EVENTS
Welcome to the world of SGSM events!
When it comes time to start planning your event, your Student Government Student Media (SGSM) events team is here to help.
Remember, early planning is the best way to make sure that your event goes the way you envision.
Last minute scrambling leads to missed deadlines and/or approvals which can cause unnecessary hurdles or even result in your event being canceled. Here is some great information you will find useful to start the event planning process. Take a look and let’s plan some events!
Your SGSM Events team:
| Shannon Duran | durans2@uci.edu |
| Lupe Velez Maniquez | lvelezma@uci.edu |
| Jennifer Gonzalez | jenng24@uci.edu |
Stuff to know before you start
Determine the 5 Ws of your Event
- Who – Who is this event for? What is your estimated number of attendees?
- What – What does your event design (layout) look like? What activities or information will be included in this event? How will this layout contribute to the goal/purpose of the event?
- When – Why this date? Are there holidays other events you are trying to correspond with? What is else is going on? Take weather and location into consideration.
- Where – What location and room type will best serve your event purpose/activities/attendees?
- Why – What is the purpose/goal of the event? What would success look like? How does this serve the purpose of your commission and your UCI Community?
If you need information on historical, please reach out to your VP or the SGSM events team
Confirm your budget with your VP or the SGSM Business Office
REMEMBER ALL FUNDS FOR YOUR EVENT MUST BE IN YOUR ASUCI ACCOUNT PRIOR TO THE PLANNING PROCESS.
Consider your event start to finish; what costs will be associated with your event.
- Room cost – room rental, furniture, audio visual and/or lighting costs
- Supplies – decorations, activity items (craft supplies, tables cloths, tools)
- Marketing – such as custom merch or stickers, specialty printing (postcards/adverts/flyers), see Creative for more costs
- Food & Giveaways – snacks, incentives, gift cards
- Other costs – speaker fees, security, parking fees, etc.
Submit your SGSM Event Request Form or SERF for concept approval on the Internal SGSM Room Booking Page
REMEMBER TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BUTTON!
Are you hoping to host in a Student Center space or in an “Other Room” (ie. Cross-Cultural Center or the ARC)? There’s a different button for each form for each booking. Both forms are referred to as The SGSM Event Request Form i.e. SERF.
Click SCES BOOKING to reserving space within the areas overseen by the Student Center. This includes Student Center rooms as well as various classrooms, and Aldrich Park.
Click OTHER ROOM BOOKING to reserve space in non-SCES areas, such as The Alp, Bren Events Center, Alumni Center, Antrepreneur Center, and Cross Cultural Center.
Are you trying to collaborate with another group, commission, or on-campus department or organization? There’s a button for that too!
Click COLLABORATION to submit the details of an event where you are collaborating with another group or department. Event if you are not leading eh event, you will need to submit a form. your collaboration information to track your ASUCI funds.
Submit your SERF with plenty of time to spare. SERFs must move through several reviews and approvals. Once approval is received be sure to take note of all comments in order to adjust your event concept if necessary.
Shortly after you have received SGSM Conceptual Approval, Student Center (SCES) will assign you a planner & the SGSM and SCES Events teams will let you know if a pre-planning meeting is required. Watch out for any emails that may come from the SGSM events team with clarifying questions about your submission prior to a meeting. A MEETING WITH THE SGSM EVENTS TEAM WILL BE REQUIRED if your event is not taking place in a location overseen by the Student Center professionals.
Meet with SGSM and Student Center Event planners as requested/required.
Who will be the point of contact in charge of ALL communications regarding your event?
There can only be one … point of contact, that is! We love to collaborate BUT it’s important that all communication and direction come from one ASUCI/AGS point of contact so nothing gets lost. The best way to keep conversations clean and contained is to have one line of communication.
SCES and SGSM Event planners will only work with ONE ASUCI/AGS VP or Commissioner. VPs and commissioners are welcome at all meetings and can be involved in planning and execution, but communication and meetings will only be directed to and accepted from the main point of contact.
No students outside ASUCI/AGS will be allowed to attend planning meetings. This means no RCOs or collaborating departments may join your planning meetings with SGSM and/or SCES. Interns may join only to listen and only when prior permission is given by your planner.
Connect with the SGSM Creative team and, if needed, SGSM IT department.
Bus ads? Marquee? A-frames? Custom stickers? Flyers?
SGSM Creative Team is here to help you get it all done. Find all the information you need below under the CREATIVE heading. For specific questions please contact Nikki at nikki.w@uci.edu
Campus groups questions? Campus-wide emails ?
IT Department has the answers you need. Feel free to reach out directly to Aaron Echols aechols@uci.edu
KEEP UP THE COMMUNICATION with SCES and SGSM staff, and other members of ASUCI as needed to plan and execute your event.
