Planning

This is the most important of any step. Here, you make decisions about the feel of the event or party, the scale, target audience, issues discussed, etc. If the event you are planning is geared toward a particular demographic, then make sure people who identify within that demographic are part of the planning. Don’t underestimate how important and how much time this step takes- especially the step of building a team of people that will see it through. Here are some tips for structuring this first step with the four goals in mind.

• New people: Some people theme house parties around introducing new people to the work. Particularly effective strategies include teaming up with 3 hosts and building a turnout list from your combined list of friends and contacts. On average, 2/3 of people invited won’t be able to attend the event for a variety of reasons so invite three times the number of people you want to attend.
• Fun: Think about a particularly fun party you’ve attended, what made it fun? Was there a good band, delicious food, did a good friend of yours put it on, did an author that you like do a reading there? While there isn’t one way to make an event fun, there are a couple of things that make events not very fun. Try these tips:
  • Keep the program simple- if you have a party that lasts 3 hours, don’t make a 2 hour program- make sure there is plenty of time for people to mingle and socialize.
  • Think outside of the box- did you plant a lot of tomatoes this year in your backyard garden? Plan a party for late July when they’re at their prime and invite your friends over for a simple backyard party and some fresh salsa?
• Lasting Impact: When planning the party, be thoughtful about how you plan to follow-up with the people who attend and what types of actions they can take at the event. If, for example, you are planning a party around the issue of Restoration of Voting Rights for Former Felons in a specific legislative district during the General Assembly then plan to have postcards the attendees can sign at the party. Set up a meeting with the legislator that is after the party so you can deliver the signed postcards. At the party, invite the attendees to the meeting and follow-up with them after the meeting and throughout the session to keep them updated on the progress. This doesn’t have to be the work of one house party host, but could be a way for a house party to integrate into larger campaign goals.
• Strategic Base Building: Set up the party so that there is time for an explanation of the organization or issue topic. This should be simple, clear and hopefully spark other questions from the audience. Be available to answer questions and help people know how they can be more involved in a variety of ways (phone banking, lobbying, mailings, letters to the editor, etc.)
• Donations: Donations look a lot of different ways for a party. Everyone who attends should be asked for a financial contribution and to volunteer, restaurants and catering businesses could be asked for a food donation, a musician can be asked to perform, authors, etc. People on the committee should all brainstorm details around the donations and be prepared to ask for them. Take the time to explore discomforts around asking for donations and identify different ways of support. Identify that at the beginning and create opportunities for people to engage at their comfort level.

Preparation

When you have figured out the basic foundation of the party, make sure that there are ways for other people to help out along the way. Preparing for parties is a different type of way for people to get involved in social justice work. The more ways we can open up the work for people’s involvement, the larger our movement can grow. (Follow this link for a sample committee structure)

• New People: Create opportunities for leadership development when preparing for the party. Are there people who are new to the work and are interested in building more skills around organizing. Ask them to participate in parts of the preparation so they can learn how to put something on in the future.
• Fun: Plan all of the preparation in a way that doesn’t lose the fun. Build a big enough team so that one or two people don’t get bogged down with all of the details. That means planning enough time to build your committee or scaling back the event. When you plan meetings, make sure you’re prepared so the meeting runs efficiently, but don’t be so rushed that people aren’t able to build relationship in the process. Be aware of your own style of organizing and be open to other people’s styles.
• Lasting Impact: As you are planning and preparing, think about the best way to document your process. Keep good records of who donated food, who is on what committee, contact information for everyone, etc. All of these details and documentation will be extremely helpful for others when they’re planning parties in the future. If you are wondering what information to track, think about what information would have been helpful to you in the process of planning and preparing for this party.
• Strategic Base Building: Spend time thinking about the program for your house party. A house party is not a lecture. Structure a program that has good information, but is not overwhelming for someone who is new to this work. The best, most impactful information that someone will get at a house party typically happens in one-on-one conversations, often based off of a question that was spurred by the program. Build in time at the event for people to self-select and ask more specific questions that they have. Prepare leaders and volunteers so they are able to engage with attendees and have these conversations. This will also lay the foundation for good follow-up after the event. This means, coming up with the program in enough time to be able to share it with the volunteer crew and prepare for party conversations.
• Donations: Think about the party “pitch”- the time when we ask people to make a donation. Who will make the pitch, when should it happen in the program (it’s more effective after an especially energizing speaker) and who will support the pitch by passing baskets in the crowd? Is there a specific amount of money we want to raise from this event, are there particular volunteer roles we want to focus on filling? Make goals for these areas and be specific about how you’ll meet them. This step will help you identify and support people in moving through their discomforts about asking people to donate.

