Pet Pawty and Parade Event Project Audit

As part of the DePaul University team and as a group we decided to host a pet parade event to help our fundraising goal of $1,000 in support for PAWS. The organization allowed us to create a fundraising link to facilitate donations and tracking of these. It also allowed us to reach out to other groups and facilitate a bigger audience. We created a digital flyer that we used to promote the event on socials and personally invite friends and family.

The event was held at Wicker Park Friendly Dog area on Nov 2^nd, 2023. The theme of the event was Dia de Muertos. We organized activities such as trivia with questions related to both Dia de Muertos and overall pet care, costume contest, and raffles. Through sponsorships, we secured goodie bags with trats for the dogs, as well as gift cards for the owners that won any of the activities.

Description of charity selected

The charity we selected was PAWS Chicago.  PAWS is a national organization that supports No Kill animal sheltering. Its purpose is to build No Kill communities, end overpopulation of homeless animals, and transform animal welfare. They do so by providing adoption, donating, volunteer, and fostering opportunities.

Project Success Metrics

The goal of the project was to raise awareness of the initiatives and involvement opportunities that PAWS offers, as well as raise funds to help these efforts. The success of the event was measured by the number of people that attended the event and total amount of donations. We had a total 30 people which was our most likely scenario, and total amount of donations of $796, which was higher than our most likely scenario.

Lessons Learned

Ensure things keep moving, don’t assume things are moving.  If you have not heard from a sponsor or venue within 24 hours, make sure to follow up.  Don’t be afraid to go in person to talk to someone, it is better to invest the time to speak with someone in person than to keep waiting for a response.  Be flexible and adjust as necessary, this is important because things might not always turn out like we planned but being flexible allows for an opportunity to better the situation.

Description of Project

Our final project was a service event in which we helped clean up a public park. We partnered with the Chicago Parks Foundation and attended one of their clean up events at Oz Park on Saturday, October 21^st. The Chicago Parks Foundation was generous enough to provide us with all of the cleanup materials, such as trash bags, garbage grabbers, as well as snacks and water. We invited our friends and family to come join the cause. Those who could not attend were encouraged to donate through the Chicago Park Foundation’s website. We asked them to put “Group 7” in the donation note so that we can track the donations.

Description of Charity

The Chicago Parks Foundation is a nonprofit partner of the Chicago Park District, one of the largest municipal park managers in the nation. The Chicago Park District offers many activities and programs for people of all ages. Their efforts are assisted by the Chicago Parks Foundation, who help raise funds and awareness for various park projects. One of the ongoing projects we participated in is called Pitch in for the Parks, which schedules weekly park cleanups at various Chicago parks throughout the summer and fall.

Factual Analysis of Success

Lessons Learned 

Communication is vital: Scheduling weekly meet ups helped us stabilize our communication and ensure everyone was on the same page. 

It’s good to plan early: Everything went a lot more smoothly when we preplanned. Everyone had time to prepare so there were less hiccups in our project. 

Advice for Future Teams
The earlier you start the better: It’s best to choose the time, date, and place for your event early on so that you can get a head start on other things like advertising. This will help guarantee a successful event. 

Hope for the best but prepare for the worst: Creating solid contingency plans will save you in case external circumstances are not in your favor. 

Seek out organizations that are willing to help: The Chicago Parks Foundation provided us with all of the supplies to clean the park, so we had no expenses. If it wasn’t for them, we would have had to purchase the trash bags and grabbers ourselves.  

1) Brief description of the project 

For our project we collaborated with The SoFo Tap in Andersonville to raise money for the Chicago Canine Rescue. Our event was held on Saturday November 4th from 12-3pm which coincided with SoFo Taps weekly Doggy Days event. SoFo agreed to donate $1 for every drink purchased during the event and we ended up raising $264. To advertise for the event, we shared an informative flyer on the team’s social media and invited friends and family. We brought in about 30 people in addition to the usual Saturday crowd. If people were not able to attend the event, we shared the Chicago Canine Rescue’s donation link along with their Amazon Wishlist. 

