Workshop Guidelines

Workshops at the Coop are cancelled until further notice. We appreciate your understanding. Please check the main page of the website and the Coop’s social media for updates.

About Workshops:

  1. The primary presenter must be a Coop member in good standing, although non-members may accompany them as a co-presenter. Please note that the meeting room is not available to outside groups or organizations to hold meetings or classes or to do fundraising.
  2. No workslot credit is available to members for workshop presentations. Workshops are presented as a voluntary service. (Cooking and food classes, the Prospect Concerts series, Film Night and Wordsprouts are not a part of this program).
  3. Presenters should have credentials in the area about which they are speaking.
  4. Workshop presenters must avoid sales pitches. Workshops should provide information, not sell a product or service. It is acceptable for attendees to ask for your card, buy what you sell, or sign up for a service, as long as the content of the talk is not geared toward sales. The flier and listing should not advertise your business.
  5. No one should be made to feel unwelcome at a workshop due to religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
  6. Workshops can take place on Friday evenings, anytime on Saturday, Sundays at noon or in the evening. An occasional Tuesday evening may be available. The room is not available at other times. A member may schedule no more than two workshops at a time, a minimum of six weeks apart.
  7. The evening start time is 7:30 p.m., but can be as early as 6:45 p.m. if requested. The class must end with ample time for everyone to exit the building by our 10:00 p.m. closing time.
  8. Once your workshop is scheduled, please do not cancel. Cancellation after the workshop is advertised can happen only under the most dire of circumstances. If you fail to come to your workshop, you will not be permitted to schedule another.

Fliers and Publicity:

  1. Workshops are generally scheduled at least eight weeks in advance in order to advertise the workshop in two issues of the Linewaiters’ Gazette.
  2. Presenters must provide the information for the listing in the Gazette and Coop Events flier and for the pdf of the flier that we send to you.
    • Title — short titles are more effective visually. If you feel strongly that that is too limiting, consider a subtitle that is only slightly longer.
    • Text — description of the workshop, maximum of 100 words for the flier, 60 words for the Coop events listing. For examples, please refer to other listings.
    • Bio — a couple of sentences about yourself, including that you are a Coop member. For examples, please refer to other program listings. We will not print advertisements for your business; please do not include your website, etc.
    • Layout/design – do NOT lay out the text.

    If you have an illustration or photo that you would like the flier designer to incorporate, it must be in the form of a jpeg or tiff, NOT an “internet document.” (Graphics available on the web may be jpegs or internet docs, NOT a graphic within a Word document. You cannot tell by appearance but have to get information on each item to know which it is.)
    Once the workshop is scheduled, presenters will be given a deadline by which workshop information must be submitted. The information (without any design layout) should be emailed to the Coop. We will supply the address.

  3. The Coop will produce a pdf of a flier, including the layout and design. Presenters will be provided with a pdf for personal emailing purposes. You are also welcome to print your own from the pdf (the Coop does not print fliers for individual workshops). The Coop will list your event in the Coop Events flier and in the Gazette. Please note that the Coop events flier is placed in the Coop vestibule by Coop staff. If you print your own flier, you may post it on the staircase bulletin board. Please do not post or place your own flier anywhere else within the Coop.
  4. Do not post any fliers illegally, such as on streetlamps or mailboxes, as the Coop could be fined by the city for every individual flier posted. Post fliers only on designated, legal bulletin boards.
  5. All events are open to the public, Coop members and non-members alike. If the number of people present must be restricted because of the nature of the workshop, the presenter may request advance reservations and list their own phone number for this purpose. However, even if reservations are taken, you should not turn away walk-ins if at all possible.

Day of Presentation:

  1. Please arrive 30 minutes before the workshop so that you are there to welcome early arrivals and to make sure the room is open and set up as you need it. If no one is there to attend the workshop when it is scheduled to begin, please wait 30 minutes after the scheduled start time to make sure there are no latecomers.
  2. If the room is locked, and the Membership Office is closed, second floor service desk workers have the key and will let you in. You can also seek out the staff Tech Support person to help you.
  3. If the nature of the presentation precludes others entering the room during the workshop, please state this when scheduling so we can notify others who may expect access to the space. The presenter may also post a sign on the outside of the door asking that non-attendees not enter. Although we can attempt to prevent interruptions, it cannot be guaranteed.
  4. Please let us know in advance if you need chairs arranged in a particular way. Otherwise, the room will be set up as it is for orientation. If you prefer to set up the chairs yourself, please let us know in advance.
  5. If you will be presenting a film or need to use the computer for a Power Point presentation, please let us know when scheduling. Please bring your film or presentation on a disk or drive, as you must use the Coop’s computer. Please seek out the staff Tech Support person to help you set up; leave yourself enough time for this as the Tech Support person may be busy when you arrive.
  6. All presenters are asked to spend a few minutes welcoming people (especially non-members) to the Coop. Coop brochures and event fliers are provided.
  7. Please remember that presenters are representing the Coop to others (and the Coop is “we,” not “they”!).
  8. The Coop does not provide refreshments for these workshops. If you would like to serve anything, please purchase it yourself. Please be sure the room is clean when you leave it.

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