Last month, we coordinated a successful Candidate Forum sponsored by four civic groups, 25 candidates, and 6 political organizations. The challenge involved a revolving door of changes to the agenda and participants. We needed 30 volunteers to help run the event, cast ballots, serve refreshments, set-up, decorate, and make sure the forum ran smoothly.

To keep the candidates, media, and other organizations informed, we created a free Google website for the event. Initial set-up only took about 10 minutes. To coordinate the many volunteers, we created a Google document that was forwarded to the presidents of each sponsoring group, outlining where help was needed. The link to that document remained the same, however the information was updated daily. All parties involved could keep track of the status as we moved forward.

The event was a great success, with over 400 people in attendance. Afterward, to secure post-event input, we created a survey using the free Google Forms. The results of the balloting as well as the results of the after action survey where sent to all participants.

We learned a lot from the experience and are willing to bring similar success to your upcoming events. The consultation is free.