2) Brief description of the charity  

The Chicago Canine Rescue is a Chicago based organization that rescues dogs and tries to find them a forever home. They are located near Forest Glen Illinois and offer a variety of resources such as training, low-cost pet care, a pet food pantry, and resources for individuals needing to surrender their dogs. In addition to accepting monetary and physical donations you sign up to take dogs on walks, so they get exercise and a much-needed break from the shelter. You can also join their foster program where you will take a dog home to provide it with a safe environment, training, and love until the shelter can find them a forever home. They also have a section on their page called Dog Park in the Sky where for $100 you can upload a note and photo of your deceased dog to forever honor their memory.  

3) Factual analysis of success in terms of project objectives 

The main objective of this project was to help raise money for the Chicago Canine Rescue. Our principal strategy was to invite friends and family to our fundraising event at the SoFo Tap and be able to raise anywhere from $100-$160. We predicted to have around 50-80 guests attending our event, including their regular customers. Furthermore, our team estimated to raise $100 worst case and $200 best case from outside donations. During our event, we were able to raise $264, which successfully surpassed our goal of raising an estimated amount of $100-$160. Additionally, as a group, we were able to gather around 30 guests, not including their regular customers. In addition to successfully reaching our goal for our fundraising event, we were also able to raise roughly $1,164 from outside donations.  

4) Two or three lessons learned about managing projects 

One lesson we learned about managing projects is that regular and transparent communication is essential to the project. It is important to continually check in with your team and external stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page throughout the project. Another lesson learned about managing projects is to be flexible with change during the project. What you planned initially during the start of the project will change throughout its process. Be prepared to respond to shifting circumstances.  

5) Advice for future teams doing similar projects 

For future teams who are completing a similar project, it is important to ensure your group is in consistent and transparent communication throughout the entire project. This is to ensure that everyone in your group is on the same page and understands each of their roles and responsibilities. It is also important that each team member can be flexible with each other’s schedules and contributes to each portion of the project they are responsible for as well.  

6) Photos related to the project

1) Brief description of the project
Our Project was to collect essential items that the Inspiration Corporation needs to provide to people in the Chicago community who need them. As several members of our team have witnessed homelessness in Chicago or have or have seen friends or family struggle with homelessness and poverty throughout our lives. With the weather turning colder, we want to help provide essential items to those who need them in our community. We collected items from family, friends, colleagues, etc.

2) Brief description of the charity
The Inspiration Corporation is a non-profit organization located in Chicago, Illinois, that provides housing, meals, job training, and other essential social services to enable people in the community who need assistance to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. They offer a broad array of programs designed to help those who need help to exit homelessness and poverty, while also achieving their personal goals. The mission of the Organization is “In an atmosphere of dignity and respect, Inspiration Corporation connects people and creates opportunity through access to social services, job training, housing, and food.”

3) Factual analysis of success in terms of project objectives
Our team goal was to collect 100 items to donate to the Inspiration Corporation. These items could include body wash, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, wash clothes, socks, knitted caps, ski gloves, hand warmers, thermal blankets, etc.
We set the goal at 100 items because we need to collect the designated items in the list, so we plan to target each group member to collect 20 items that will be reasonable and achievable in 2 weeks.

Target Actual Status
Collect Designated Items from organization 100 261 Complete

4) Two or three lessons learned about managing projects
1. Start planning as soon as possible. The one thing you can’t get more of is time when you have a deadline to meet. Get that initial project chosen early and start laying out and assigning goals with specific deadlines to stay on track.
2. Contact the organizations well in advance to account for any delays in response which could further delay the project timeline

5) Advice for future teams doing similar projects
1. Make sure to communicate effectively with your group member
2. Start your project as soon as possible
3. Funding items is easier to convince people to donate but still need well-prepared
4. Follow the project schedule and make sure everything is on time
5. Enjoy your project

6) Photos related to the project. Examples could be event photos, websites, team members, etc.

Group #1: Document 8 – Project Audit 

Brief Description:  

Our team held an in-person fundraising event and online fundraising campaign to support the Wounded Warrior Project.  

