Sponsor / Host an Event
Bay Area Vegetarians is a local community group. In support of the local community, we host or sponsor events. Vegan Food Parties are our signature event, and as you'll see below, there are many great reasons to host one! As an all volunteer organization, the group is strongly influenced by what activities our volunteers & members choose to host.
There are also many benefits of hosting other types of events for us or having your existing event or activity sponsored by BAVeg. So review the benefits and event guidelines, and let us know if you need any additional information. We also have some tips on how to host an event. We look forward to hearing about your event plans.
Oh! And our philosophy on event hosting: Do what you enjoy! And remember, it doesn't matter how many people show up or how long the event lasts. What matters is that we enjoy ourselves and appreciate the camaraderie of our local veg community with new and old friends.
As a free membership organization, we rely upon our volunteers to host or organize events. Hosting an event for us makes our free membership structure work!
- Your event will be listed as a BAVeg event on our calendar.
- Your event will appear in our monthly BAVeg Newsletter.
- Links to our Events Page are included in every message on the "SFBAVEG" mailing list, and in information to all new members.
- Event hosts are highly recognized and appreciated within the BAV community. In fact, VFP hosts and our monthly hosts receive special status: "VIPs" -- "Veggie Important People" !!
- You get to meet some wonderful wonderful people in the local community.
- Your event will help support folks living a veg lifestyle.
- You'll receive our sincere appreciation
for your contribution in supporting our local veg community!
Guidelines
If you are interested in hosting an event for us, like a Vegan Food Party, restaurant outing, hike, etc., we have a few simple guidelines.
Likewise, if you are already planning an event, and would like to have your event sponsored by us, the same simple guidelines apply:
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Events are advocacy or social type events. Examples of recent events:
- Vegan Food Party
- Restaurant outings
- Letter writing party
- Movie get-together/dinner afterwards
- Hike with bring-your-own-lunch
- Coffee shop get togethers
- Picnics
- Sponsor info booth or activity at fair
- Leafletting or other advocacy activity
- Food at the event is vegan
- Our philosophy is that vegan food is the lowest common denominator, and everyone can eat it. Therefore, when food is served at events, like VFPs or restaurant outings, for the comfort and enjoyment of all guests, our food policy is vegan foods only.
- For Vegan Food Parties, we have a standard set of guidelines. And, we also have the Top Ten reasons to host a VFP!
- If there is a cost involved in the event, it should be only to cover the the event expenses, or be a fundraiser for a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is supporting the veg/AR community.
- As the event host, you are representing Bay Area Vegetarians at this event. In this role, please uphold our commitment , values, and objectives.
- For advocacy events, we support only peaceful, non-violent, and non-confrontational discussion and strategies.
How to Host an Event
Hosting an event is a fun way to meet new and old friends. Here is our philosophy and some practical tips for getting started (these apply to VFPs and restaurant Eat-Outs).
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Host an event that you'll enjoy, whether it's a simple coffee get-together or restaurant outing to something a bit more involved like a Vegan Food Party.
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Pick a date and time that works for you. After all, you're doing all the work! As a FYI, we do have some regularly occuring advocacy and social events. If convenient for you, it'd be nice to avoid having multiple events on the same date in the same city.
- Specify a time to "gather" and a time to "eat". (i.e. gather at 6 pm, eat at 6:30 pm) This lets folks know what to expect, and when they need to arrive for the best food selections.
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Decide if you need RSVPs. If so, set a deadline for RSVPs.
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In picking an event date, decide if you want to try for a large event or a small event. For large events, at least 3-4 weeks notice is needed whereas a small event may need only a week's notice.
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Be sure to check your mail often to look for inquiries or RSVPs.
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Write up a friendly invitation with event details. As many other groups post to our mailing list, be sure to say this is a Bay Area Vegetarians event (that will also insure it gets listed on our Event Calendar). If you need help with the wording, or just want a pair of friendly eyes to review, we're happy to help and share our experience from the hundreds of events we've organized.
- Use evite to make it easier to manage RSVPs for your event and to communicate easily with folks planning to attend (let us know if you need help setting one up)
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Click here to see some sample BAV event announcements
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Post your event to the "SFBAVEG" Mailing list and get ready for some replies!
Vegan Food Parties (VFP)
- You can put your address on the original invite announcement or you may feel more comfortable giving out your address to folks as they RSVP. It's often helpful to provide your tel. # for last minute "I'm lost" messages, but this is optional.
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If you would like to host a VFP, but don't have the extra time to handle RSVP'ing address, we can help, just ask.
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As a host, please provide drinks for guests, and (this is entirely optional) prepare a food dish.
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In your original and any reminder announcements, please be sure to remind folks that VFP guidelines are at http://www.bayareaveg.org/vfpdetails.htm
- We recommend sending out reminder announcements prior to the event by posting again to SFBAVEG.
Restaurant Outings
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Find out in advance if the restaurant requires reservations.
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In your original announcement, please remind folks that if the restaurant serves non-vegan food, attendees may order only vegan food items.
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Asking for RSVPs is helpful so you can make sure the group is seated together.
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On the day of the event, get to the restaurant a bit early, and make sure your table is ready.
- Bring a calculator to help you figure out the bill at the end.
