Planning a MoveOn Event
These step-by-step guidelines should help make any MoveOn event a success.
It's helpful to keep in mind the Three P's: People, Place, and Program. With all three of these pieces in place, you will have a successful event.
What to do before your event:
1. Find a place for the event. If it is a meeting, check into local free public spaces or ask other members for place suggestions.
2. Register the event in our online event tool. The link to the page looks something like this:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/nameofevent
Once the event is registered, you have access to a lot of great tools:
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You will have a host guide and event materials specific to the actual event!
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MoveOn will also help you with recruiting by sending emails to members in your cities. These emails have a link for members to RSVP so you can keep track of attendance.
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Together with phone calls from your council members to other MoveOn members, this will lead to a well-attended event.
3. Have a planning call or meeting with core members of your council. You can contact other members of your council through your council page: http://www.moveon.org/team. There is an outline for a standard prep meeting here: Prep Meeting Outline.
4. While MoveOn has great online tools, do not forget the power of the personal touch. Make a recruitment plan with your council to call MoveOn members in the area to invite them to the meeting. Don't forget about the people who have signed up online. Call them a couple nights before the meeting to remind them!
5. Work with MoveOn members to print out any materials that you will need for the meeting.
What to do at your event:
1.Recruitment Focus
One of the most important things to do is to welcome everyone and have them sign in. The success of the work we are doing depends on getting people involved so always treat members well. We call this having a "recruitment mindset". It is also important to get members involved at a deeper level within the council. Be on the look out for folks that can help with recruitment and media work and join the Recruitment Team and Media Team.
2. Follow the agenda.
Successful events have a purpose and use people's time efficiently. MoveOn members need to ensure that everyone gets a chance to participate and our message comes across clearly.
3. Have some fun!
We encourage members to bring food and have time to mix and mingle. This allows the council time to get to know each other and share other community announcements.
4. Have a clear set of next steps.
Make sure you end each event with a clear next step, and that everyone knows what it is!
5. Debrief with the core members right after the meeting, so we are always learning what goes well and what can be improved.
After the event:
1. Make sure there is a plan to add members to the council list if they want to join.
2. Calls folks that came to thank them for coming and to check in on next steps.
3. Send in photos is any were taken.
4. Fill out a survey! We'll email it to you as long as you registered your event in our online system.
5. Have a debrief call with your core group to evaluate the event and plan your next steps. There is a standard outline for a debrief call: Debrief Call
Rapid Response Event Organizing:
In addition to the organizing described above, MoveOn Councils sometimes need to mobilizs quickly and respond rapidly to current events. This allows us to maximize our impact, and change the political debate in real time.
When organizing rapid response events, you won't have time to do a lot of the prep work that is listed above. It is critical to:
- Get as many people involved as quickly as possible.
- Act in a timely manner-- it's important to reach people as soon as you can.
- Use the phone, it usually is the quickest way to reach someone. Don't rely on email when organizing rapid response events.
- Your council may have teams in place (rapid response hosts, rapid response media team)-- use them.
- Convey urgency and excitement. This is how we make progressive change!
Here are some other nuts and bolts to keep in mind:
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If you have visuals, make sure people can see them.
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If you have food, set it up in a non-distracting place.
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Use groundrules to facilitate meeting so people know what is expected. This will help the meeting run well! Put them on a list and make sure they are visible.
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Do your best to end on time. If things are running late, ask the group if they don't mind staying an extra 10 minutes.
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Involve as many people in the event (before, during and after). This builds investment and keeps people involved.