**Important: In addition to this Organizing Meeting guide,
make sure you read the full Clean Energy Jobs Day guide!**
Organizing Meeting Host Guide
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Materials you'll need
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[Click here for a large-text version of this guide]
Thanks for hosting this event!
On May 28, all over the country, we're organizing a Clean Energy Jobs Day -- a national day of action to turn up the heat on Congress by showing the promise of the clean energy economy to our senators and representatives, the media, and the public. We'll highlight the clean energy jobs and businesses that already exist in our communities, and we'll showcase the ways in which they could expand. During the Jobs Day, each MoveOn Council will organize a press conference at a clean energy business, and then lead a tour of a few other clean energy sites. They'll call on their senator or representative to support President Obama's plan for a new energy economy.
To effectively plan for and build up to the Jobs Days, we'll want to hold Organizing Meetings around May 1st. This guide will help you plan your Organizing Meeting. It provides you the resources to help you along the way. If you have questions, contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, or email orgmeeting@moveon.org.
This guide is divided into three simple sections: before, during, and after your Organizing Meeting.
Before Your Organizing Meeting
1. Decide on a date, time, and location
The best date for your Organizing Meeting is the weekend of May 2nd and 3rd. That gives you enough time to plan for the event. If you have your Organizing Meeting on a weekday, the best time to hold it is at night, so people can come after work. If you hold it on the weekend, you have more flexibility, but late afternoon is probably best.
Where should you hold it? There are a few considerations you should keep in mind:
- A private home or apartment is a great location for your Organizing Meeting. You can also find a public space that's free of charge, like a library meeting room or community center. Some restaurants and bars have back rooms that they allow groups to use for free.
- The ideal venue will allow you to bring potluck food in, or buy it there. Food makes every event better! (But don't worry about it if you can't find a food-friendly location.)
- For legal reasons, it's very important that you do NOT get a space donated that other groups would have to pay for.
NOTE: If you held a "Small Businesses Speak Out" letter delivery in April, make sure you hold a next steps conference call with other MoveOn members who were involved in the action -- and together, you can decide on a host, a date and time, and a location for the Organizing Meeting. To get a handy outline for that "next steps" call, click here.
2. Register online.
Once you have a host, an event location, and a date and time picked out, make sure you immediately register it in our online system.
3. Start inviting MoveOn members and other community members.
The best way to invite folks is to send them an invite email and then make a follow-up phone call.
- To send the invite email, log in to your host tools page. From there, you can easily send invitations using the "Invite Others" tool. (This will automatically add the details of your event and a link to RSVP.)
- The personalized link to your host tools page was included in your confirmation email. If you can’t find that email, click here:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/forgot.html?action_id=170
If you're part of a council or you held a recent event, make sure to invite every council member and every recent attendee to participate in this Organizing Meeting!
You should also call people to invite them to your event. Think about other events in your life – would you organize a birthday party without picking up the phone? Asking personally is the single best way to get folks to attend! So once you’ve sent out invite emails, a follow-up call will help ensure they received and understood the email. (And of course, it’s fine to just call someone to invite them even if you don’t have an email address for them.) This is a vital step in order to have good attendance at your event.
4. Start inviting Clean Energy Business leaders to participate
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*UPDATED* Read the Clean Energy Jobs Day guide! We've put together a stand-alone guide for your Clean Energy Jobs Day. Be sure to read that guide before your Organizing Meeting! |
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In order to run Clean Energy Jobs Days-- we need to recruit clean energy business leaders! Click here for an outline for your conversations with clean energy business leaders in your community to invite them to join with the Council for the Clean Energy Jobs Days.
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The best way to find clean energy business leaders who are willing to participate in the Jobs Day is to ask everyone on the Council to brainstorm local clean energy business leaders who they know in the community.
- You also should call all of the small business leaders who you recruited through the Small Business drive to ask them to help recruit clean energy business leaders specifically. You also can get a list of MoveOn members who are clean energy business leaders who signed MoveOn's online petition. Ask for your field organizer or Regional Coordinator for this list.
- Make sure that your Council has a plan to recruit clean energy business leaders before your Organizing Meeting, so that they can attend. You can use this guide and script for this recruitment:
http://www.moveon.org/powerupamerica/organizing/greenbusinessoutreach_jobsday.html
Make sure to invite all business leaders to your Organizing Meeting, or if they can't attend, make a plan with them to prep them for the event.
5. Prepare the materials you'll need for your Organizing Meeting
Make sure you're prepared with all the materials and resources you'll need. Here's the list of what you'll need:
- Sign-in sheets
- Butcher paper
- Access to a telephone with speakerphone, or a computer with speakers (it doesn't have to be online during the event)
- This guide (you'll want to have the agenda section on-hand)
- Jobs Day worksheet. We created a worksheet to help your group keep track of the various pieces. Print out a copy for yourself and a few copies for other folks at your meeting *UPDATED*
6. Test your connection to the national conference call
At the beginning of your event, you'll connect to a national conference call where we'll hear an update on the Power Up America campaign -- including recent successes in our small business organizing drive, and what lies ahead in the next few weeks. You can connect through your computer or a phone line. Either way, you’ll need a fairly loud speaker.
