Working with APPS
Appalachian Popular Programming Society (APPS) enjoys collaborating with different organizations and departments at App State. APPS operates on a six-month programming timeline. We are always operating one semester ahead and need this time to program with you as well! For example, if you want to do a spring semester event with APPS, contact us early in the fall semester. We are currently working on updating our collaboration guidebook and will have that posted to this page in the coming months.
In the meantime, if you would like to collaborate with APPS contact us at apps@appstate.edu. We will contact you to schedule a meeting to discuss your event details and to create a timeline.
- To be a true collaboration, both APPS and the organization must have a hand in planning, advertising, and execution of the event. APPS does not consider a purely monetary donation or use of Legends to an organization/department as collaboration. Please do not just ask for money or use of Legends. APPS is not a funding source and does not give programming grants to other groups.
- APPS only works with registered student organizations and ASU departments on campus.
- If your organization/department contributes a percentage of the entertainment/advertising expenses, your organization/department will receive that percentage of the revenue from ticket sales, if applicable.
- If your organization/department does not contribute any money to the event, you will still be represented on all publicity for the event, but will not collect any revenue.
- An organization/department may have a maximum of three (3) collaborations a year with APPS. They cannot all be in the same semester.
- If you work with APPS to host a charitable event, different rules apply. Please contact an APPS advisor to discuss the event.
- APPS council must vote on whether or not to do the event.
APPS is more than happy to collaborate with registered religious/spiritual groups on campus on a show. However, the show
may not contain prayers, sermons, collections, etc. that would change it from a performance into a religious service
because student activity fee funds are used. Thus, APPS can co-sponsor religious-themed programming, but not religious
services.
- You need to know exactly what your event proposal is (details are important) and what exactly you want from APPS (marketing, money, staffing, etc.).
- Decide which APPS Council your organization wants to collaborate with. Picking the correct one is important so you and your organization do not waste precious time. Councils are described below, but if you are still not sure about which one to contact, talk to the APPS President or one of the advisors. They can direct you to the council most likely to be interested in collaborating with your group.
- You need to contact APPS anywhere from six (6) to eight (8) weeks or more in advance for a great collaboration to work. Proposals made less than six weeks before the desired date will likely be rejected due to insufficient time to properly plan and advertise the show.
- Preparing a proposal and meeting with the APPS President or the Council Chairperson you wish to collaborate with is always a great first step. This way you can work out details before you propose it to an entire council or the APPS Executive Cabinet.
- Once the council or executive cabinet votes on the collaboration, you will be notified if it passed or not. If passed, you will need to immediately set up a meeting with the APPS Council Chairperson or President as well as both organizations’ advisors to go over and sign an APPS Collaboration Agreement form.
- Before making your publicity make sure the collaboration is confirmed and you have the following information:
- The collaborating APPS council’s name and logo
- Ticket information
- Date
- Location
- Time
- BYOB instructions (For Legends events that permit alcohol)
- Other pertinent details
- When a band/act says they will play for free, it doesn't mean the event is free to put on. There is still stage, sound, lighting, hospitality, travel, event staff, venue, and many other items to pay for besides the artist fee. Please be mindful of this when you and your organization are told an event is free.
- APPS sees event planning as a process and understands ASU’s rules and regulations when it comes to contracting and hosting an event on campus. We want your event to be a success and will work hard to share with you all the important aspects of event planning; thus, helping your organization thrive on campus.
- APPS will always handle the actual contracting of the event. If you have already agreed to terms with a particular act, it is unlikely that APPS will collaborate on that event. Part of the learning experience and authority granted to students that are involved in an APPS Council assures that they have input into decision regarding all acts that they are considering bringing to campus.
Below is a list of the APPS councils and the type of events they are most likely to collaborate on:
- Club Shows: Up-and-coming bands creating a buzz in the state and local bands and comedians.
- Appalachian Heritage: Contra Dances, Banjo, Fiddle, woodworking, canning, quilting, square dances, bluegrass music, old-time music, luthiers, storytellers, Appalachian trail, etc.
- Main Stage: Local, regional, and smaller national bands, club level comedians, dances, and DJs. They may be acts about to hit it big and/or might have just signed a recording contract.
- RISE: DJ dances, spoken word, cultural music, Salsa dances, cultural heritage weeks/events, foreign films, LGBTQ+ events, etc.
- Special Events: Magicians, hypnotists, make and take away items (wax hands, build-a-bear, photos), hypnotists, speakers, comedy, etc. This council does it all. All of these events are free to students. Revenue sharing with Special Events is not an option since their events are free.
- Spirit and Traditions: Events must be based on Appalachian State campus traditions. Examples: Homecoming event collaboration, Founder's Day, Football/Basketball watch parties, etc. All of these events are free to students. Revenue sharing with Spirit and Traditions is not an option since their events are free.
- Brainstorm your idea. Before beginning the co-sponsorship process, please know exactly what you would like the event to look like. Some things to consider are the following: the date of the event, the time of the event, the location of the event, the entertainment of the event, the purpose of the event, resources or funds you need from APPS as well as the resources or funds your organization will provide, and the promotion you would like for the event. Please have a good idea of what you would like before scheduling a meeting with the Vice President of External Affairs (VPEA). If you need help in any of these areas and express concerns with the VPEA, they will help you during your meeting.
- Once you are ready, contact our VP of External Affairs. In order to be considered for the co-sponsorship process, you must reach out 6 to 8 weeks in advance of the event. The Vice President of External Affairs will contact you to schedule a meeting to discuss your event once they have reviewed all of the information. In this meeting, you will be pitching your idea to the Vice President of External Affairs and discussing details regarding the event.
- Propose your event to the APPS Executive Council or to the council with which you will be working. In order to continue the process of co-sponsorships with APPS, the council with which you will be working with must approve of the event as they will be responsible for setting aside the funds and for promoting the event you have proposed. If the council or the executive council approves of the event, you will be notified by the Vice President of External Affairs immediately afterwards.
- Immediately set up a meeting with the APPS Council Chairperson or President as well as both organizations’ advisors to go over and sign an APPS Collaboration Agreement form. This meeting is incredibly important as the Collaboration Agreement form is the contract of the co-sponsorship. The Vice President of External Affairs will email you if you event is approved and will send an email containing the people with which you will need to schedule a meeting. The Vice President of External Affairs will help you in this process, but you must stay on top of things in order to ensure a quick and easy process.
- Touch base with the Vice President of External Affairs and the chairperson of the council. To ensure the success of the event, please stay in contact to make sure the process is moving and the event is developing like it should.