The days of posting a paper notice on a bulletin board somewhere are mostly over... the days of virtual hubs as a jump-off point for in-person gatherings are here! With the rise of sites like Meetup.com, NetTuesday, WiserTuesdays and more, grassroots organizers are stepping up and the web is bringing visibility to local community meetups as never before. The masses are clearly hungry for connection!
10. How it started
•Collaboration between 3
organizations
•Small group as a foundation
•The first gathering was at a bar
11. Now is…
• Network of over 395
members
• Just had its 17th gathering
• Co created with 6 other
organizations a BarCamp
conference last year
• Trusted and respected local
network
12. Beyond WiserParis
• Expanded to 16 cities
• WiserRio just had its first
gathering last month
• Local leaders that volunteer
their time are key to success
13. Online Space
Central place for local leaders to get started,
connect with others, and share best practices
15. Our learnings
• Start small
• Engage volunteers at the right time
• Commit to connecting with and engaging
members of your community to co-create
successful events
16. Our learnings
• Each local group is different
• Invite the community be part of setting
the agenda and facilitating
• Always follow up after face to face
gatherings
17. Case Study: NetSquared
NetSquared local events provide
a chance to connect face-to-face
with those interested in the
intersection between social
technologies and social change
79 groups meeting every month around the
world
165 volunteer organizers around the network
case study courtesy of
Amy Sample Ward
18. Case Study: NetSquared
• Does your organization hold events for members of
your community?
• Do you need to grow globally?
• How do you intermix local and global?
• Will you structure top-down, bottom-up or hybrid?
• Who will play the role of intermediary?
case study courtesy of
Amy Sample Ward
19. Case Study: Learnings
• Local planning
• Strengths of mixing top-down
with bottom-up
case study courtesy of
Amy Sample Ward
20. Case Study: The Climate Network
Offline to Online to Offline
“Build it and they will come”
Great lessons learned
21. Case Study: The Climate Network
The goal was to create a unified online
community for the climate movement:
- Provide local groups and organizers with the tools
and give their efforts an online voice and platform to
support their offline work;
- Create political pressure by documenting and
mapping the movement for legislators
- Give each organization the ability to share
supporters and content in a networked community to
reflect the unity of the movement
22. Case Study: The Climate Network
Lessons learned:
- Project vision came from one group
- Intended audience was not consulted
- Technology use
- A lack of capacity
By Garth Moore, Michael Silberman and Liz Butler
http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2010/9/14/offline-to-online-to-
offline-lessons-learned-in-building-a-c.html
23. Your gatherings
Tips for organizing your own
successful community gatherings
37. Remember..
It does not end after the event…
• Always send a Thank
You to participants
• Summarize what
happened, who came,
pictures/videos and next
steps, then share it with
participants
• Continue the
conversations after the
event online
39. Any questions
Feel free to contact me: Peggy Duvette - peggy@wiserearth.org
40. Find the listings for our current season
of webinars and register at
NonprofitWebinars.com
April Hunt
April@NonprofitWebinars.com
Special Thanks To Our Sponsors