Planning a student organization event

Your faculty or staff advisor should be in the know of your club activities. They can help you in planning, and thinking through logistics.

To start the process, you will fill out and submit an event form online through True Blue Connects by following these steps:

a) Go to nau.edu/clubs and log in using the blue button at the top.

b) Click on the name of your organization under “My Memberships” on the main page.

c) Click the “Manage Organization” button at the top right of the screen.

d) You will see the name of your organization on the top left with a menu icon (three horizontal bars) next to it. Click the menu icon and then choose “Events” from the left menu, which will pop up.

e) Click the blue button that says “Create Event” on the top right to fill out the form and submit your request.

d) You must be listed on the roster and designated as an officer in order to submit the form—if you are not, you will need to talk with your President to get the roster fixed or contact the Leadership & Engagement team if the President is not up to date. Advisors cannot submit event forms.

e) Once submitted, the Leadership & Engagement team reviews. We will make comments on the event should we have questions, which you will need to respond to. Once we give the event our thumbs up, it goes to the Unions & Activities office for final review. They will work to secure the location, and manage logistics of the event. They also will comment on the request and can’t move forward to approve unless all is responded to.

Note: Sport Clubs and Fraternity & Sorority Life have additional reviewers.

Staff from the Office Unions and Student Activities (UAO) have access to the reservation system for many of the meeting rooms and large event spaces on campus. If they cannot reserve it directly, they typically know who to call and can help facilitate that contact. If you are not sure where you would like to hold your event, they can also provide information about different spaces including capacity and costs.

The Unions and Student Activities Office (UAO) also reserves tabling space inside and outside the Union, DuBois Center, and HLC using the same event request form detailed above. Spaces require at least 10-day advance notice for reservations and large spaces like ballrooms or auditoriums can require two weeks or more.

Northern Arizona University Campus Dining has an exclusive contract for food service on the Flagstaff campus. If you are planning an event where food will be served you must contract with Campus Dining to prepare and provide the food. You can view the catering menu and place your order online. You may want to check out the “No Frills Catering” menu which is designed to be budget friendly. Catering should be ordered at least a week before your event.

If you have a special need or request or there are special circumstances such as food being donated for your event, you should work with Unions and Student Activities staff to request a waiver of the food service requirement. Waivers may be granted if the food to be served is pre-packaged and sealed, if there is no charge to attend the event, and if food will not be sold to participants. Waivers will not be granted if the food to be served is to be prepared at home or needs to maintain a certain temperature.

If you are bringing any guest speakers, musicians, or performers to campus or if you are renting any equipment from an outside vendor, Unions and Student Activities staff will review your event to determine if contracts or insurance will be needed.

You should be prepared to provide the name and contact information for speakers or vendors when you meet with Unions and Student Activities. Staff will then work with the speaker or vendor and our own university risk management staff to meet contract and insurance needs. The contract and insurance process can take at least 30 days so please plan ahead and allow plenty of time for approval.

There are only a few people who have the authority to enter Northern Arizona University into a contract. Student organization officers, members, and/or advisors should not sign any contracts.

Unions and Student Activities staff will talk with you about additional requirements for your specific event. You may need to contact other offices or provide additional paperwork to verify that these have been taken care of. Some examples include:

• If the event involves physical risk or the potential for injury, participants may need to fill out and sign a release form; completed forms are returned to Campus Events Operations and Support after the event.
• Some types of events may need review and approval from the NAU Police Department.
• If you are showing a movie you will need a public performance license.
• Equipment such as tables and chairs can be rented from Facility Services.
• If you plan to sell tickets for the event, you may need to do so through the Central Ticket Office.

An important step in event planning is deciding how your group will cover any costs associated with your event. If you plan to apply for funding from sources such as ASNAU, STAC, or Sodexo make sure to complete those applications well in advance of your event. Unions and Activities may not approve large or expensive events if they cannot verify that your organization has funds available to cover the whole cost. You should not rely on ticket sales to cover the cost of an event since sales can be unpredictable.

Once Unions and Student Activities has received all of the paperwork or documentation related to your event, staff will notify you of the final approval for your event.