The in-person fundraising event was a trivia night at Hawkeye’s Bar & Grille located in Chicago’s Near West Side. The trivia night was held on November 9th, 2023 from 5 pm to 8 pm, with the trivia game starting at 6:30 pm. The event had 8 teams comprising of 32 people who participated in trivia. During the event, we had a cash donation jar that collected $107.  The event generated approximately $800 dollars in sales for Hawkeye’s, which resulted in an $80 profit sharing donation to Wounded Warrior Project from Hawkeye’s. The online fundraising campaign was set up directly on the Wounded Warrior Project website and went live on October 17th, 2023. The online campaign had 23 donations totaling $933. The total funds raised from the event and campaign were $1,120.   

Factual Analysis of Success: 

Our team decided on five measures of success for the project; number of social media impressions, number of trivia night attendees, fundraising goal, project management skills learned, and amount of fun our team had.  

We met three out of the five success measures, for that reason our team has deemed our project a success. The two success measures we did not meet were social media impressions and number of event attendees. Our goal for social media impressions goal was 50 impressions, we only garnered 21 impressions on our posting and sharing of the trivia night’s Facebook event. For trivia night attendees we wanted to have 40 people attend, but only had 32 attend. The three success measures we did meet were our fundraising goal, project management skills learned, and amount of fun our team had. Our fundraising goal was $1,000, which we surpassed by $120. We measured the amount of project management skills learned by a simple rating system. At our first team meeting each team member rated how much they knew about project management on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being very unfamiliar and 10 being very familiar. This same question was then asked at our final team meeting. The team average was 4.2 in the beginning, and at the end it had increased to 6.4. The amount of fun the team had was determined in a similar manner using the simple question of “did you have fun?” It was a unanimous yes response from the team.  

Description of the Charity:  

The Wounded Warrior Project serves veterans who incurred a physical or mental injury or wound during or after service. They improve the lives of our veterans and their families through their programs in mental health, career counseling, and long-term rehabilitative care.  

Lessons Learned: 

• Understand expectations for your event from the perspective of the participants. Trivia is most often free to enter and typically does not require entrants to sign up prior to the event. Implementing a pre-event sign-up sheet will likely just lead to anxiety around the potential turnout and might derail other aspects of the project, falsely identifying low turnout as a priority to fix.​ 
• Risk analysis and management makes the project run much smoother. Taking the time to analyze the risks associated with your project and how to address them made our event much easier. While it’s impossible to be prepared for EVERYTHING, having a safety net of preparation reduces anxiety and pays off in the end. 

Advice for future teams: 

Create a shared calendar for the group to keep track of deadlines, meetings, and time when team members are unavailable! It is also very beneficial to create a group chat as soon as the project kicks off to allow for constant communication and readily available team members. Try a cadence for scheduling recurring meetings, as ad-hoc meetings can be helpful but can be misunderstood for start times and not all members could attend. Most importantly, try to meet with your team members in person before the event, as you can create a sense of trust sooner. 

Photos of the Event: ​ 

1) Brief description of the project

In collaboration with the Vera Bradley Foundation, Group 2 hosted a Cornhole Tournament for fundraising and spreading awareness of Breast Cancer Research. The goal was to have as many attendees join the tournament and earn funds from contestants and raffle tickets.

The tournament was held at The RAY recreation facility, located in DePaul Lincoln Park Campus. We decided on the RAY as our venue for ease of visiting, safety, and affordability. Additionally, being indoors eliminates risks that are out of control, such as bad weather. We were supplied with one of many basketball courts, cornhole boards, and a table for displaying our prizes for the competition.

Once securing our venue, we started promoting our tournament to friends, acquaintances, and family through social media. Attendees had to sign up with another partner for the tournament, while paying a $20 fee that went into our fundraising. Our tournament was able to invite 16 attendees, all divided into teams of 2. Two teams would compete one another in a bracket-style, with the #1 winning team choosing their prizes. Outside the competition, attendees could also participate in a raffle for bags, blankets, and wallets supplied from the Vera Bradley Organization. Between games, contestants could enter their name and purchase raffle tickets for $5.

