Games: Tips & Best Practices
Enjoy euchre? RPGs? Texas Hold’em? Whatever you’re playing, here are some tips from successful Games Meetup Groups:
Prizes without paying: Host a trivia Meetup at a local bar or pub. Many venues that host trivia nights also have their own prizes, so Organizers won’t have to manage the games or winnings.
Meetups for novices: New players might need a introductory Meetup to feel comfortable with the group, learn the game, and test out their beginner’s luck!
Relationships with venues: If you host your Meetups at a venue related to your group, you might be able to receive discounts for your members.
Have tips of your own? Submit them to our blog!
If you have a better Poker Face than Lisa Marie, she might ask you for some Games tips.
International Art Exhibition plus outdoor cafe sketching - Artists and Illustrators Meetup Group, London
Jaclyn helps make Arts & Culture Meetups as beautiful as they can be!
The Death Cafe movement has a few ground rules. Meetings are confidential and not for profit. People must respect one another’s disparate beliefs and avoid proselytizing. And tea and cake play an important role.
Healers/Teachers Program (Prerequisite: Spiritual Alchemy) - Practical Spirituality - Lani Renee Meetup Group, Arvada, CO
Grey is a tree-hugging, crystal-carrying, Libra, bringing you the latest in the New Age & Spirituality Community. Namaste!
Community & Environment: Meetup Highlight
Some Meetup Groups that focus on community service or environmental care are also nonprofit organizations. It can be tricky to navigate the NPO waters, so why not seek out a nonprofit networking Meetup Group in your area?
Dollars Making Sense: Philly’s Nonprofit and Fundraising Group hosts Meetups for folks just getting started in the nonprofit world as well as events for those looking for more advanced techniques. They’ve covered pertinent topics like recruiting volunteer leadership and how to approach donors, and offer a great way for community leaders to put their heads together and brainstorm!
If your Meetup Group does a lot of volunteer work but you’re not officially nonprofit or not-for-profit, you might find a selection of new opportunities at a Meetup Group like Tokyo’s Jambo Volunteer Networking Meetup Group. This Meetup hosts full-scale service projects, but also encourages members speak about their causes to volunteers who are looking for a new way to give back to their community! It’s a winning combination for everyone.
Networking can help you find the support you need as a community-focused Organizer. Click here to find a nonprofit networking Meetup Group near you!
When Furballs Strike 12 - Fursuit bowling at Kenmore Lanes! - Furlife Meetup Group, Seattle, WA
Tech: Tips and Best Practices
Coming up with new and exciting activities for your Tech Meetup Group can prove to be a difficult task. Scheduling a group project is a great way to break things up and encourage members to come together to try something different.
Take the Hacker Dojo Robotics Meetup Group of Mountain View, CA, for example. They’re teaming up to build a $500 robot with specific capabilities. They’ve even outlined a Herculean checklist for the robot, full of fun tasks like delivering a pizza.
Check out the awesomeness for yourself here!
Want to take your Meetup to new heights? Organizer Lisa of Clark, New Jersey’s Get Out and Do Something Meetup Group ramped up the excitement by scheduling a paragliding Meetup!
“Members of the New Jersey based Get Out and Do Something Meetup were first time paragliders,” said Lisa. “We received a full day’s training and even a couple solo flights. It was awesome to spectate, but even better to participate!”
Women: Organizer Interview
From ghost hunting to zip-lining, and skydiving to aerial yoga, the Bucket List Babes seem to do it all! We spoke to Organizer Lori about how she plans such creative events, and keeps her members excited to RSVP and participate.
———————————
What inspired you to start your group?
My friend and I had a vision of creating a group that could cover all the things that we wanted to do in our lives as well as meet new ladies in our area! We are both very adventurous and had many ideas of fun things to do and realized we could create our own group and do those things! We felt there were other women out there like us looking for friendship and someone to go and live life to the fullest with!
How do you get ideas for your different Meetups?
We get our ideas from our members often during our events, or we see things or hear about things that we want to do and after a little research, the event is born! My Co-Organizer is full of wonderful ideas from years of reading and “storing away” for later! This group has allowed these ideas to be experienced in real life!
What has been your favorite Meetup moment?
My favorite meetup moment for me was when I was thanked with such appreciation for putting together this group. I realized how my efforts were changing ladies lives at so many levels. It made me feel so happy when something I had done had meant so much to one lady. She had said she was lonely for friendship and came to our group and found friendship! And for my Co-Organzier Deanna, when she was watching two women that had joined because they too each had no friends, become friends and plan and do things on their own now.
If you could give advice to a new Organizer just starting out, what would it be?
1. Have a very clear plan of what type of a group you’d like to have.
2. Be clear on what you will be offering to the members at your events.
3. Have several ideas researched and ready to post!
4. Be very specific in describing each event, what will happen, what members can expect!
5. Have some rules…but don’t be too rigid.
Waterfall Rappelling and Camping - NC Outdoors Meetup Group, Concord, NC
