Mentorship Outline

We are currently updating the names of our contributor roles throughout our resources. The new role names are Community Team Event SupporterEvent 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. (formerly MentorEvent 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.), Community Team Program SupporterProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. (formerly DeputyProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook.), and Program ManagerProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule. (formerly Super DeputyProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule.). You can now use the new unified application to apply to become a contributor.

Thanks for taking part in our mentoring program! This is a great way for every 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. organizer to get structured support and guidance. The format we have been using has been to ask groups/pairs to meet every two weeks for 12 weeks to talk over the following points:

Session 1: Recruiting organizing team / Finding a venue / Drawing up a prelim budget

  • building an organizing team
  • identifying what you want in a venue and how to get it for free or cheap
  • budget setup: fixed vs variable expenses, “must haves” vs “nice to haves”
  • event revenue: ticket pricing, multi-event sponsorship, local sponsorship packages, in-kind sponsorship

Session 2: Website setup, design, and management

  • how to use WordCamp.org tools successfully
  • event site design best practices
  • WordCamp website content management

Session 3: Recruiting & selecting speakers/sponsors

  • setting goals for your schedule
  • how to recruit local, diverse speakers.
  • setting the length of sessions and breaks
  • how to make a call for speakers and review applications

Session 4: Registration / Food and parties

  • setting up registration with Camptix (badge design), coupon codes, managing sell-outs
  • planning lunch, coffee, snack for the event
  • planning (speaker and after-) parties/events

Session 5: Recruiting & scheduling volunteers

  • how to make a call for volunteers that attracts reliable people
  • how to set a volunteer schedule
  • tips for wrangling volunteers

Session 6: Designing swag & badges / Day Of: best practices and back-up plans

  • badge design best practices
  • swag design best practices
  • before-event emails to attendees, speakers, sponsors
  • back-up plans

Bonus Session: Week-before WordCamp check-in

  • review backup plans
  • where’s your towel
  • don’t panic

And then talking as often as necessary outside that schedule for ease of mind and all that. Volunteers in the global community teamGlobal Community Team A group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps. will still be available for tricky questions, but we’re hoping to make peer mentoring our first line of awesomeness for WordCamp organizers.

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