guests have water and anything else that they requested on stage c. Ensure that the moderator and/or welcome volunteer has guest bios for introductions 7. After event: a. Send your guests and moderator thank you letters (template in Appendix A on page 28) shortly after the event and include any anecdotes from the audience. Also thank anyone who helped to make questions for the events. Media and Promotions Volunteer 1. Create an event flyer 2. Send media contacts an and hard copy of a press release (template in Appendix A on page 25) with the flyer 3. Stay in contact with media contacts regularly 4. Send a Save-the-Date (template in Appendix A on page 26) announcement with the flyer to all of your network contacts. 5. Advertise the event your food council s website, lists and social media. 6. Create a hashtag for your event (template in Appendix A on page 27). If you have co-sponsors for the event, each organization should target their own constituents and members by sending out an