This is one of the most crucial parts of event planning because it will serve as a reference throughout the process and help to focus your efforts.  When you are setting goals, you are determining what you want to accomplish.

You began goal setting right at the beginning when you were determining the purpose of your event.  Now you’ll be extending on that by setting concrete quantifiable goals. Quantifiable goals are goals that can be measured; in terms of dollars, number of people, number of groups, amount of time, etc.  So for each reason you’re creating this event, add a quantity to it that you aim to reach.  For example, if one purpose was to raise funds to donate to an education project, you should now specify how much money and to which organization.  Alternatively, you may also decide that instead of money, you want to raise books or school supplies.  The more firm your goals are, the better.  They should be simple and clear with no area for dispute.  Your goals should be stated in a way where everyone who reads it will understand it the same way.

Some goals are difficult to quantify, or take a long time for the results to be seen.  Such examples are the goals to “inspire students to make a positive difference in their community”. or “raise awareness about the importance of education”.  If this is the case for a goal you have, try to incorporate it with a goal that can be measured.  Both examples just mentioned can be combined with a goal that concerns the number of people that you’d like to reach.  Now whenever you take action that will contribute to achieving that goal to have 200 people participating, for example, you must also keep in mind that it should also inspire and raise awareness.  This way you can still achieve that goal, but it is built right into a goal that can be measured.

The reason measurable goals are important now is because it gives you a framework to work in.  Every action you take to plan this event should somehow contribute to reaching one or more of your goals.  When things get confusing or overwhelming, always come back to what your group has set out to do.  Your goals will rescue you in times of trouble.

Setting goals will help you gain a better understanding of what you actually want to achieve with your event.  Put a lot of thought into it, and make sure that the goals you have will motivate you all the way through.  Be ambitious and aim high!

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