Planning a Get Online Week 2024 event: Guide and checklist

Planning a digital skills event can be tricky. But, with a few tips in your back pocket, you can create a successful, safe and fun event for your participants this Get Online Week.

Get Online Week is the perfect time to encourage your community to start learning. Whether it’s via smartphone, tablet or laptop, there are many benefits to learning how to access the internet and make their day to day a little easier.

Choosing an event idea

When picking your event idea, consider:

How can you design your event so it sounds fun and welcoming for your community?
Is your event idea something you think your community needs or would like to come to?
What simple steps can you help people take, or what topics would you cover to get community members interested in learning new digital skills?
How will you include some hands on digital skills learning at your event?
Will people be more likely to come if there is food available eg a BBQ or morning tea? Or, will they respond better to an information session?
How can you talk about your event so it is relatable and makes getting online sound simple and useful to your community?

Think about your community and organisation

Think about the people you would like to attend your event, along with your own organisation’s circumstances. Always make decisions with them in mind when planning your event time, date, venue and logistics.

Consider:

Who would you like to come to your event? Is it your existing members, new people or both?
What time and day of the week would your community most likely be able to attend?
Where will you hold your event that works for your community? Do you need to hire a space or can you use what you already have?
Who needs to be involved to organise and run the event? Do you need extra volunteer support or need to get your management team involved?
What equipment or event materials do you need to organise or purchase in advance?
Does your community have accessibility needs to consider when choosing your event venue, activity and time?

Plan your budget

How much will your event cost?

Get several quotes in advance to help you work out what costs will be involved to hold your event. Include printing costs for your event resources and marketing materials, and staff time to organise and attend the event. Think about if these costs are realistic for your organisation and what can be covered by a $1,000 Get Online Week grant (Good Things network partners only).

If you are applying for one of our grants, you will be asked to provide an itemised and costed budget using the template we provide. If you have a grant with us, please make sure you spend the total amount of grant funds awarded.

Consider risks and safety

All event holders are responsible for keeping your participants safe at your events.

Complete a risk assessment for your event and implement any mitigation strategies you may need to keep everyone safe and the event running smoothly.

Some things to look out for include trip hazards from cables, injuries from moving event materials or equipment, ensuring catering is stored and served safely, and the event space is accessible. If your event will be held outdoors, plan what you will do in case of rain or extreme weather. Consider any government health advice or venue requirements in your risk assessment.

Tip: Many organisations already have a risk assessment template that you can use for your event. If not, free event risk assessment templates are available online.

Promote your event

Start promoting your event at least 6 weeks in advance. Spread the word to make sure as many potential attendees in your target audience as possible know about your event before the day.

Some useful strategies to consider are:

Send postal and email invites to your existing members
Telephone your existing members to invite them
Letterbox drop leaflets to houses in the local area
Post information on social media
Put posters up near to the venue and around the areas that your attendees visit (with permission)
Organise an article in the local paper
Be interviewed on your local radio
Ask staff to promote your session to their clients.

You may also like to invite local VIP’s and your organisation’s leadership team or Board to come to your event as special guests.

In any promotional activity, it is good to include:

Event name
Event date and time
Event location
What people will get from attending (boil it down to one or two sentences)
How to RSVP to the event
Contact details for more information (including a phone number)

Promotional resources are available in our free printed event packs and to download from this website.

Tip: Log your event with Good Things so we can direct any new learners in your area to your organisation.

Get feedback about your event

Asking for feedback for event attendees at the end of your event allows you to see how successful it has been and improve how you run your events for the future.

We will provide event holders with a simple survey template online and in print format to provide your attendees. You may wish to add to this with your own questions.

If you have a Get Online Week event grant, asking 10 attendees to fill in our survey is a requirement of your grant.

To help you to collect responses, we suggest incorporating filling in the survey online as a key digital skill at the end of your event or printing copies in advance and having a team member ask people to fill them in before they leave the venue.

Create an event checklist

Think about what you will need to organise in advance and check it off as you go. Here is a sample checklist to get you started:

Grant (Good Things network only)

Applied for a Get Online Week Event grant by 9 August
Invoice for Get Online Week grant submitted and grant contract accepted online
Report submitted to Good Things Foundation (after the event)
Participants registered on my.GoodThings (after the event)

Logistics

Event date and time picked
Event space booked
Public liability insurance checked to make sure it covers events
Digital skills activity planned and event run-sheet developed
Internet connection available in event space
Catering organised
A risk assessment completed, and mitigation strategies implemented
Event materials created and printed
Volunteer/staff support organised and briefed on the event and what they need to do
RSVP list created and being used
Event space set-up and safe for participants in advance (eg day prior if possible).
Safety measures and extreme weather plan in place
Camera organised and photo permission slips printed (if needed)
Ensure your event is accessible and any special needs of your participants are met (see our guide here)
Plan to gain attendee feedback in place
Organise your waste management and recycling

Promotion

Free Get Online Week event pack ordered
Poster, flyer and social media templates downloaded and edited ready to use
Invitations sent
Event details logged with Good Things
Existing members telephoned to invite to event
Event promoted on social media
Posters put up in community spaces (with permission)
VIPs/Management team invited
Media release sent to your local paper
Reminders sent to people who have RSVP’d

Event held 14 - 20 October

Digital skills activity and tip sheet resources printed and ready to use
Acknowledgement of Country ready
Sign-in sheet available at the event
Catering picked-up and ready to serve
Appropriate safety signage and strategies in place in the venue
Internet connection checked and working
Get Online Week social media hashtags, learner survey and URLs prominently displayed
Event safety ground-rules created and read out to participants at the start of the event as a reminder
Have fun supporting people to get online!

Event follow-up

Attendees contacted to book in to further activities
Event success shared in your organisation’s newsletters and on social media (use #GetOnlineWeek)

Keep the conversation going

A Get Online Week event can be a great way to connect new people with your digital skills programs.

If you have collected participants’ contact details, send them a thank you by email or give them a call to say thanks for coming. This is also a great way to keep them engaged with your organisation and programs.

Make a follow-up appointment with attendees so they can carry on their digital skills journey with you after the event. You could even run follow-up sessions in the same venue and time, as you know they can get to it easily.

Tip: Remember to register any new Be Connected learners on my.GoodThings to help you to acquit any Be Connected program grants you may also have.

Share how your event went

Immediately after or during your event, make sure to post photos of your event to social media using the hashtag #GetOnlineWeek and tag us on Twitter or Facebook (with participants permission).

Get Online Week grant holders will be required to submit a short report of their event including:

When, where and for how long your event took place
The number of people that attended
How many of these people signed up to the Be Connected Learning Portal/registered for more support
Photos, quotes and stories
Expenditure (what did you spend the funds on?)

More grants

Capacity building grant

$52,500 to run train the trainer programs for staff or volunteer digital mentors in your organisation, so you can help more people. Applications close 27 September.

Digital Sisters grant

$10,000 to support refugee and migrant women to build their online safety and confidence. Application period has been extended until 9 August 2024.

Building digital Communities grant

$3,000 to connect with your local Bendigo Bank branch and support adults of all ages to gain essential digital skills.

Get Online Week event grant

$1,000 to host digital skills events during Get Online Week, 14-20 October. Applications open 8 July - 9 August 2024.

Building digital skills grant

$3,000 - $20,500 funding so you can run a program to support over 50's to be connected. Applications now open.

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