Host a CAM Event Guide

It’s easy to host an event for your fellow Mensans and get the word out. Of course, you have to figure out what, where, and when. You’ll also have to decide if it’s going to be a virtual or in-person event. If virtual, do you want to take advantage of the CAM Discord server? Do you want people to RSVP and by when? Is there are a maximum number of attendees. Our Submissions page provides a good checklist about the information you may wish to consider when planning your event. Once you’ve figured all that out, CAM will help you promote your event on this website, in ChiMe (with enough lead time), and on Chicago Mensa Meetup. And rest assured, your last name and contact information will not be publicly accessible.

If you plan to take advantage of GOBS Funds to subsidize the cost of your event, you will be required to

1. submit the online application for GOBS funds prior to a CAM Business Meeting preceding the earliest ChiMe deadline for your event (article must be submitted to the Editor  a month earlier than the event info to the Activities Editor when your event’s RSVP deadline occurs during the month prior to the month in which your event occurs),
2. submit details of your event to our Activities Editor early enough so it can be listed in the issue of the ChiMe newsletter corresponding to the month of your event and, if the RSVP deadline is in the prior month, an article to appear in the same month as your RSVP deadline to our Editor ,
3. hold your event and save all receipts, and
4. submit an expense reimbursement form after the event, including the receipt(s) for the approved GOBS funds request.

An article about the event is encouraged (required if RSVP deadline month precedes event month) which should be submitted to our Editor  (see the Submissions page for guidelines), especially since the description of a GOBS-subsidized event is usually lengthy. At this point, your event must take place in September or later to get published in the appropriate issue of ChiMe, and you must submit a CAM Event Form or send an e-mail directly to the activities editor before the submission deadline (you must submit it by this Sunday). As long as you submitted your event info prior to the issue’s submission deadline, you will have satisfied this requirement even if the issue is published late or cannot be printed — your event will still be listed on this website, Meetup, and in the CAM Mensa Connect e-mails.

In addition to the requirement that the event be published in ChiMe, the CAM Board must also approve the submitted GOBS request before the event starts which means at a monthly Business Meeting (see our Monthly Gatherings schedule); you need not be present. Enter the date you’re planning to organize a GOBS-subsidized below to find out the deadlines.

Get All Deadlines to Qualify for GOBS Funds

Enter the date for the event you’re planning and see the amount of lead time you need to get it in ChiMe and when you must submit the actual GOBS event. Ideally, you want to get your GOBS request approved before submitting your event information for inclusion in ChiMe. Remember, earlier is always better to give everyone a chance process your submissions.

Once the Activities Bulletin Editor  receives your CAM Event Form submission, or your e-mail (see below for specifics), your event will be added to both our website (listed on the appropriate Monthly Activities) and Meetup. If you are a Meetup member, our Meetup coördinator will designate you as the host, which will enable you to edit the event as you see fit. There is no deadline to get your event listed on Meetup and here on our website, but you do want it listed as soon as possible to give your fellow Mensans a chance to find out about it as well giving the CAM Meetup and website volunteers some time to list your event. It may also be listed in the upcoming events e-mails that are sent via Mensa Connect to our group as well as being promoted on the closed CAM Facebook group.

If you happen to be planning well in advance, like September or later, and you submitted your form or sent your e-mail before the submission deadline (you must submit it by this Sunday), your event will also be listed in the ChiMe newsletter. ( This is a requirement for GOBS-subsidized events.)

If you have a lot of information to be communicated, you may wish to submit a separate write-up of your event to our ChiMe newsletter editor in addition to the short event notice; the details about submitting it via e-mail  are on our Submissions page and the submission deadline for articles is the same as the deadline for submitting events (above), requiring you to plan well in advance.

If you’d like to use Discord , Matt C. has graciously set-up a server for CAM’s use. To promote an event using our CAM Discord server, just let us know the details of your event by filling out our CAM Event Form. Alternatively, e-mail our Activities Bulletin Editor  and include all the details about your event. Our Submissions page provides a good checklist about the information that is required as well as optional information your attendees may need to know; you may wish to specify the CAM Discord channel in which you plan to meet. Should you need to cancel, e-mail the Activities Bulletin Editor  so they can update the website and Meetup.

We also recommend you use Discord for any Board Game Arena event if you don’t have a premium account because you can use the audio feature of Discord to communicate with your fellow Board Game Arena players.

Discord Invitation Links: If you do decide to use our CAM Discord server, you may need to create an Invitation Link for CAM members who have not yet used this special Discord server — many already have via other events like HalloweeM, the Monthly Gatherings, CAMBeer, Games & Conversation, AGOG, etc. as well as most of our gamers. You should be able to create an invitation link by tapping/clicking on the orientation text channel or hovering over it and then on the icon to the right of the orientation text channel name. Otherwise e-mail  the Discord team to request an Invitation Link, if needed.

Hosts will need to send out an Invitation Link to attendees not on the CAM Discord server. You may also have to send out setup instructions to attendees new to Discord.

Discord Setup Instructions: The Discord app is available on Google Play , the Apple App Store, or go to https://discord.com/new/download to get the app for your computer or laptop. Open the app and register for a new account. After setting up your account, tap/click on the Invitation Link specified by the host. Read the Code of Conduct and tap/click on the icon at the bottom of the Code of Conduct that best describes you. You’ll only need to do this setup once and, once completed, you will see the CAM icon on the very left every time you open Discord. Just tap/click on the icon to join the CAM server. Discord provides a Beginner’s Guide. Matt C. has also written an Introduction to Discord doc, specifically for CAM members, to help explain his set-up. We also have a Discord FAQ page to help people become familiar with some of the nuances including the requirement to agree to the Code of Conduct and defining one’s push-to-talk key(s).

Just let us know the details of your event by filling out our CAM Event Form. Alternatively, e-mail our Activities Bulletin Editor  and include all the details about your event. Our Submissions page provides a good checklist about the information that is required as well as optional information your attendees may need to know. Should you need to cancel, e-mail the Activities Bulletin Editor  so they can update the website and Meetup. Events that have not been submitted to the activities editor early enough for publication in ChiMe (you must submit details by this Sunday for September events) do not qualify for GOBS funds. Also to qualify for GOBS funds, if the RSVP deadline occurs the month prior to the event, an article needs to be submitted corresponding to the month of the RSVP deadline and sent to our Editor .

If you use Facebook to promote an event, please notify the Activities Bulletin Editor  so that all CAM members know. Should you need to cancel, e-mail the Activities Bulletin Editor  so they can update the website and Meetup. Facebook events that have not been submitted to the activities editor early enough for publication in ChiMe (you must submit details by this Sunday for September events) do not qualify for GOBS funds. Also to qualify for GOBS funds, if the RSVP deadline occurs the month prior to the event, an article needs to be submitted corresponding to the month of the RSVP deadline and sent to our Editor .

If you post your event yourself on Meetup but don’t opt to have Meetup announce it immediately, or you cancel an existing event there, please notify the Activities Bulletin Editor  so that this website, etc. can be updated; Meetup announces an event ~6 days prior but only notifies attendees of cancellations. Meetup events that have not been submitted to the activities editor early enough for publication in ChiMe (you must submit details by this Sunday for September events) do not qualify for GOBS funds. Also to qualify for GOBS funds, if the RSVP deadline occurs the month prior to the event, an article needs to be submitted corresponding to the month of the RSVP deadline and sent to our Editor .