Organise your own DAD
A practical guide from the team behind the world’s largest voluntary-led disability exhibition. Everything you need to know to plan, fund, and deliver your own Disability Awareness Day event.
Define your vision
83% of disabled people acquire their illness or impairment during their working life. Millions don’t know where to start looking for information and support. Your event can change that.
In 1992, Dave Thompson was asked to develop proposals for just £2,000 ring-fenced for disability projects. That conversation became the foundation for DAD. Your vision doesn’t need to be grand — it just needs to be clear.
Highlight the range of services available from statutory, private and voluntary organisations that enable independence.
Promote equipment and aids that maintain or improve independence — the best and latest designs, not just statutory provision.
Showcase what disabled people can achieve in sport, arts and entertainment.
Offer something for everyone, whatever their impairment — and their families and friends.
Provide a platform for small support groups alongside the biggest national charities, affordable to all.
Can include all or some of these aims — dictated by your team's skills, budget and local support
Lions, Rotary Clubs, Air & Sea Cadets and local volunteers all play a part
Build your team
Like any good team, you need people with complementary skills who can take responsibility and work together. DAD uses a management structure with three key sub-groups:
Admin Team — minute taking, correspondence, exhibitor bookings, communications with service providers.
Event Site Team — marking out the site, coordinating marquees, power, toilets, furniture, catering, parking, signage and stewarding.
Stewards & Support — coordinating 70+ stewards, information point, VIP reception, car parking, refuse, First Aid, Park & Ride, Sports Zone and Arts Marquee.
Smaller teams also organise arts, sports, entertainment and DAD Week events. The team is affectionately known as “DAD’s Army”.
Choose your venue
DAD uses marquees at Walton Hall Gardens rather than indoor exhibition halls. After considering the weather, the team agreed that undercover marquees in an outdoor setting offered the best combination of space, atmosphere and accessibility.
When choosing a venue, consider:
Accessibility – for visitors, exhibitors and emergency vehicles.
Utilities — drains, power supply and water access.
Parking — for exhibitor vehicles (300+ can arrive in a 2-hour window) and visitors.
Transport — consider a free Park & Ride and shuttle bus service
DAD 2025 saw over 300 exhibitor vehicles and 24,000 people on the park in a single day.
Accessible, serviced, with room for vehicles, visitors and marquees
Consult your audience — their needs should drive the decision
Pick the right date
The DAD team considered holding the event on a weekday — led by the myth that businesses wouldn’t attend a weekend event. After consulting disabled people, carers and families, they chose Sunday as it best met visitors’ needs.
When choosing your date, avoid school holidays, bank holidays, county shows and other competing events. Dave is often reminded that DAD 2010 and 2018 coincided with the World Cup Final!
Two-day events were considered but ruled out — while large businesses can staff both days, smaller family-run charities struggle to find volunteers for a second day.
Fund your event
Once you have a vision and a team, produce a business plan with an estimated budget. DAD events cost over £90,000 — raised through a combination of sources:
Sponsorship — the main income source. Stepped rates reflecting what sponsors receive: logo on 75,000 flyers, 5,000 posters, 8,000 programmes, website, banners, VIP reception.
Exhibitor fees — two rates: lower for voluntary organisations, higher for businesses and statutory organisations. Must be affordable for all.
Grants & donations — external grants (particularly for arts and sports), plus donations and Sports Zone takings make up the balance.
Over 30 years for local orgs
What else
The full planning checklist
Management team skills analysis & meeting schedule
Venue hire for main event & complementary events
Steward recruitment, training, ID badges & tabards
Funding plan — sponsorship, exhibitor fees, grants
Mail outs, exhibitor packs & sponsor invitations
Marquees, furniture, power, radios & toilets
Fencing, wheelchairs, scooters & security
Site & entertainment licences with public notices
Equipment inventory — signs, banners & storage
St John Ambulance, BSL interpreters & police liaison
Arts Marquee — booking, programme & payments
On-site catering, VIP reception & staff catering
Children's activities, play area & fun fair
Sports Zone — bookings, tickets & staffing
Car parking, Park & Ride & shuttle bus service
Advertising — press, radio, disability media & signs
Promotions — 75,000 flyers, 5,000 posters, website
Programme — advertising, production & distribution
Police, Fire & Ambulance liaison
DAD Week — 10+ supporting events
Health & Safety risk assessment for every aspect
Weather contingency — rubber matting & hay bales!
Insurance — public liability, employer & equipment
Post-event debrief with full steward team
The key ingredients
The most frequently asked question about DAD: “What’s the magic ingredient?” The answer — it’s not one thing, but a mixture.
Clear & Simple Vision
Know what you’re trying to achieve and keep it focused.
Committed Team
People who share the vision and deliver on their responsibilities.
Supportive Partners
Sponsors, councils, charities and businesses working together.
Make It Enjoyable
For everyone involved — organisers, volunteers and visitors alike.
Value Everyone
Your team, partners and volunteers are the heart of the event.
Believe In Your Vision
They said it would never work. 30+ years later, it’s still growing.
Ready to start your journey?
For further advice, join us at a management meeting or visit us at this year’s event. The DAD team is here to help.