REMEMBER THIS IS YOUR EVENT! You are responsible for keeping up communication, meeting deadlines, following up on questions, and keeping your planning team and pro-staff updated. If you have a question, ask it. If you have not heard back, reach out. If you have an idea, bring it up to your planner to see if it is feasible and within policy.
You are always welcome to come into the SGSM Events and Creative Suite to speak to your planners directly during normal office business hours.
The Student Center Website is a great resource and offers guides and planning tips to help you plot your event without missing any details.
Try these links to get an idea of what it takes to put together a great event!
For events serving snacks or meals you may need to complete the food handler training and/or obtain a temporary food permit.
Any student handling food must have a Food Handlers Card. Getting your Food Handler’s card takes about 15 mins and lasts for 1 academic year. If you plan on hosting any events where hot food is ordered, it’s worth taking the time to complete this process early in the year so that you can easily present this card as needed.
With the exception of packaged food, any time food is served at an event a Temporary Food Permit will be required. This applies for events held in any location, Student Center or other spaces, per the UC Irving Environmental Health & Safety department.
More information on the requirements for food safety, when and how to submit for a Temporary Food Permit, and Food Handler’s Card can be found on the EH&S Food Safety page HERE.
All events must be approved by SGSM staff through the required forms, processes, and timelines. The majority of events will also require a minimum of 1 planning meeting with the SGSM Events Team. As noted above, your SGSM planner will reach out to let you know if a meeting will be required.
Off campus events are reviewed on a case-by-case basis only and depend heavily on the nature of the event. Some items to keep in mind.
- Off campus events require special approval and will require 3-6 months lead time depending on the event. Please plan accordingly.
- If governing documents state no off-campus events are allowed for funding, those documents must be honored.
- Will a waiver be needed for your event? Off campus events and events needing a waiver require exceptional approval by Risk Management and other entities. This process takes a minimum of 6-8 weeks.
Events requiring a contract will require exceptional approval review and approval from the Risk Management and Procurement departments. As there are legal documents they must be approved by the appropriate campus experts before anything can move forward. Please note this process takes a minimum of 8 weeks.
Timing matters: consider what else may be happening around the same timeframe as your request. Events may be denied if there are other campus events scheduled at the same time and/or day, due to limited availability, resources, and staffing.
All events providing food that is not prepacked and individually wrapped require a temporary food permit. A food handlers’ card is required by all student setting up, picking up, serving or handling food.
Find more information here: https://www.ehs.uci.edu/enviro-health/food-safety/food-safety-permit-process.php
All events serving snacks or food require a sign in sheet. Completed sign in sheets must be delivered in person or emailed to the staff who purchased your items no later than 48 hours after your event. Failure to do this may result in funds being frozen and reimbursements being rejected.
Timelines for event planning range from 1-6 months. Give yourself ample time to plan and make yourself aware of all department lead times BEFORE you submit your request. If you have any questions about this please reach out to the SGSM Events Team.
A purchase request is required for every purchase submitted by a student. This includes, but is not limited to, purchases that a student is requesting of a staff member for event supplies, marketing materials, food, Balloon Lab and Photobooths orders. This also applies to any purchases that will be made as a “self-purchase”. Submit purchase requests here
REMEMBER:
Purchase requests must be submitted following proper lead times. SGSM Event
Specialists receive a large volume of requests and can get backed up. Suggested lead times are the minimum required prep time needed to properly process requests. Feel free to follow up on your request directly with your assigned Specialists for more specific information.
Properly submitted requests makes planning quicker and smoother. It always helps to …
- Properly title your request. We suggest the following format.“Staff purchase – [your office/commission name] – [the name of your event]”
- Include all of the proper details. The body of your PR should include your intentions for these items and how they relate to your event. Your PR form also needs a good description and quantity of the items with links to purchase. Please be clear when purchasing bulk or bundles of items that you clarify your quantities. Don’t make your Specialist chase you for information.For example: “When requesting 12 water bottles. Do you want 12 bottles total or 12 cases of 12?”If you have questions about an item’s appropriateness, feel free to reach out to your SGSM Specialist.
Gift cards must be purchased and handled by SGSM Event Staff. If your request includes gift cards, be sure to list the quantity and amount of each gift card alone with a link to the chosen vendor on your PR.
You can review SGSM gift card policies HERE. But always remember…
- Gift cards MUST BE purchased by pro-staff.
- Gift cards will not be given out to at the event and instead will be picked up after a verification form is completed at the SGSM Reception Desk.
- All names and emails of recipients will need to be emailed to your SGSM assigned planner within 2 days of the event. You can find the appropriate sign-in sheets on this page.
