Family Reunions: Checklist of Tasks

If you're planning a family reunion, the Internet has a lot of help to offer by way of free websites and tools to help you organize and plan your reunion, as well as handle the myriad of other tasks like sending invitations, keeping track of finances, booking rooms at a local hotel or resort, etc.

Nearly all family reunions involve all or most of the following tasks --

- Appointing a committee. If your family reunion will be of fairly large size, you'll need to set up a committee to share the work, headed by a Reunion Chairperson. You'll also need to appoint a Site Coordinator to choose and make arrangements for the site where the reunion will be held. And you'll need to arrange for periodic meetings of committee members, either in person, by phone or via the Internet. (A number of good online meeting software services are available - try Go To Meeting, for example.)
- Locating family members
- Developing and maintaining a mailing list
- Setting up a budget and soliciting donations from family members who will attend
- Writing newsletters and mailers (optional)

At the reunion, there will be a number of separate tasks and responsibilities--

- Food/beverages/meals/refreshments
- Schedule and organize events, such as sporting events, tours, etc.
- Music (optional)
- Public address system
- Children's activities
- Adult activities
- Photography
- Registration desk
- Name tags/badges
- Housing arrangements
- Parking arrangements
- Set-up and clean-up

Financial Considerations

One of the trickier tasks you'll face will be setting up and managing a budget. You need to be as careful as possible to include every possible family reunion expense in your budget. Then you need to decide what your sources of income will be.

All family reunions are unique, but here are the most common expense items you'll need to budget for --

- food and beverages
- site rental (hotel, community center, resort, etc., unless you're using a free public space, like a city park); don't forget to add in tips, if using a hotel or resort
- out-of-pocket costs, such as for mailings, finding people, office supplies, phone calls, etc.)
- entertainment, such as hiring a band
- photography or videography
- room or table decorations
- printing of invitations or programs
- name tags
- flowers or wreaths if a memorial service
- honored guest's rooms, meals and transportation
- signs and placards

As for income sources, most reunion committees fund their get-togethers through registration fees, ticket sales for meals and tours, donations, and fund-raisers. Of course, you may incur an added expense if your family members are far-flung and you have to solicit contributions by mail or phone calls.

In any case, you'll definitely want to set up a good record-keeping system for your reunion. You have a variety of choices, such as using simple 4x6 file cards, a 3-ring binder, or a computer program like Excel. For each guest you'll want to keep track of two types of information, personal and financial.

Personal information should include name and address, phone number, services volunteered, special dietary or personal needs, and whatever else you feel is relevant.

Financial information on each guest should make note of dues paid or owed, registration fees paid or owed, donations, etc.

You'll find a complete Reunion Planner as well as financial planning tools at Reunions.com, a completely free megasite focused entirely on family reunion planning.