Programs, Courses, and Meetings

Members need to be in touch with each other and with your cause. You will probably want to schedule programs to fulfill this need. Remember that when members gather, this is an opportunity to recruit new members, to learn something, and to have a social event.

Read the section on recruiting in conjunction with this section. That section talked about the importance of regular membership meetings, so we will begin with that.

Suggested format for regular meetings of members

The frequency of meeting, the location, and the reason to bring people together depends on your cause, the proximity of your members to the meeting place, the members’ desire to commit time to social functions, and the local weather. You may find that the work of the society uses up all of the time most people would be able to offer. Likely you will still want to hold some special events.

Here is a format for a weekly meeting. Note the elements of the meeting and try to incorporate the process of welcoming and recruiting in whatever gathering you use. Over the past year our consulting group, and some of our clients, have been experimenting with holding online video conferences. Online conferencing technology is improving rapidly and is excellent for many forms of group meetings and collaboration. In a future version of this book I may be able to recommend some robust processes. Please let me know if you are having a good experience with this.

Try to establish a single location for regular meetings, and—if possible—obtain the site for free. If your association has an active membership in an urban area, it is reasonable and desirable to have weekly meetings, say Friday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. For people who live and work in a city, breakfast meetings might be an attractive option. Professional associations often hold lunch meetings or right at the end of the workday.

Aspects of these meetings are discussed in the section on recruitment; and that should be referenced in conjunction with this.

These meetings should feel informal; but this casual and comfortable appearance should be the result of good planning.

Here is a suggested sequence of events for weekly evening meetings. There is no need to follow this plan. It is, however, an example that has been used successfully.

• 7:30 – 8:00 Members arrive, sign in, and greet each other. If there is a need to set up equipment, this is the time, and hopefully there will be willing hands to help. People should be encouraged to arrive early during this time in order to talk to the others.
• 8:00 – 8:15 The formal part of the meeting begins. The host invites folks to sit. It is useful if the host begins with a short and positive anecdote; maybe something s/he noticed in the past few days. This is to start the meeting with a positive (or, if useful, inspiring) tone. This requires some consideration in advance to think of something upbeat and relevant. It is worth doing because it helps the visitors and the members feel positive about the meeting, the organization, and the time they have chosen to commit to being there. Any visitors are welcomed, and members who brought visitors are recognized and thanked. Upcoming events are announced.
• 8:15 – 8:45 A member or guest delivers a prepared talk on a subject of interest. (More about this below). There is a short question period.
• 8:45 – 9:00 At least one committee chair (project or event leader) discusses the current activities of that group. This may be a prelude to asking people to serve on the committee. This section may be an informal report of a recent club activity.
• 9:00 – 9:15 Questions, announcements, and other business.
• 9:15 – 9:30 Social time. It is probably useful to establish the tradition of winding up promptly (in this case at 9:30). Members who want to hang out can head off together.

The main event is the prepared talk. Instead of finding knowledgeable members to speak on their areas of expertise, you may find it useful to ask all members to take a stab at preparing a talk. There are several advantages to doing this. First, anyone who has to present a topic in front of others will come to know that subject well. Second, anyone who prepares a talk, and is the featured entertainment for an evening, will become more committed to the organization. Third, this is a logical way to move a passive member from obscurity to active participation. Public speaking is terrifying for many people, and the opportunity to attempt it in the friendly atmosphere your organization will be an opportunity for real personal growth. For tips on public speaking, Toastmasters has excellent resources such as (http://www.toastmasters.org/tips.asp).

The organizer of the meetings needs to approach members individually and ask them to prepare a presentation. Invariably your prospective speakers will answer that they cannot, or that they don’t know enough, or that they are too shy. Be understanding and persistent. When they say that they cannot, assure them that you are confident that they can. When they say they do not know the subject, provide them with the assistance of one of the really informed members of the association, as well as access to material to research and illustrate the talk. If they are too shy, point out that everyone is, but that this is an excellent and friendly forum to overcome that. (Are you noticing that this is the same process as dealing with objections during recruitment?) Most of the people in the room have gone through this at one time. Each year you will need 40 to 50 speakers, so these people are truly making a contribution to the life of the association. They will rise to the occasion, and they will learn fast. Their sense of value to the club will be enhanced. They will become more articulate about your issues and values.

