Exceler8s II:
First Deliverable

Brian Allison

650-996-8803

Steve Bauer

407-701-3097

Aaron Bornstein

720-641-8381

Sam Houpt

970-618-8406

Joyce Jung

719-231-3246

Sarah Martinez

303-881-4684

Leann Tatelman

303-589-4172

Contents

Project Charter……………………………………………………………………………………...……….….3

Fall Roles & Responsibilities…………………………………………………………………………………..6

Risk Management Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………7

Schedule……………………………………………………………………………………………………….10

Stakeholder Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………..12

Cost/Benefit Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………….....14

Colorado River Plan Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………..16

Exceler8s II Tentative Itinerary..……………………………………………………………...... 21

Work Breakdown Structure…….………………………………………………………………...... 22

Similar Events Research……………………………………………………………………………….………24

Premise, Conflict, Tension, Turning Point and Resolution……………………………………………….…...26

Tentative List of Potential Sponsors and Donations…………………………………………………………..27

Project Charter

Project Purpose:
  • The purpose of this year’s Exceler8s II event will be to bring the community together in support of the Colorado Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River Project. The event will focus on creating awareness of the project over the span of a two and a half day event that will encompass everything from a relaxing and fun experience on the slopes of Winter Park to extreme guided tours through Berthoud Pass.
  • Appreciate and celebrate the life experience of accomplishing achievements not thought possible by extending oneself physically and mentally in a team environment.
  • Create an outlet for participants to develop team building skills.
  • The Winter Park Experience will offer a relaxing and fun environment.
  • The Berthoud Pass Experience will offer achallenging team-building experience.

Prioritized Measurable Objectives:
The mission of the subsequent objectives is to create an effective business model for the Exceler8s event by developing relationships with individual donors as well as corporate sponsors to connect with attractive charities. This will be accomplished through the completion of the following:
Marketing Plan:
Develop and implement a process to explain Excelr8’s purpose and recruit 120 individual participants and multiple corporate sponsors
  • Develop and distribute information packet containing specific details of the event and donation processes to potential participants
  • Develop a logo and other brand assets to create a sustainable identity for the event and increase awareness (t-shirts, banners)
  • Develop marketing strategy to meet corporate sponsors’ goals
  • Press release with corporate sponsor
  • Reach out to local businesses for support
Sales Plan:
  • Set up the individual participant sponsor program
  • Create solid relationships with a minimum of ten corporate sponsors to help fund the event
  • Raise at least $30,000 in donations from individuals and corporate sponsors
  • Drive attendance of no less than 120 people for each day and confirm no less than 75% of attendees by March 10, 2009(?)
Logistics and Operations Plan:
  • Use Webex as main communication tool for managing the project
  • Identify and implement appropriate organization structure and process for collecting and distributing donations (Brian’s 501C3 and website)
  • Develop and plan a schedule for the two and a half day event, creating challenging team building events along with technical instruction from the Winter Park and Berthoud Pass guides
  • Develop a budget as well as a management process for the two and a half day event
  • Clarify personal expenses to the attendees (lodging, rental gear, transportation, food)
  • Organize the participation of the corporate sponsors in the event
  • Secure banquet room and catering services for Exceler8’s dinner on Day 1 and Day 2 and breakfast each day
Technology Plan:
  • Design and develop a simple website for promotion and communication purposes such as information channels, marketing, registration, and tracking donations
  • Update the website for online-donations
  • Utilize WebEx and Telepresence for internal and external communications
  • Review innovative on-mountain technology applications such as video, RFID, and GPS to promote Cisco and involve stakeholders

Project Manager Authority:
In order for this project to be successful, the project manager will need the authority to:
  • Approach potential corporate sponsors for donations
  • Communicate with Winter Park and Berthoud Pass management and resort for logistics and operations
  • Recruit attendees for participation
  • Communicate with charities
The project manager does not have the authority to do the following without first getting the project sponsor’s approval:
  • Distributing funds
  • Making final commitments and securing reservations

Project In-Scope:
  • Create awareness for individual and corporate sponsors about the Exceler8 event through marketing initiatives
  • Raise money for the selected charities by recruiting individual and corporate sponsors to donate through Brian Allison’s 501C3 (specifics TBD )
  • Plan weekend events to foster team building skills and individual accomplishment
  • Create a fun and enjoyable atmosphere for individual participants
  • Determine liability coverage for participants

