BOOK THE EVENT DATE YOU WANT

So, you’re excited about putting together an awesome retreat. When forming your to-do list, make sure one of your earliest actions is checking on available dates at your venue. And don’t get any ol’ date. Think about weekends when you will be able to be focused and present. After all, if you are providing leadership, you will want to stay away from dates that bump up against jam-packed times you already know will be super busy. In these early days of dreaming, consider reaching out to key leaders in your group to see what available dates you have in common. (More about that later.) Nothing zaps planning momentum more than pulling your team together, settling on a date, only to find out that the date you want is taken. Get in touch with your retreat venue early.

When you contact your venue armed with several dates that will work for you and your team, it won’t take long to determine if your prime dates will work out. Also have a number in mind to reflect the size of your group. I know you are thinking you don’t know how many participants you will have, but you can offer an estimate based on other events you’ve planned for your group. But relax. You aren’t expected to guarantee a number this early in the process. At Camp Garner Creek, we don’t expect a firm number until a couple of weeks prior to arrival. Your approximate group size can really be important if your venue is set up to serve multiple groups at the same time. 

Finally, before you call, schedule a zoom meeting with your team to discuss what you learn. Why? Once you have optional dates in hand, you want to facilitate a quick decision on selecting a final date. The information about dates is time sensitive. What’s open now, will likely not be viable in 3 weeks. Make your group decision when your information is freshest. Things move fast in the retreat and camping world, and you don’t want to miss out on your top pick because another group leader moved faster than you did.

TechNote: Scheduling apps like Doodle (free, web-based) is a good way to let your team make its final selection. If your team knows about the task at hand before you call your venue, they will be poised to make a quick decision once you have your info. This improves your chances of snagging your top pick.

Finley Knowles
Camp Garner Creek, Executive Director
GET THE WORD OUT TO YOUR GROUP

Like any event, if you want to maximize participation, get the word out early and often. Once you confirm your retreat dates consider the following steps.

• If your group already has an annual retreat event, announce your date for next year at this year’s retreat.
• If you are serious about an annual event, find a time with your weekend that can be your standing weekend. One of the best retreat traditions I know is the Eastwood Church youth group in Chattanooga, TN. They have their retreat every year the weekend of the Martin Luther King federal holiday. This makes it easy to remember and plan.
• Create a simple poster with minimal information that emphasizes the date. This is not a sales piece. It’s a subliminal reminder that shows up wherever your group gathers. Where does your group congregate? That’s the first place you hang it. Does your group have a social media hang out? Post it there.
• Send “save the date” promos 10 months and 7 months before your event.
• Design promos related to your retreat that can show up in your regular meetings periodically. One idea is to have two or three people who have benefited from a past retreat share a testimonial during your yearlong run up to your event. Another thought is to collect video comments from people at your retreats. Those clips can be very useful in reminding people of the value of retreat.
• If your group is into t-shirts or rubber wrist bands, consider factoring one into your retreat price. You will see those items pop up throughout the year which is good guerilla marketing. 
• Five or six months prior to retreat circulate your first registration form. You don’t have to press it hard, but it begins your count-down to retreat.

Your team is going to put a lot of heart and soul into making a great retreat for your group, so remember from the outset just how important it is to do everything possible for your group to show up.

Finley Knowles
Camp Garner Creek, Executive Director
RETREAT PREP CHECKLIST

So, you’re excited about putting together an awesome retreat. When forming your to-do list, make sure one of your earliest actions is checking on available dates at your venue. And don’t get any ol’ date. Think about weekends when you will be able to be focused and present. After all, if you are providing leadership, you will want to stay away from dates that bump up against jam-packed times you already know will be super busy. In these early days of dreaming, consider reaching out to key leaders in your group to see what available dates you have in common. (More about that later.) Nothing zaps planning momentum more than pulling your team together, settling on a date, only to find out that the date you want is taken. Get in touch with your retreat venue early.



When you contact your venue armed with several dates that will work for you and your team, it won’t take long to determine if your prime dates will work out. Also have a number in mind to reflect the size of your group. I know you are thinking you don’t know how many participants you will have, but you can offer an estimate based on other events you’ve planned for your group. But relax. You aren’t expected to guarantee a number this early in the process. At Camp Garner Creek, we don’t expect a firm number until a couple of weeks prior to arrival. Your approximate group size can really be important if your venue is set up to serve multiple groups at the same time.



Finally, before you call, schedule a zoom meeting with your team to discuss what you learn. Why? Once you have optional dates in hand, you want to facilitate a quick decision on a final date. The information about dates is time sensitive. What’s open now, will likely not be viable in 3 weeks. Make your group decision when your information is freshest. Things move fast in the retreat and camping world, and you don’t want to miss out on your top pick because another group leader moved faster than you did.New Paragraph

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