Organizer Orientation Script

To guide new Campus Connect organizers through the event planning process, ensure they understand expectations, and help them prepare for the next steps.

1. Welcome & Introduction

Hi everyone, thank you for joining today’s orientation call!
I’m [Your Name], and I’ll be walking you through the steps for organizing your WordPress Campus Connect event.

Before we start, could you please take a minute to introduce yourself and share a little about your local WordPress community or institution?

(Pause for introductions)

That’s great — thank you! I’m really excited to learn more about your event plans and help you make this a successful experience for your students and community.

2. Understanding the Organizer’s Plan

Let’s start by talking a bit about your event idea.

• Is your event a single-day event or a series across multiple campuses?
• How many campuses or institutions do you plan to involve?
• What’s your expected number of student participants?
• What kind of format are you thinking of: a hands-on workshop, a seminar, or a talk session?
• Have you started identifying facilitators or speakers yet?
• Do you have any tentative dates or timeline in mind?

(Listen and take notes – this helps you tailor your later explanations.)

3. Discussing the Event Budget

That sounds great! Let’s talk briefly about your estimated budget.

For most Campus Connect events, common expenses are minimal and typically include items such as refreshments, printing, banners, certificates, and small workshop materials. These events are meant to be lean, simple, and sustainable, not on the scale of a WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They’re one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more.. So organizers should avoid unnecessary costs and focus only on essential needs.

• Snacks or refreshments
• Printing and banners
• Certificates
• Swag or small giveaways
• Internet access
• Projector rentals

We’ll show you a sample budget during the call to help you better understand.
Remember to get cost estimates from the vendor for all planned expenses; this helps prepare an accurate budget request.

You’ll have access to $300 from the WordPress Community SupportWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. to cover essential expenses. If you have more expenses, please raise local sponsorship. 

We also need to share about new sponsors and the vetting process, and we can share this link.

Be sure to mention that sponsor booths are not allowed in this event format.

4. Explaining the Event Process

Here’s a quick overview of how the WordPress Campus Connect event process works from start to finish:

1. Organizer Agreement:
   After this orientation call, we’ll send you the official Event Organizer Agreement for your signature.
   
2. Email Address Setup:
   After the agreement is signed, we’ll create an official event email address (if you prefer to have one) for all event-related communication.
   
3. Website Creation:
   We’ll create your event website where you can add details, updates, and resources.
   • This will also include details about Global Sponsors, which you’ll need to acknowledge.
   • If you want to promote your event, you can also create a social media account for event promotion. (it’s optional)
     
4. Budget Review:
   Once your budget is ready, you can submit it for review.
   • We can schedule a budget review call if needed.
   • After approval, you can start using your Global Sponsors’ support funds.
   • Here, we can mention Vendor payments and the reimbursement request process.
   • Creating Sponsor Invoices and how you want to process running money through WPCS
     
5. Venue Confirmation:
   You’ll need to confirm your venue contract (especially if organizing across multiple campuses).
   • Share at least one signed agreement or written confirmation from a partner institution.
     
6. Tracker and Banner Submission:
   • Fill in all event details in the Campus Connect tracker (date, venue, organizers, etc.).
   • Provide an event banner (we can share design templates).
     
7. Official Schedule:
   Once everything is complete, your budget, venue, tracker, and banner, your event will be moved to the official WordPress Campus Connect schedule on https://central.wordcamp.org/ 

5. Resources and Support

We have templates, examples, and guides available to make your planning easier,  including sample budgets, email templates, presentation slides, and feedback forms. For the certificate, you can find the Figma file link here. You can find details on how to email support@wordcamp.org

If you ever need help with logistics, budgeting, sponsorships, or resources, please reach out through the #campusconnect channel in WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/..
There are mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. and contributors there to help at every stage.

6. Wrap-Up

That’s the overview of how to plan and execute your Campus Connect event.
Do you have any questions or concerns before we wrap up?

(Answer their questions and make notes for any follow-up items.)

After this call, I’ll send you:

• The Organizer Agreement
• Sample budget template
• Links to branding resources and assets
• Students Survey
• Organiser Survey
• Next steps checklist

We’re really excited to see your event come to life and to welcome new students into the WordPress community!

Thank you again for taking the initiative to organize a Campus Connect event.

Note: Write all the notes and add them to the event tracker for reference.