Project Out-of-Scope:
  • Secure mountain reservation for Feb. 24-26
  • Get access for all team members to Cisco technologies
  • Communicate fund matching with Cisco’s charity group
  • Gathering funds to distribute to charity

Project Assumptions:
  • Weather cooperation
  • Winter Park and Berthoud Pass will provide means necessary to accomplish this event such a mountain guides, rental equipment, lift access, and mountain liability form.
  • Sufficient funds will be raised to positively impact TNC
  • Registration fees will help mitigate cost of event
  • Majority of donations will come from corporate sponsors with increased emphasis on a Silent Auction and incentives for individual donations through competitive a processes
  • The raised funds will go towards the Colorado River Basin Project
  • The increased appeal of Winter Park to the Front Range should help drive participation

Deliverables:
  • A list of corporate and individual sponsors and committed donations
  • Promotional and informational website
  • Operating budget and donation tracking spreadsheet
  • Cross functional program plan including critical success factors
  • Two day event itinerary
  • Event T-shirt
  • Final List of Attendees
  • Organizational layout map of mountain
  • Communications plan including logo, website, and information packet
  • Final contact list for sponsors
  • Feedback from participants and sponsors on possible improvements for 2011
  • Website Plan

Approved by: Project Sponsor: Date:

Fall Roles and Responsibilities

Steve and Joyce
Team Members
Marketing /
  • Group coordinator with Hitachi, Brian, and TNC
  • Plan group meetings
  • Coordinate with external team members
  • Manage website
  • Design/distribute t-shirt, logo, info packet and save the date
  • Promote using Facebook
  • Design donation Process

Aaron and Sam
Team Members
Sponsorship /
  • Recruit corporate sponsors
  • Collect and facilitate donations
  • Design sales pitch
  • Determine Winter Park sponsor restrictions
  • Coordinate with Chad about previous sponsorships
  • Assist other groups as necessary

Leann and Sarah
Team Members
Logistics /
  • Coordinate lodging
  • Coordinate banquet rooms
  • Coordinate food/happy hour
  • Coordinate transportation between locations
  • Coordinate events/competitions
  • Determine base camp/registration location
  • Plan event logistics

Risk Management Plan

Risk/Cause / Likelihood / Impact / Minimize Cause / Current Status / Action Items / Responsible Person
Weather
No Snow / Low / High / No Control / Unknown / Alternate Activity Plan (biking, hiking, etc.) / Collective
Blizzard / Medium / Med-Low / No Control / Unknown / Judge severity and implement alternate activities / Silverton
Avalanche / Low / High / No Control / Unknown / Delegate to Silverton / Winter Park & Berthoud Pass Guides
Road Closure / Low-Med / Medium / No Control / Unknown / Suggest alternative routes and adjust schedule as needed / Collective
Ice / No Powder / Medium / Medium / No Control / Unknown / Arrange schedule as needed to adjust for 8’s contest / Collective
Technology
Insufficient Electricity / Low / Low / Use battery powered appliances / Functional / Change location and utilize generators / Cisco Tech.
Internet Connection Down / Low / Low / Eliminate from program / Functional / Proceed with dinner / Brian
Cisco Technology N/A / Low / Medium-High / Technical Support on Mountain and secure planning reservations / Available / Eliminate from program / Cisco Tech.
Website Malfunction / Low / High / Consult technical support / N/A / Fix it / Jon and Collective
Donation Error / Low / High / Consult Brian
John for Website / N/A / Repair Issue / Collective
IT Professionals don’t show up / Low / Medium / Confirmation / N/A / Improvise and set up available technology / Collective
Schedule
Late Donations / Medium / Medium / Reminders and confirmations
Early registration incentives / N/A / Assertively pursue previously guaranteed funds / Collective
Unresponsive Contacts / Medium / Medium / Follow up emails and calls / N/A / Assertively communicate to ensure participation / Collective
Objectives not met due to scheduling conflicts / Low / High / Time management / N/A / Contribute as team and return deliverables promptly / Collective
Resources
Adequate facilities not available / Low / High / Site Inspections and confirmation / N/A / Backup plan and respond as needed with frequent communications / Winter Park
Lack of donations / Low-Medium / High / Active marketing and follow up communications / N/A / Assertively pursue funds / Collective
Suppliers do not deliver / Low / High / Confirmation and Communication / N/A / Secure by scheduled date / Collective
Berthoud Pass Logistics / Low- Medium / Medium- High / Contingency with Guides / N/A / Consult Guides / Berthoud Pass Guide
Winter Park Limitations / High / Medium- High / Work with Winter Park Sales Manager / N/A / Communicate with Brad and Crystal / Collective and Winter Park

