In the beginning

Start with people you know

Those who have been most successful in setting up groups in their community started with people they knew. It’s much easier for someone to join in a group if they know, and trust, the person who’s running it. Sometimes this can be even more important than the topic itself! For example, you may already have links to a local school, in which case that would be a great place to start.

But if this is your first foray into the wider community, please don’t expect to be up and running overnight. Building wider relationships take time. Then they can invite their friends to the next one, who can then invite their friends and so on.

Experience shows that the majority of people attending a group have been personally invited.

Hold an information session

It can be difficult for people to commit to something they know nothing about, especially if you are going to ask them to give up six evenings, for example, for a complete course. By holding a short information session, for about an hour, you give people an opportunity to try out what’s on offer. Make sure you give people refreshments – tea and biscuits – or cake!

At the end ask interested people to sign up, and start your course within the next couple of weeks, if possible. Send out reminders, or call them, a few days before the first session.

Timing

You may not have much leeway over when you run your courses, because of prior commitments. However, at your info session it is good to check out when people would prefer to come along. Single, non-working parents, for example, may prefer the daytime when children are at school and there are no childcare problems for them. Others would prefer mid-week, early evening or a weekend breakfast meeting. The more flexible you can be, the better your chances of success.