Need some advice.?

Question

I am establishing a Habitat for Humanity club at my community college. I am trying to come up with the most progressive way to recruit members, elect positions and get involvement in the club. If you were a student would you be more interested if you saw a flier for a meeting of the club or a flier advertising the club providing contact information for more details? Basically I want to know that even though there is not a whole lot planned for the members to do so far, would it still be a good idea to have a meeting?

Answer 1

Having done this before:  Do both.  Have a meeting and have a contact point with little tear-offs that say "Habitat" and have a telephone number or email address.  You want the meeting to kick things off - but if people can't make it, you want a way to get in touch with them.

Be up front about where you are in terms of group formation - lots of people like to get in on the "ground floor" of organizations.  Have your student organizations office help coordinate it and maybe point you to free stuff (like "how many flyers can I get copied for free?"), help you get established as an organization (and then have the national office of Habitat send some recruiting materials), and get going!

Answer 2

Yes have the meeting.  In starting any type of organization you will need a core group.  10 to 12 people to spread out the work involved.  With a strong base to build upon you achieve what you plan.  Flyer should advertise the meeting, but also include a contact number.  Doing both helps in generating a list of names and phone numbers.  You also will

get the people who are slightly interested but need to hear more.

Answer 3

Definitely have some sort of informational meeting so that people will know what's going on and what you hope to accomplish.  This will also be a chance to get other people's input and help you in developing your plans.  Having a set date to meet, will sometimes spur people into action because it creates an "act by" time for them.  If you just have contact info, some people may copy down your number and "get back to you" whereas a stated meeting time will motivate them to come and see what's going on.