Planning Your First Meeting
(please note all forms mentioned here will be available for your use by May 1st)
WHAT? WHEN? WHO? WHERE?
These are the things to think about before planning your first meeting.
WHAT are you going to discuss ? WHAT is for the purpose for your
meeting?
* Most first people to come together and discuss a topic as they listen and learn from what
you have to share with them.
* Discussion topics can include a wide array of things. See list & See videos
* You will want to discuss your purpose of starting a group. This meeting is
also for you to get ideas to use as you prepare for the next meeting.
* Present your information in handouts, power point , videos etc.
WHEN do you plan to meet (date & time)?;
How often and will this be regular?
* Different times and days bring different groups of people. Many organizations
eventually end up offering more meeting options to reach more people.
* If most of those you invited are college age and or working adults may want
to meet on a weeknight after dinner. Many meetings are held on a Saturday
afternoon but this is usually not a great time if you are planning weekly
meetings but it does not work well for a once a month meeting.
* Meeting in a restaurant during a lunch hour depending on who you invited
may work also, especially in a downtown area. Just remember, these can
be a little more rushed because people are going back to work.
* For high school or college age groups lunches can be a great meeting time or a
late night get together.
* You should have meeting 2 planned prior to meeting 1, so you can encourage
people to come back. Although at your first meeting it is good to ask the others
what works for them. There is a form available which they can complete to tell
you this. See form
WHO is your target audience (who will you invite)?
* Family & friends or church members are sometimes the hardest ones to get to
take you serious but when they see that you have knowledge of these basic
things they may be interested finding out how they can learn more and how
they can be involved.
been successful in many areas. School friends, co workers & acquaintances
are a good target too.
WHERE will you meet? Does it meet your needs?
Consider if this will be a regular meeting place.
* Many first meetings are small and held in homes. This is a common and
good location if it is friends, family and neighbors who were invited.
* Another great location is a quiet restaurant which is a good, neutral, friendly
atmosphere if you do not have need of AV equipment for a power point or
videos etc.
* If you feel that during promotion for the meeting you have received a good
response, then you may want to plan for a larger facility such as a church
fellowship hall or a conference meeting room in a hotel. Consider the cost. Some
businesses will donate a meeting place for free or reduced rates.
After considering each of the above items then you will need to decide how to promote, advertise and invite people to your meetings. There are a variety of ways to do this. It usually takes a combination of techniques and a lot of creativity to get people to your meetings initially and many groups begin with only 4 or 5 people.
Here is what others have done. Modify this, and do what you believe will work for you according to your time, resources and funds available. Consider this a “to do” check list.
____ Create a website for your group ahead of time so they can go there for dates of future scheduled events. It is also a place where they can learn more about your purpose. (Therefore you need an idea of a mission statement, goals or purpose for your group.This can be modified later but people want to know why you are doing this)
(forms coming soon-May 1st) Click here to see samples of mission statements (feel free to use any forms you find here if they work for you)
____ Make a flyer with all of the info (name of group, date & time of meeting, location, & reason for meeting. Click here to see a sample flyer:
____ Pass these out in your neighborhood – door to door, post them in local businesses, ask businesses if you can set a stack on the counter
____ Place an ad in the paper
____ Post it on facebook
____ Some local radio stations have an online events calendar for free as do the local TV cable businesses
____ Place flyer on bulletin boards at colleges and schools
____ Take advantage of any upcoming events in your community that are occurring just prior to your meeting, and ask if you could pass your flyers out there.
What Am I going to do at my first meeting?
Sometimes it is hard planning what to do at your first few meetings. Click on this link for suggestions for your first 3 meetings.
You will find that after you learn more about what your group wants to do (within the mission statement & purpose) a few will join you in planning and you will soon be planning meetings with no problem. Do not get discouraged. Most of these groups take months to get off the ground. Continue your efforts and it will make a difference
Here is a list of what many groups are doing in addition to their regular meetings. Most are multitasking, doing each of these at different times.
UP RISE will provide any guidance you need to start something in your area. Email us if you would like a mentor or more info on any of these things.
A Book discussion Club –Probably one of the best ways to become empowered; fun low pressure discussions on portions of text from a wide array of books (see recommended book list/library). Email UP RISE if you would like a mentor here to help you with initiating this.
Community Watchdogs –Discussions in meetings on how to “Be The Boss” of our public servants will lead to a few people who want to hold these entities accountable. There are 4 areas that require accountability from us: 1.The Media (to report what we need to know in a fair unbiased manner), 2. Academia –(schools & colleges) making sure that they are being good stewards of our money & that they are not using propaganda & indoctrination, 3.Judiciary –(law enforcement & judges) being sure they are enforcing the laws fairly & justly & following the constitution, 4.Elected Officials-reminding them that they are our public servant & that character matters. Also watching voting records & exposing unprincipled, unconstitutional actions.
A Rally/Tea Party-These are great to have to bring like minded people together. They are inspiring, especially if you can get great speakers.
A Seminar-Seminars can also be a great tool for empowerment. These are usually educational and can be on a wide array of topics. Some topics that other groups have had seminars on are: The Constitution, Activism (candidate training), Precinct Training, Indoctrination Of The Youth, How to Be A Watchdog etc. you can teach/lead these yourself or bring guest speakers in.
A Forum/Townhall-Use this special meeting to bring attention to the community that may be of current interest to them or to allow candidates to speak.
A Debate-great to host before elections to get to know the candidates.
A Demonstration-for awareness on a local state or national issue. You might pass out literature to educate the community on this issue.
A Protest-Voice your opinion on an issue or occurrence that you believe is unconstitutional. This can concern a public official or legislation or other concerns.
A Petition-another form of promoting public awareness on a topic. Lead your community in having a voice on issues.
Precinct Work-working to get out the vote. Educating your community on voting locations and how to register to vote and the importance of voting.
Volunteering/Supporting Causes-you can not expect any more from a public servant than you yourself are willing to do. Be the leader that you want to see in someone else. Be an example and work individually or as a group proving that the private sector can do a much better job than the government in assisting those in need.
Media Viewings-Another fun, great way to empower the community. Provide informational documentaries, movies & video specials on important topics that promote or validate your mission.
Take It To Them-Build relationships with people who may never come to a meeting. This is a lot of work but if you want to be an informer and share your mission then you might need to do this. Considering the fact that we need all people informed and educated before they vote and we really need people to engage. If you take them some information you never know what that may spark in them. Examples of this includes: door to door visits, block parties, passing out things like pocket constitutions to people standing in line at the store etc.
Website/Networking/Blog-Many young and old enjoy getting their info online. You can hold online discussions and chats and provide tons of information at your website. Stay in constant contact with all who show an interest.