Additionally, we also made a virtual fundraiser, linked to the Vera Bradley Foundation website. Over the course of 7 weeks, we promoted our fundraiser throughout social media. The fundraiser is another option for people to support our cause, if they are unavailable to attend the cornhole tournament.

2) Brief description of the charity

The Vera Bradley Foundation is a nonprofit organization aimed to support researchers in finding treatments for breast cancer.

Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the organization was founded by Barbara Bradely Baekgaard and Patricia Miller. The two were encouraged to support breast cancer treatment, when a close friend sadly passed away from Breast Cancer. Starting in 1993, Barbara and Patricia would dedicate themselves to funding breast cancer research, effectively establishing the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer by 1998. Since then, the organization has donated $40.1 million dollars in support of researchers finding a cure for the disease.

The organization has collaborated with researchers that are developing and improving therapies for treating all kinds of breast cancer. To raise funds, Vera Bradley hosts a multitude of in-person events. Examples include the  “Turn The Town Pink”, where members tied pink ribbons around town, or “Vera Bradley Classic”, a sports event where 2,500 guests participated in golf or pickleball.

3) Factual analysis of success in terms of project objectives

Goal #1 –  Invite 20 teams with $20 entry fee: $400

Our tournament invited 16 attendees, with a total of 8 teams competing. This earned us a net amount of $160 to our funds.

Goal #2 – Sell 70 raffle tickets at $5 per ticket: $350

We were able to sell a total of 47 raffle tickets, earning us an additional $235.

Goal #3 – Fundraise a total of $2800, with each group member earning $400

Our fundraiser earned us a cumulative total of $1,100.5 from donations.

Summary: From a surface level, we had very high expectations when preparing this project. Initially, when our group consisted of 6 team members, we decided to give ourselves steep goals under the assumption we could get twice as many fundings, compared to a team of 3-4. Furthermore, we mainly relied on our virtual fundraiser for earning donations, making it one of our biggest priorities. Having said that, we would be to amiss to say this project was deemed a failure. What mattered the most was how we planned and executed everything. That included coordinating effectively with our event planner, sharing our fundraiser to as many people as possible, dedicating roles to each group member, and just having fun at the event. Ultimately, we were able to earn a total of $1335.50. And considering how we all enjoyed working together on this project, I would say this was a great success.

4) Two or three lessons learned about managing projects

There are a few lessons after conducting the Vera Bradley fundraiser, it is very important to assign responsibilities to everyone in the group before beginning the process of planning the event. Since our group did not do that initially it caused confusion on assignments and on responsibilities. Another lesson learned is everyone is very busy with their own schedule, communicating with the team and setting aside a day that everyone can meet would be ideal even if it is on the weekend to go over assignments and upcoming responsibilities that are due. However with these issues our team was able to overcome them; We turned in our assignments on time and had a great turnout at our fundraiser.

5) Advice for future teams doing similar projects

Don’t be afraid to give your input. During this 10 week time period, our group was very collaborative when it came to planning, organizing, and executing the event. This took the stress off of one person making decisions and allowed everyone to feel included on the team. We encourage future teams to speak up and stay active during team meetings. This will result in the best possible project!

Be flexible with change and expectations. Change is inevitable when it comes to conducting projects in such a small time frame. We advise to make small goals and achieve them one at a time, but be prepared to pivot when necessary. Change doesn’t always have to be a bad thing! Additionally, in order to be adaptable, it is important to set reasonable expectations. In reality, you can’t do everything, so be sure to focus on your priorities.

Have fun! Schoolwork doesn’t have to be boring. In the beginning of the quarter, have group members share what parts of the project they would be interested in working on. This will maintain a positive team environment and motivate everyone to get deliverables done. Having fun will also improve the overall quality of your project for you, and all of the stakeholders involved.

6) Photos related to the project. Examples could be event photos, website, team members, etc.