The Party

• New People: Make sure there are people prepared to have a good conversation about the focus issue and KFTC throughout the crowd. For a house party, it might just be a staff person and a couple of members at the door making sure people sign in and making sure that they have been asked to donate or join KFTC. These same people will also be the ones to make the pitch, pass the basket and work the crowd after the program.
• Fun: If the planning is spread out amongst enough people then the day of the party will be almost as fun for the planners as it is for the attendees. There is a level of anxiety that is to be expected, but think about this and visualize the day. Is there one or two people who will have all of the information that people need. Is there a way to prevent that type of burden for one person? Also think through the day from the perspective of people volunteering, are they prepared enough to approach their role confidently, do they have the materials they need? Are materials prepared well enough so that the day-of logistics will be reduced?
• Lasting Impact: When thinking of the action step for the party (whether it is a postcard to a legislator, an on-site call-in, etc.) think about how people will know to do that step and how you will follow-up with them after the party or event. It probably makes sense to have postcards at the door with sign-in sheets. Before the party, know how you plan to follow-up with the people who attend. That might change how you introduce the action. It will be useful information for everyone who works the party.
• Strategic Base Building: The biggest part of this is to capture the information of those who attend, recruit people who attend to join KFTC and have a variety of ways for them to continue being involved. People who attend will appreciate follow-up action steps because the party will motivate them to be involved.
• Donations: Make it easy for people to donate with a variety of upcoming actions (phone banks, rallies, letter-writing, etc.) and make sure they are ask to invest in this work at any level. Everyone should be asked to donate time and money at least once.

Follow Up

It is a important to have a follow-up plan that is mapped out in the process of planning the event. This plan can be simple and involve a follow-up call to select attendees (those who have been identified by people who worked the party as good to follow-up with) or could be a larger call to action, like a rally or event. There should be consideration about how the new contacts and momentum that is built can flow into the larger campaign or organizational strategy.

• New People: Involve greeters in the process of follow-up. If you’ve planned this step before the event then it could be part of the volunteer ask to greeters: “would you be willing to come to this event or house party and also sign up for an evening the week after when we are getting together to make follow-up calls to people who attended and write thank you notes”. If the greeter knows this then when they meet someone to follow-up with they can say “Oh, that’s a good question, I don’t know the answer, but I’ll do a little research and call you back next week.”
• Fun: Think of some way to thank those who worked on the party. It might be a follow-up email to the committee with highlights and a final progress report about goals. It could also be an in-person potluck that is celebratory and includes other pieces like writing thank you notes and making follow-up calls. Just the same as any other meeting in preparation for the event, make sure that materials are prepared for whatever follow-up (thank you notes, if it is a follow-up meeting with a legislator- have fact sheets, etc., phone lists, etc.).
• Lasting Impact: Make sure that there is time to celebrate and reflect about the party. What worked, what didn’t, document this as the final piece of the party documentation. For a small party, this might be a quick phone call evaluation
• Strategic Base Building: It is very likely that you will meet people at the event or party who should have specific follow-up. Someone might mention that they would love to learn to lobby and are pretty sure they can go to Frankfort with a group on Thursday. A follow-up call on Monday is necessary to firm up those logistics. Right after the event, comb through the list and see if there are people who need immediate follow-up. You follow-up will be a reflection of what type of event it was and what information you find on the sign-in lists. For those who didn’t join at the event or party, make an effort to follow-up and recruit them after the event. Their membership to KFTC will keep them engaged throughout the year.
• Donations: Keep a list of all of those who made in-kind contributions, financial contributions and signed up for volunteer shifts. Make sure the financial contributions make their way to the main London office of KFTC, thank you notes get sent to those who made in-kind contributions and confirmation calls get made to those to sign up for a volunteer shift.

The most important thing to remember for every step of party planning is that the entire thing is part of building a movement. So if you think about your planning and preparation, does it look like the type of movement that you want to be building, with room for new people to engage and build skills, mutual respect and inspiration? If you attended the party and you were inspired, would it be easy for you to know how to get more involved after the party is over with? Does what you want to plan contribute to a larger organizational strategy so that there are ways for people to continue their involvement?

The truth is, house parties are essential to building and maintaining our movement. If you’re interested in planning one, being part of one or just want to know more, contact Jessica George  or your local KFTC organizer.