- Gift cards may ONLY be purchased from Amazon, Target, or The Hill.
- Gift cards need to hold a value of at least $25 per card
Purchases made by students, otherwise known as “self purchases” may be a better choice for your event, depending on lead times. If a student if making the purchase the following steps apply:
- Submit your purchase request with all the required details included, as described above to obtain approval for purchase.
- Once you receive emailed approval of your purchase request, review the notes left to you from the approvers. This could be something like “you are approved for 3 of the 5 requested” or ”staff must purchase this item”. If you have questions about the notes, feel free to reach out to pro-staff for clarification. In cases where there are no notes or “approved as is” is included, you may proceed to the next step.
- With a thorough review of your approved PR, you can feel free to purchase according to the guidelines that will be the conditions of your approval.
- After making the purchase, submit a check request in Work Front that includes the proper documentation. Any missing materials may result in not being reimbursed for all or some purchases.
- Required Documents: Original itemized Receipt, piece of marketing material from event and the approved PR.
- If food was purchased, a sign in sheet completed at your event is REQUIRED or you will not be reimbursed. Sign in sheets duplicated from other events will result in not being reimbursed.
Link to more information about check requests: https://studentgov.uci.edu/business-office/check-requests/
Opportunity drawings are the only approved option for giving away gift cards, when the gift card is not associated with a particular activity. Raffles will not be permitted per campus policy. When requesting an opportunity drawing as an element of your event, you will need to explain the specific use and how it makes sense with your event.
Gift cards are the only acceptable prize for an opportunity drawing. No tangible gifts may be given as prizes.
Once your request has been approved to include an opportunity drawing in your event, your assigned SGSM planner can proceed with purchasing the giftcard(s) on your behalf.
All events holding an opportunity drawing require a sign in sheet to be submitted to your assigned SGSM planner.
- Sign in sheets must include to include each attendee’s name, UC Irvine email and Student ID number on a numbered line. The sheet needs to also reflect the event name and event date.
- You are responsible for supplying your event sign in sheet via email, with details corresponding to your approved PR, within 48 hours after your event takes place to your assigned SGSM Event Specialist. This email will be titled: “ Winner Selection – [event Name] [commission name]”
- SGSM Staff will choose a random winner and provide the information to the Student Government receptionist who in return will email the winner to pick up the prize.
- No opportunity drawing winners will receive their prize during the event.
CREATIVE
Let’s start getting CREATIVE! By now, you should have your event booked, and you’re ready to start promoting. We want your event to be as successful as possible, so it’s best to start your creative campaigns as soon as you can. Here you can find answers to commonly asked questions and resources to help you get started. Once you’re ready to start marketing and have your SERF form approved, contact Nikki Wiggins (nikki.w@uci.edu) or Mark Anthony Ramirez (markanr@uci.edu) to set up a meeting
Please review the marketing procedures by selecting “Marketing Guide” on the right. You may view all marketing and creative policies here.
Getting design ideas for your events can be frustrating. Below are some resources to help you get creative!
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Finding a Color Palette • Adobe Color • Coolors • Color Hunt |
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Typefaces & Fonts • Adobe Fonts • Google Fonts |
Promotional items should be purchased from vendors approved by the University. You can view SGSM Purchasing Policies here. (For ASUCI, t-shirts, hats and bags will only be ordered for eligible commissions.) The required quantity for custom merchandise is 175. Quantities and minimums are at the discretion of pro-staff to prevent overordering. Orders will not be placed without an approved Purchase Request.
Frequently Used Vendors
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- Sticker Giant
- Stickers and temporary tattoos
- 4Imprint
- Promotional items and more!
- Next Day Flyers
- Flyers, posters, and prints
- Manhattan Stitching Co.
- Custom apparel & merchandise
- Crestline
- Promotional items and apparel
- Custom Ink
- Merch, promotional items, and more!
- Sticker Giant
NOTE: When printing merchandise, most items are done with screen printing. This means that you are charged per color. Keep your designs for merch down a maximum of 4 or 5 colors and make sure they are high-resolution or vector art
For ASUCI: CMTO requires 3 business days for all social media requests to be posted.
Students may have their own social media accounts. We do not regulate those. However:
- You may not use the any Government/Media/UCI logos without permission. That is copyright infringement.
- You may only repost/share content to your personal accounts from official university-recognized account(s) after it has been posted to the official university-recognized account(s). We do not make content for your personal accounts.
Here’s a look at some designs we’ve made for past events.
Students may request Nikki’s giant Peter plushie on a first come, first serve basis for on-campus events. Please fill out the form below and email to nikki.w@uci.edu. Submission of the form does not guarantee the plushie for your event.