Schedule

Week / Tasks (*deliverables in bold)
9/11/09 /
  1. Meet with Brian and all group members
  2. Receive general information on project and start to discuss individual duties
3. Meet with Hitachi consultants
9/16/2009 /
  1. Meet with Hitachi Consultants and Brian
  2. Stakeholder analysis and cost benefit analysis
  3. Meet with Brian to plan more specific sponsorship/participant opportunities and some event logistics

9/23/2009 /
  1. Meet with Brian
  2. Sponsorship
  3. Event specifics
  4. Website
  5. Develop Risk Management Plan

9/30/2009 /
  1. First Deliverable Due
  2. Develop presentation for client approval
  3. Meet with Brian
  4. Sponsors
  5. Event logistics
  6. Prepare for website teleconference

10/7/2009 / 1. Meet with Brian
2. Status Report
10/14/2009 / 1.Meet with Brian
2.Sponsorship progress
3.Logistics
4. Website adjustments
5. Send out ‘save the date'
10/21/2009 / 1. Meet with Hitachi Consultant
2. Meet with Brian
3. Update Risk Management Plan
10/28/2009 / 1. Meet with Brian
2. Sponsors
3. Event Itinerary
4. Thrive
5. T-shirts
6. Fundraising
7. Develop Quality Assurance Plan
11/4/2009 /
  1. Pre-event meeting via Webex
  2. Silent Auction
  3. Final Participant List
  4. Transportation

11/11/2009 /
  1. Develop Spring Semester plan

11/18/2009 /
  1. Draft Presentations for feedback
  2. Have Event Planned and Marketing, Website, Donation, and Sponsor projects underway

11/25/2009 / Fall Break
12/2/2009 /
  1. Develop lessons learned
  2. Develop plan for closing project

12/9/2009 /
  1. Final deliverables
  2. Final Client Presentations
  3. Performance reviews

Approved By:

Project Sponsor:______

Date: ______

Stakeholder Analysis

Name / Organization / Role / Interest / Influence / Expectations / Ways to Manage Expectations
Brian Allison / Exceler8 II / Project Manager/Project Sponsor / High / High / Weekly status meetings, budget/spending approval, part of the brainstorming process, successful and timely completion of project, complete deliverables / Attend weekly meetings, get approval for every piece of project, turn in deliverables, keep updated
TNC / The Nature Conservancy / Project Beneficiary / High / Low / Funds raised to contribute to their cause / Secure attendees and donations to give
Brad / Winter Park / Project Coordinator / Medium / Medium / Added business for Winter Park resort, a successful event, PR / Work together to establish lodging, event location, logistics, etc.
Sponsors / Sponsor Companies / Project Sponsors / Medium / High / PR/advertising, recognition / Establish ways to give recognition and make sure they are well known at event
Student Group / CU Boulder
Students / Project Team / High / High / Successful and timely completion of project, high grade / Stay on task, don’t wait until the last minute, communication among team members
Jim Marlatt / CU Boulder Faculty / Project Grader / Medium / Low / Complete and timely deliverables / Complete work ahead of time, manage deliverables due
Cisco / Cisco Systems / Project Sponsor / Low / Low / None / None
Mentor / Hitachi / Project Supervisor / Medium / Medium / Successful communication between all parties, problems/issues solved / Maintain communication channels, get help with issues that come up
Markus Beck / Alpine World Ascents / Director of Guides / High / Medium / Communication about guided trips, while staying within limits of business. / Maintain communication through email and phone and expectations for participating in the event.
Participants / n/a / Funding source / High / High / Have a good time for a good cause. / Timely communication.Experience meets expectations

Cost/Benefit Analysis

This is our planned cost benefit analysis for the Exceler8s II Event. Our project has not reached the point where we are able to produce meaningful numbers for each of these categories.

The following considerations are currently guiding the parameters of our project:

1) Holding the event in Winter Park and Berthoud Pass this year instead of Silverton Mountain will present the project team with the benefit of Winter Parks proximity to the Front Range, which is the community we are trying to appeal to and support; however, working with a new city with a separate set of rules will present new challenges.

