Ready to Start a Program in Your Community?

Starting a Memorial Banner Program

Starting a Memorial Banner Program is a meaningful way to honour and recognize the service and sacrifice of veterans from your community. Here’s a checklist to help you get started. Just a recommendation: you may not be able to follow this line by line. Sometimes you will need information from a lower section in order to complete a section that came before.

If you are reading this page, more than likely you and/or someone you know is interested in starting a Memorial Banner Program. Included at the bottom of this page is a Program Starter Kit to download. It is a resource for you so that you can follow along offline and have it in your notes.

Getting Started

Your first decision: You want to have a program in your community. Congrats. These programs are a wonderful addition to your community and a great way to show your appreciation to our Veterans.

Committee or go Alone

A lot of these programs have one point of contact who manages everything. Others have a small team to help. Determine if one person or a group is needed to oversee the planning, implementation, and management of the program. Many programs have one person looking after it, especially those who work with us as we have a well set up program to make things run smoothly and efficiently.

Preparation

Research existing programs. Speak to other existing Memorial Banner Programs to understand how they operate, what resources they require, and what impact they’ve had. If you do not have any contacts, ask us. We have a number of programs that are happy to help out.

If you are interested in a program, there should be others in your community that will support it also. To make a Memorial Banner Program successful, getting others interested and gathering support from community members, local businesses, veterans’ organizations, and government officials helps. If you do not have support, then it makes running a program more difficult. Not impossible, just difficult.

Planning: Questions To Ask

Once you are ready to get started, here are some questions to ask:

• What people / organizations will help your banner program? Local Town or Municipality? BIA, Downtown Association or PUC’s? Legion or other Veteran groups? What help will they provide?
• Who will handle sponsorship payments and in what forms of payment will be accepted? Is an account already set up in which to deposit sponsorship payments? (We HIGHLY RECOMMEND that no personal accounts be used to keep record keeping straight and easily audited. If using Legion accounts, do not place in Poppy Funds until the program is complete if that is where the extra is going to go.)
• Who will be the contact person for specific questions regarding the Memorial Veteran Program?
• How far in advance of the display period do you need to have your banners ready to hang? Who will be hanging and when will they need them by? Is there a charge for hanging & taking down the banners? What will happen to the banners once they are taken down? Will they be stored for re-display or will they go back to the sponsor as a “Thank You”?
• What will be the criteria for who will be honoured on a banner? Will you limit the program to local residents only or will it be open to anyone connected to the community in some way.
• How many banners do you aim to display or are able to display, what is the duration of the program. What happens if you get more applications than you have space for? What happens after they come down? Where will they be stored?
• How many years do you plan on having the program run for?
• Who manages the use of the poles needed for hanging of the banners? Local Government or the Utilities? Do they have any requirements needed to be met before you can hang the banner on them?

Permission to Hang the Banners

Once you have determined the overall outline of how your Memorial Banner Program will run, and before you start taking applications, you will need to get permission from whomever manages the poles they will be placed on. This may be the BIA, the Town or even the local Power Management company. You will need to speak with them to ensure the banners can be put up. They will give you any guidelines and may also have a fee requirement which they should share at that time.

Design

Work with a graphic designer or local artist to create a design for the banners that includes the veteran’s name, branch of service, photo, and any other relevant information. Ensure the design is respectful and inclusive. We have a number of designs that are used across the country that meet these requirements. Be wary of over designing a banner. Remember less is more. Examples of banners are in the Program Starter Kit.

Size of banner

If you have banners in your community already, the size will be already established. You will be able to get this information from the local municipal office, town hall or the BIA. Depending on who again manages the poles.

If your community doesn’t have banners as of yet, then you may be able to pick what sizing you would like. A 2:1 ratio shows really well, has great placement for the flags on the banner and space for the Veteran photo. We recommend 24”x48” or 30×60 if you are able to choose. Larger is not always better though. Take a look at where they will go. Can people reach them? Do they interfere with vehicle traffic if placed too low or are too large themselves.

Funding

Determine the budget needed to launch and sustain the program. Explore funding options such as sponsorships, donations, grants, or fundraising events. The majority of programs have families sponsor the banners for a set number of years. Some have financial assistance from local governments or businesses to cover other costs. If the Legion is involved, they may assist also. Things such as installation, creation of the banners, potential permit fees and other administrative costs should be considered.

Are you going to have families sponsor a banner? If so, what will that cost be? There is a lot of support out there for these banners and families will pay for them. Just have a clear understanding of what the costs are and what you need to cover each banner.

Promote Awareness

There are a number of ways to promote the program. Word of mouth, flyers, social media and newspaper/radio advertising. It depends on what resources are available. We do recommend having a Facebook page created just for your program. It is easy to manage, keeps details about the program in one location and doesn’t cost anything.

Applications

Create an application form that covers all the details you will need. An example of an application form is in the Program Starter Kit. We have moved a lot of this online to make it easier.

Select honourees

It is important to have a clear understanding on who your program will honour. Some communities are limited to the number of banners that can be put up. Others focus their program on WWI and WWII veterans only. How you run your program is your choice. Develop a nomination and selection process for choosing veterans to be honoured if you are going to have limitations. Consider criteria such as military service, community involvement, and diversity of representation. The other issue you may run into is having more applications than spots. Ensure you have a clear and fair way laid out to cover this.

Proofs

Once applications, photos and payment are submitted, it is time to start working on the art proof for each banner. Depending on who is creating the banner art, will determine how information is shared. At this time, the Memorial Banner Program is completely online to make life easier.

Once proofs are created, it is time to review and approve them for production. For some, this can be an emotional time seeing their loved one honoured on the banner proof. It is important that they understand that they need to look over the spelling of the text, and the photo to ensure there are no errors. If there is a change needed, ensure that it happens before printing.

Arrival of Banners

When the banners arrive, take time to look over each banner to ensure that they are correct and there is no damage in the shipping. Once you are happy with them, it is time to share them with the families and community.

Private Viewing

Some programs offer a private viewing to the families before the banners are released to general public. This may be a solemn event as seeing their loved one on a banner finally can be emotional.

Plan Unveiling Ceremony

Organize a special unveiling ceremony to publicly introduce the Memorial Banner Program to the community and honour the banners. Invite veterans, their families, local officials, and community members to attend.

Installation

Depending on your communities requirements, installation may be with volunteers who put them up, to having to drop them off to a company for professional installation. This will be determined earlier in your planning of your program. Once they are up, the general public can see them, talk about them and share on social media.

Removal and Storage

After the set time for the Banners being up has passed, either your volunteers or the installers will be able to remove the banners. At this time, care should be taken as there may be grime build up from the weather or they may be damp. Once they are all down, we recommend a gentle cleaning of the banners and allowing them to dry. Once dried, they can be stored until the next year they are needed. Some programs hang them in the local arena during the off season or in their local legion.

Final Details

Review accounts and prepare for next season. Once the program has concluded for the season, now is the time to review accounts and determine what to do if there is a balance.

Prepare for the next season

Once people see the banners, you will be asked about how they can participate in the program. This should be part of your initial planning. When they ask, you will be able to share details about the program and have them complete the application process. Or you may hold off and take applications at a later date but have their contact information to remind them.

Most programs continue for years after starting. Now you can determine if you are going to manage it again or hand the reins over to someone else.

Conclusion

There seems to be a lot of information, but once you get started, it is fairly straightforward and understandable. If at any point you need a hand, reach out and ask. Our goal is to make your program a success and are here to help.