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Waze Cafe "planning recipe"

Post by TerryPurdue
For anyone who's interested in helping plan a Waze Cafe, here's the steps that others have used to have very successful events.

Overview:
  • Time: planning a Cafe should take about 1-2 hours total, spread out over several days; it's intentionally a very low time commitment
  • Headcount: minimum 10 people (some wiggle room), maximum 15 people (no wiggle room)
  • Budget: tentatively plan on a budget between $400-600 (roughly)
    • Budget covers food, drink (including alcohol), and gratuity
    • Budget will vary depending on cost of living in the city
  • Heads-Up Time: need to have a Champ request approval at least three full calendar weeks before the planned event
  • Reimbursement Timeline: whoever pays the tab needs to be able to cover the charge with cash on hand, otherwise they may be risking three months worth of interest charges
    • Receipt to Waze: can take 1-2 weeks to get mail to Tel Aviv from the US
    • Waze to PayPal: up to 30 business days from when Waze receives the physical receipts in the mail (translates to 6 calendar weeks)
    • PayPal to editor: likely will put a 21 day hold before releasing the money (three more weeks)
    • Total: worst case delay of 11 calendar weeks (nearly three months!)
Steps
  • Alert SM's and ARC/RC that you're considering hosting a Waze Cafe
  • Wait for ARC/RC approval
  • Sign up for a PayPal account if you don't have one
  • Find a city that works well
    • Seems like some states have had the best luck with centrally-located, well-connected cities (such as Wisconsin Dells, WI or Columbus, OH)
  • Take a poll to find a date that would work well for people
    • Many have been pleased with using Doodle
  • Tell ARC/RC that you have a city and date lined up. We will submit a form to request staff approval (note that needs to happen at LEAST three full weeks before event!)
  • While you're waiting for staff approval, find a venue
    • Need a bar/restaurant/etc. with space for a group of 10-15 who will take a reservation for ~4-6 hours
    • Find out if there will be a gratuity built into the ticket due to the size of the group
    • Many restaurants with a party room don't charge for it
      • Private room is not mandatory but often if is helpful due to noise (in middle of a crowded restaurant or bar you can't talk to anyone than the two on either side of you)
  • Once staff approval is given:
    • Buy a Global Forever stamp ($1.15) from the post office. Keep the receipt!
    • Advertise the meetup via forum and hangout posts to the state in question and all surrounding states
      • Make sure expectations for behavior are set clearly
      • People are encouraged to have fun, but they will be representing both the volunteer editors as well as Waze corporate, so they need to act accordingly
    • Make sure ARC/RC have access to the list of people who apply to attend
      • If your headcount goes over 15 people, the ARC/RC will help you work on who is waitlisted
    • Host the event!
      • Keep an eye on your budget
        • Figure out how much you can spend on food/drink and still have enough room in the budget for a nice tip
        • Tell the wait staff you have a hard limit, and ask them to alert you as you cross 50% of the budget for food/drink, and alert again as you approach 90%
      • Have the person with the receipt pay with a credit card and collect itemized receipt showing tip amount
      • You're encouraged to tip the staff generously (20-30% has been approved in previous meetups)
        • A group of 15 people for 4-6 hours is a lot of work for the staff
        • A generous tip will likely improve the restaurant's willingness to host the group again sometime in the future
    • Contact TerryPurdue for link to form to expense report.
    • Submit expense report
      • Include bill from restaurant AND Post Office for the stamp!
    • Mail the original receipts from restaurant and Post Office to Waze in Israel (hence the stamp!)
    • Wait up to nine weeks for reimbursement to reach your checking account
TerryPurdue
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Post by megg2004
2023 Budget Update: $50/editor 
If you are in a region without a Meetup, then you can have 4 Cafes per state per year (one per quarter).
If you are in a region with a Meetup, you are limited to 2 Cafes per state per year.

Questions on the logistics of planning/where to host/etc.?  Reach out to megg2004 on Discord. 
 
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