Of course people can pick their own topics. You will find that much of the time it is better to explain that you need a talk on a specific subject.

If your membership is still small, consider asking visitors to come and speak to your group.

The title of the talks should be announced in the newsletter, so the speakers and their topics will need to be determined in time for publication.

In order to ensure that there is a program for these regular meetings, a person or a committee must undertake the responsibility of organizing these meetings. Because of the importance of these meetings to the members and to the future of your organization, this is a major responsibility. Typically the organizer is also the host, but that is not necessarily the case. The function of the host may be rotated through the committee or even beyond the committee to active members. The real work of the organizer is not hosting, but ensuring that all the preparations are done.

The second feature of the evening is the presentation by a committee chair (or designate). Since the club is active, and this is an opportunity to promote one of the projects of the club, it is usually easy to find someone who is eager to fill this slot. Nevertheless, someone does have to ask.

The section on recruiting makes much of maintaining a ‘sign-in’ book as a part of meetings. Knowing who attends every meeting is valuable for a number of reasons. The person who writes the newsletter will often confirm the participation of members by checking this book.

As the years pass, the sign-in book becomes a wonderful record of the participation of individuals and members will appreciate it. You will see the names of students who have gone on to become leaders in their field. The first meeting of someone who becomes one of the movers and shakers will be recorded. The night there was a famous visitor who delivered an outstanding presentation. People will love to see their names and the names of old friends in past pages of the book.

Maintaining the book is a chore, and ensuring that it is at every meeting will sometimes be a nuisance, but it will be worth the trouble. As you can see, since these attendance records are very useful, if your committees, task forces, and other gathering don’t bother to keep good minutes, be sure that at least the time, location, attendance, and purpose of all are recorded.

Public events

Holding a series of major public events is important to the process of recruiting new members. To be clear: these are events that are organized by your association and offered to the general public as well as to the membership.

The substance of these events is optional, but holding several public events each year is a requirement in order to find new, qualified prospective members.

If you are finding it difficult to imagine what to offer at these events, here are some suggestions.

Talks by noted personalities or experts are the easiest and most obvious event. New authors, community leaders, and experts in your field may appear for no cost other than transportation and accommodation. Very high profile authors and leaders are often professional speakers, and you are not likely to attract them at no cost—but there is no expense for asking.

You might host a panel discussion on relevant issues related to your mission or matters of public policy.

Instead of a presentation, consider holding an interpreted visit or tour to a place of interest—e.g. a natural history or environmental location, a new display or exhibit in your town, a newly opened facility, a place that will soon undergo change, etc.

Your event might be a media conference associated with a matter of public interest where your organization has a position or a useful perspective.

Most of the time you should choose an event that is relatively simple to organize. The event needs to be publicized so that it is attended by more than members. Members are expected to attend. It should be of interest to the public. There is likely a cost associated, so an admission fee may be charged. Try to be sure that these events are revenue neutral. Some of these events may be expensive, but so attractive that they would be of interest to a sponsor—so it is worth pursuing a sponsorship. Review the Media Event chapter to see about organizational details.

Courses

Is there some knowledge or processes that your association members know that might be of interest to the general public? If your members could create courses to teach this, it would expand the influence of your organization. Also, some of the people who take the courses would be prospective new members.

The way to experiment with this concept is to run some courses for new members to train them in the culture and practices of your association. Probably there is no charge for this unless there is a cost associated with the venue.

When you decide that you have developed course material that is compelling enough to attract the public, probably you should charge a fee. At least cover your costs. Then decide how much of the fee should go to your association, and how much for the presenter. Your research into what to charge should begin by looking at the price for similar products in your region. Also consider whether you are doing this to generate revenue or to identify prospective members.

Projects

Do your members run projects that are related to the mission of your organization? The reason that this topic is included in this section of the book is to ask if non-members could be invited to participate in your projects and thereby make a contribution.

If non-members sign on for a project, they are likely to become enthusiastic about the work of your society. Some will become members. At least those who don’t will increase your influence in the community.