2) By dividing the location of our event we will be able to appeal to more participants, but we will also have to handle the logistics of coordinating the two parts of the event.

Within the planned project we are dividing the experience across two locations:

A) Winter Park: to provide a fun and relaxing experience that will bring the community together for a good cause

B) Berthoud Pass: to provide a strenuous team environment through guided tours that will push participants to realize what they are capable of doing.

We have developed this chart to list our considerations for the cost benefits of the event.

Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3 / Year 4 / Year 5
BENEFITS
TANGIBLE
Donations to The Nature Conservancy
Colorado River Project improvements
Larger number of attendees
INTANGIBLE
Work towards a good cause
Exceler8 brand equity
Exceler8 public recognition
PR/advertising for Exceler8, Winter Park, sponsors
TOTAL BENEFITS
COSTS
DEVELOPMENT COSTS
Advertisement/promotion of event
Meeting costs
Communication costs
Invitations, save the dates
Website set up
OPERATIONS/MAINTENANCE COSTS
T-shirt costs
Covering sponsor costs for free attendance, etc.
Location rentals
Food/drink
Transportation costs
TOTAL COSTS
BENEFITS LESS COSTS

Colorado River Plan Executive Summary

DRAFT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Nature Conservancy

Colorado River Program

Contact: Taylor Hawes 303-541-0322

The Colorado River is one of the iconic symbols of conservation in the American West, if not the world. It has shaped the human history of the southwestern region from the earliest Native American inhabitants to the explorations of John Wesley Powell to modern day. The river is a source of life in an otherwise arid region. The Colorado and its tributaries are globally significant for the vast assortment of life it supports.

Historically, the Colorado River drainage contained 49 native fish species, including 42 endemic species found in no other river system. The river basin encompasses a variety of freshwater ecosystem types, from mountain peaks to desert rivers and a great delta. It supports an astonishing array of plant and animal species that depend on a healthy, sustainable Colorado River basin, including the Colorado pikeminnow; Chiricahua leopard frog; Zuni Bluehead Sucker, alcove bog orchid; Southwestern willow flycatcher and hundreds of other species of migrating songbirds.

It is also a critical source of water for human needs. It sustains 30 million people and their economies in both the United States and Mexico, irrigating more than 3 million acres of farmland. Hydropower, coal-fired electricity, and oil and gas development also depend on the river. World-class recreation, such as boating, fishing and nature tourism, is a significant economic engine in the region. Population growth in the basin is expected to increase by approximately 39% by 2035 – 12 million more people depending on this river. Yet, climate change studies vary, but predict a range of 5-20% decrease in water supplies by 2050.

Due to long-term and intensifying human use of this river system, the natural diversity of animals and plants that depend on it is at grave risk. Of the endemic species, four are extinct and 95% of the remaining species are endangered or threatened. In the Lower Colorado River Basin, less than 2% of the native riparian areas are natural. Conservation success in the basin is constrained by many factors: growing municipal water use, spreading invasive plants and non-native animals, land conversion, energy development and poor grazing practices. In the past, federal and state agencies and many conservation organizations focused on smaller-scale planning and projects to tackle localized problems. However, the lack of a basin-wide vision and strategy for conservation has hindered the Conservancy and other organizations from capitalizing on land and water initiatives taking place at a larger scale.

In response to these concerns, the Conservancy undertook an assessment of freshwater plants and animals in the entire basin to determine its priorities and as a foundation for a conservation action plan at the basin-wide scale. The assessment helped the Conservancy identify potential cross-cutting strategies and a suite of site specific places where we can get the greatest return on our conservation investment. Building on that assessment, the Conservancy is developing a more detailed action plan that aims to protect globally threatened freshwater species and natural communities while recognizing the needs of people. This includes three major strategies and sixteen phase I priority river segments.

The Colorado River supports some of the fastest growing municipal areas in the country: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego and Denver. A growing demand for water, coupled with natural variability and the potential for decreased water availability due to climate change, increases the urgency of developing long-term solutions for both economic interests and conservation. To be successful, the Conservancy must work closely with other conservation organizations. No other organization is working in as many places in the basin as TNC or across the entire basin, but each one is a critical partner for the implementation of important aspects of the plan. We must develop and work toward a common vision for the basin.