If you want to listen over the phone:
- Test your speakerphone's volume beforehand: To make sure everyone will be able to hear, call a friend before your event using your speakerphone. Make sure you can hear your friend speaking, even if you're sitting several feet away with a reasonable amount of background noise.
- When you're ready to play the call: *UPDATED*
Enter the dial-in: 1-888-550-5602 or 212-812-2800, press #1 on your phone, and enter recording code 44977 67269
If you want to listen over your computer: (recommended)
- Check your sound: Sit across the room from the computer to make sure everyone at your event will be able to hear sound from your speakers.
- Point your browser to the web page: http://pol.moveon.org/jobsday/webcast.html *UPDATED*
Here are some tech tips on how to play the webcast, from Regional Coordinator David Greenson: *UPDATED*
- It's very easy to download the webcast as an mp3 and then play it at the meeting, if Internet access is an issue. (Just go to the webcast page and right-click on the audio file, then choose "save link as".)
- If the speakerphone and a computer are both a problem, people can all separately call into the provided number and listen on their cell phone separately.
7. Think about other logistics for the event
As the event host, you should start planning for some of the issues that might come up. Here are a few examples to get you thinking:
- When guests arrive: Where will they park? Should you have a greeter at the door? Do you need to buzz them in? Is your address clearly marked and your house easy to find?
- Snacks: Are you going to use paper plates and cups? Do you have extra serving utensils? Do you want some folks to bring drinks or ice?
- Seating: Do you have enough chairs for your guests?
- Please remember that you cannot hold these parties in cooperation with any political campaign. Please do not post your party on any campaign blog. If you have questions about a venue, email orgmeeting@moveon.org.
8. Make final preparations -- including reminder calls
In the last 24 hours before your event, make sure you’re ready! Read all your materials linked above, and re-read this guide once more. Then make sure you talk to your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator before the Organizing Meeting for final tips and prep. If you don't know how to contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, you can email councilorganizer@moveon.org.
And, your guests should hear from you in the 24 hours leading up to the event. This is by far the best way to help ensure that people show up, so that you can build a strong Council.
And it's especially important that you make a reminder call to any clean energy business owner who plans to attend. We want to have at least one or two of those business leaders speak during the beginning of the Organizing Meeting -- so make sure you give them a heads-up that you're going to ask them to BRIEFLY share their experience.
You can log in to your host tools page to send an e-mail to everyone who is signed up, reminding them what time you are starting and how to get to your event location. You should also give them a reminder call. If they listed their phone numbers, that information will show up on your host tools page.
During Your Organizing Meeting
This section of the Guide will take you step by step through the event agenda. But first here are some quick facilitation tips:
- Stick to your agenda. Follow the agenda that you’ve laid out, and while you can always take questions, you shouldn’t be shy about keeping the meeting moving.
- Involve other people. Have specific roles for people to play, so you’re not running the whole show by yourself! Everyone will enjoy the party more if you’re not the only one talking.
- Be positive and constructive. Keep the tone upbeat – this is an exciting, fun, and participatory event.
Agenda for the Event:
Here's the Agenda Outline:
- Welcome and introductions
- Hear from a local clean energy speaker (or speakers)
- Listen to the national conference call
- Plan the clean energy jobs day
- Discuss other tactics your council could organize to put pressure on your target senator
- Wrap up and review what tasks people are walking out with
Here's the Detailed Agenda for you to follow during the event:
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Welcome and introductions - 5 to 10 min
Even though some people may arrive late, we recommend starting the event within a few minutes of the time you said it would begin.
As people come in, encourage them to introduce themselves to someone they’ve never met (or make introductions yourself). You can also ask them to take on a helper role, including:
- Greeter: Welcome people who come in late, and get them oriented.
- Clean-up crew: Help clean up afterwards.
- Note-taker: Take detailed notes during the small group discussions.
- Set-up crew: Get the location ready for guests to arrive.
- Sign-In person: One person can pass around the sign-in sheet and make sure everyone signs in.
- Tech team: Help set up your computer or speakerphone to access the national conference call. (This person should be sure to arrive a bit early.)
Once everyone is settled, take a quick moment to let your guests know why you're hosting and what personally motivated you to get involved.
Then ask everyone else to BRIEFLY introduce themselves, answering the following question: Why are they passionate about the clean energy economy? (Answer in one sentence or less -- and keep the sentence short, or this could take the whole meeting!)
Then, preview the agenda for your group, and go over what you hope to accomplish. Make sure the agenda is either written up on a piece of butcher paper, or pass out printed copies.
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Hear from a local clean energy speaker (or speakers) - 5 to 10 min
Once you've finished with introductions, if there are any clean energy business owners or people with green jobs in the room, ask them to say a few words about the potential for the clean energy economy in your community. (If there are more than 2 or 3 speakers at the Organizing Meeting, choose just 2 or 3 -- you don't want this to take up the whole meeting.) Ask them to speak to the questions: What do they see as the potential to bring green jobs to your community? Why are they optimistic about the clean energy economy?
