Organizer’s Manual

Step 1: Identify The 1 st step is to find a place you think would be a good place for a Beers for Books event. Any place that serves beer is fine. Do you go somewhere often? Do you know the owner/manager? Is there somewhere near your office/home? Is there a new place that would value a chance to draw new customers? Is there a place that serves good beer? Don’t worry about how big it is, how popular it is, whether you know the owner, etc. Feel free to pick a place that you like and that you’d enjoy having an event at. If you have lots of friends, you might want to consider size, but this is about you feeling comfortable with the location.

Step 2: Ask Once you’ve identified a place you like, now it is time to ask the owner/manager if they would like to host a Beers for Books event. Don’t worry, all they can say is “yes” or “no”. If they say “yes”, you’re ready to get started. If they say “no”, it is time to go back to Step 1 and identify another place. Some venues won’t feel comfortable with the concept or their price structure won’t support taking 100 yen out of each drink. For best results, go at a time when it is quiet (not during peak hours) and bring along a printed copy of the “Pitch Document” which is a very simple explanation of how B4B works and how they can benefit by supporting an event. Explain to them as best as you can and focus on the positive benefits to them (new customers, community goodwill, happy employees). Don’t pressure them to make an immediate decision—give them time to think about it and leave the material behind. Agree on a time to follow up.

Step 3: Agree Once a bar/restaurant has agreed to host a Beer for Books event, it is important and you “the organizer” and they “the host” are clear on the basic structure of the event. Here are the fundamentals: The host will take 100 yen from each beer (or each drink) sold on a specific evening and donate the money to Room to Read. This amount is for ALL beers/drinks sold that evening in the whole venue, not just the people who are with you. The host will send the money by bank transfer within 7 days of the event to the Room to Read Mitsui-Sumitomo bank account with the message “Beers for Books”. The organizer will make every possible effort to fill the host venue by energetic promotion of the event. The organizer will take responsibility for any money raised via raffle, auction, contest, etc. and also help with coordinating a BookOff pickup.

Step 4: Promote Once a bar/restaurant has agreed to host a Beers for Books night, your job is to get the word out to as many people as possible and encourage them to join you there. Here are some ideas: Tell all your friends/co-workers/family and ask them to invite their friends Post the event on the Beer for Books website Use online social media (Mixi, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) to get the word out Ask the bar/restaurant to tell help promote the event Create posters/flyers and post them at the venue and in the neighborhood Think creatively to target people who would enjoy attending

Step 5: Add Would you like to add some additional ways to raise money for the event? Here are some ideas: Prize raffle—get prize donors and sell raffle tickets. Auction—get prize donors and auction prizes to highest bidder Contest (Darts, Janken, Trivia Quiz, etc.)—have an entry fee for entering the contest and split the money ½ for winner and ½ for Room to Read Tip Jar—Put out a tip jar and encourage attendees to drop in their loose change and paper money if they’d like Live band w/cover charge going to RtR BookOff collection—encourage people to bring in their old books/CDs/DVDs for the BookOff/Room to Read project. Coordinate with bar owner for pick-up the following day.

Step 6: Enjoy The most important thing is that you enjoy the experience of organizing a Beers for Books event. The event is structured so that you can enjoy having a fun party with your friends. Just have a good time! Don’t worry about how much money you raise. Even if just a few people show up and have just one beer, you’ve created a successful event—you’ve raised awareness of Room to Read, even among people who didn’t show up, and you’ve provided some children with new treasures, books. While you’re enjoying the event, please make sure to take some pictures, videos, etc. that you can share with us on the Beers for Books home page.

Step 7: Finish Some bars/restaurants are open early and close very late and you might not be able to be there early or stay until they close. That is fine. There is an element of trust with the owner/manager and the assumption is that if they are cool enough to agree to host an event, they will be unlikely to cheat on the tally for Room to Read. Set the expectations in advance that you may come after the evening starts and leave early so that they will be responsible for counting the number of drinks sold. They should feel that they are an important part of the event and they will want to make it work too. When you leave make sure to thank them for hosting the event. Also remind them that if they enjoyed it and felt it brought positive benefits to their venue, you’d like to do it again sometime (once a year at least). That’s it—fun and simple, right? Kampai!