Room booking and catering

Room booking

University context

As already mentioned, it is worthwhile to register your CorrelAidX chapter as an university group in order to be able to book rooms yourself at the university. Alternatively, a cooperation with a student council or with academic staff / professors at the university is an opportunity. Each of these groups should be able to book rooms via the university room booking system. Since large seminar rooms / lecture halls can be booked out over months, make sure to inquire about a room at an early stage. A realistic period is about 3 months in advance. Even if the event does not have to be completely planned at the time, you are safe regarding the location and can give other participants / helpers an exact date and place.

Outside university

Of course, if you are not working or studying at a university, cooperation with other associations in the area of Data4Good or IT, the booking of a coworking space or the request for foundations are also good options (see above). If you do not have any existing contacts yourself and do not want to contact groups, you can also ask in the #general channel of our Slack for connections of other CorrelAid members.

Also, after a successful event, remember to select people to be responsible for cleaning up the room unless you have agreed otherwise with the organization that will provide you with the space. A good event ends only when the last visitors have left.

Catering

University context

Likewise, already existing university structures can be helpful organizing the catering. One of the most effective ways to promote an event at an university is continually mentioning free food. These can be pizza as well as pretzels, slices or biscuits. The size and type of food you offer depends on the size and nature of your events as well as your personal preferences.

Further examples from our practice

• Foodsharing University / Local Group

• Order pizza

• Lubricate rolls / bake cake

Outside of university

If you are collaborating with a company or another meetup group, chances are good that they'll be able to provide a sponser for the food / drinks. Another option is to go to sponsors in the area. If, for example, a beverage manufacturer / trader is in the area, it is worthwhile to inquire there. If this is not the case, we can support you as well. See next section.

CorrelAid financial support

CorrelAid likes to support you in financing your meals. We want to make organizing an event as easy as possible for you and to prevent anyone to have further expenses in addition to his or her personal involvement in the event. However, it should be noted that we are a small club with limited resources. Therefore, please plan ahead of schedule with our financial officer (see Contact) to ensure that the expenses can be carried safely by us.