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Listen to the national conference call - 10 min
To listen, dial in or point your computer to the national conference call as soon as you finish your introductions.
- To listen to the conference call on your computer, go to: http://pol.moveon.org/jobsday/webcast.html
- To listen to it over a speakerphone, dial the call-in number: 1-888-550-5602 or 212-812-2800, press #1 on your phone, and enter recording code 44977 67269
If you have trouble and can’t dial in, just “move on” to the rest of the program. Hearing the national conference call is exciting and energizing – but it’s not fatal if you miss it.
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Plan the Clean Energy Jobs Day - 40 min
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Facilitation Tips for the Planning Discussion
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Next, we'll do some planning! To set up the discussion, you can say:
"Now, we're going to start planning to bring the Clean Energy Jobs Day to our community. This is a really exciting opportunity to showcase the clean energy businesses that already exist in our area -- and a great chance to press our member of congress to help grow and expand jobs at businesses like these by voting for strong clean energy jobs legislation."
"There's a lot to plan to pull together a big Clean Energy Jobs Day, so we're going to walk through a few of the most important questions."
[If you have more than 6 people at your Organizing Meeting, you can break into small groups to discuss each of the following questions. Otherwise, stay in one big group.]
[Either way, make sure you have a facilitator and one person taking notes on each topic. If possible, it's a good idea to have someone scribe on a piece of butcher paper where everyone can see it.]
[Walk through each section for the discussion:]
- Speakers & Sites - What clean energy businesses do we already know? Which clean energy businesses that signed onto our letter could we reach out to again? Where could we have a press event? What businesses or sites would make great visual backdrop?
- Recruitment - How can we get the most people to participate in our Jobs Day? How can we make sure to get people from the core to attend? Is there anyone we haven't seen much of lately that we could re-engage for this event? Who can host or attend a recruitment calling night in the next few weeks (our organizer can provide lists of nearby MoveOn members and a recruitment script)?
- Media - Which media should we reach out to? What relationships do we already have with reporters? Who can take responsibility for calling reporters? Who can help fax out or email out the press advisory? Let's think outside the box about outlets that aren't the usual suspects -- like local political blogs, independent radio stations, and small news outlets -- which of them should we be reaching out to?
[If you have small groups, make sure each small group follows a simple agenda for the conversation:]
- Introduce yourselves
- Ask for a volunteer to take notes
- Explain the purpose of the group -- for instance: "We're going to talk about recruitment for our upcoming Jobs Day."
- Discuss the above questions one-by-one.
[If you break into small groups, have one person from each group give a one-minute report-back to the large group afterwards.]
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Discuss extra pressure tactics your council could organize to put pressure on your target senator - 10 min *UPDATED*
The Clean Energy Jobs Day is our focus for the next month, but there are other ways we can put pressure on our Senator and help the campaign. So we'll discuss some options, and see who wants to volunteer to work on that project.
One great way we can put extra pressure on our Senator is to build buzz in our local media -- through letters to the editor and publishing Op-Eds in our local paper. MoveOn will be providing an Op-Ed kit and some Letter to the Editor tips to help with this.
Some questions to discuss:
- Which media outlets might be good for us to send in letters and op-eds?
- Which small business or clean energy business leaders might be good spokespeople to write a letter to the editor or an op-ed?
- What are some local anecdotes or leaders we can use to make our point in letters or op-eds?
- Who can volunteer to help coordinate this extra media outreach for our council, or work with whoever is already working on it?
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Wrap up and review what tasks people are walking out with - 10 min
- Conclude: After small groups are done, conclude that part by having everyone go around and say two things: one thing they learned at this meeting, and one responsibility they are leaving the meeting with.
- Build your core teams: If Council doesn't already have a media/recritment coordinator, ask if anyone can take on that role. And ask everyone if they'd like to formally join the recruitment and media teams!
- Set a date for the 2 Week Check-In Call. Also be sure to make a plan when the whole team is going to have a "2 Week Check-In Call". It should take place 2 weeks before the Jobs Day, so that should be around May 14. Make sure everyone knows the date and time of that check-in call before they leave. (Your organizer or Regional Coordinator can help you set up a conference call line if you're not sure how -- one conference call resource MoveOn volunteers use a lot is www.freeconference.com.)
- Socialize! Then, people can socialize and eat pot luck until they're ready to go (or until the host wants to kick them out!).
After your Organizing Meeting
Fill out the survey we send you, and send any photos from the event to orgmeetingphoto@moveon.org.
You'll want to check in with members of your Council within the week after your Organizing Meeting to make sure people are staying on track.
Make sure your Clean Energy Jobs Day gets posted in Bob ASAP before Thursday, May 14th.
Then hold your 2-week check-in call around May 14th. The purpose of this call is to serve as a check-in point to make sure everything is on track, and to begin talking about the final steps for the Jobs Day.
