Level 3
Have a House Party

BEFORE THE PARTY

6 WEEKS BEFORE THE PARTY
• Decide on a date for the house party
• Request full kit from the Sierra Club (if available)
• Call or email the Sierra Club to tell us the date and location

3-4 WEEKS BEFORE THE PARTY
• If you need help with the party, put together a team of your friends and divide up the tasks
• Make a guest-list; send invitations; and follow-up with phone calls
• Ask friends to bring chairs (if needed)
• Make a menu for the party. Do you want to have finger foods, a potluck, or at dinner party?

1 WEEK BEFORE THE PARTY
• Make reminder calls to guest list.
• Get the food ready!
• Secure chairs (if needed)
• Read the issue fact sheets and background information
• Contact the Sierra Club with any last minute questions
• If you have a team organizing the event, meet or talk with them to review who will do what at the party

DAY BEFORE THE PARTY
• Last minute cooking

DAY OF THE PARTY
• The team arrives early to setup and review the flow of the party- for example, what happens when, who says what…
• Setup materials, bumper stickers, buttons, nametags, donation basket, and sign-up sheet on a table accessible to the guests
• Setup refreshments
• Put up Welcome sign, turn on porch light


GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR HOUSE PARTY

GET YOUR “TEAM” TOGETHER—Even a little house party has lots of tasks. A friend, a spouse, a colleague to share the work and bounce ideas off will help you tremendously.

INVITE PEOPLE!
• Make up your guest list, set a date, time, and place, then mail your invitations. (Email has a much lower response rate). Consider friends, neighbors, coworkers, family, members of your union, PTA, or book club, and members of your church or synagogue, professional groups, local peace or social justice groups— 12-50 people works best.
• Hold your event in your home or apartment, a friend’s house, a church hall, community group room; anywhere that is large enough and has good parking.
• Figure on 1-2 hours. Evenings and weekends are best for working folks.
• Figure that 1 out of 4 or 5 invited people will attend. We have included invitations: feel free to create your own using the guidelines we have included. Send out the invitations as soon as possible! Follow up your invitations with a phone call a few days later.
•Remember, a house party is a way to build the movement. You will want to mention that in your invitation.

ABOUT INVITATIONS / INVITATION HINTS
• Experience shows that only 1 out of 4 or 5 people who are invited to your house party will attend. The response rate is even lower (1 of 10) if you use email only. The most effective way to get good attendance is to mail out invitations, and follow up a week later with a personal phone call. 5 to 7 days before the party, make a second reminder call. It will greatly increase the attendance at your party.
• Be sure your invitations include the date, time, and address of the house party. Include good directions to your house (a map is very useful). Include your phone number. Ask your guests to RSVP so you have an idea of how many people are coming. This is a movement building event. Be direct about that.

SET A VOLUNTEER GOAL – BE AMBITIOUS!—It has been said that successful movements have at least one leader for every ten members. Asking people to volunteer is the first step in building such a movement.

WE LOVE FOOD!—Hey, this is a party! Music, food and drinks break the ice and put people in a good frame of mind. Veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, water or wine, it’s up to you.

CALL YOUR GUESTS TO REMIND THEM A WEEK BEFORE—A reminder phone call is always appreciated by busy folks, and can make a BIG difference in attendance at your party.

ONE DAY TO GO!—Meet with your “team” the day before to plan who will do what at the party. Make sure you have enough chairs/places for people to sit.


DAY OF THE PARTY

SET THINGS UP
• Your “team” should arrive early to establish a common understanding of the “flow” of the event, i.e., who does what and when.
• Set up two tables: one for refreshments, and one for campaign materials including sign up sheet, facts sheets, name tags, and postcards to take action.
• Be sure you have some pens. Set out a basket or bowl, clearly marked, for contributions on the table.

PARTY TIME!
• Greet your guests as they come in and thank them for coming. If nametags are appropriate, have your guests put them on.
• BE SURE EVERYONE SIGNS IN WITH PHONE NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES.
• KEEP THE PARTY POSITIVE AND FUN! People should have fun at the party; and with events around the world that are sometimes depressing, people need to have fun and know that they can make a difference
• Let folks mingle and chat for 20-30 minutes after they arrive. People are here because they are your friends and they are interested in solving our energy challenges. They also want to have a good time.
• Host and Guest Introductions
• ACTIVITY (38 minutes—See links at the beginning of this page). Let your guests discuss their reactions, etc  (10-20 minutes)
• Call to Action: Ask for volunteers. (15 minutes)
• Pass around the sign-up sheet again. Ask for two people to volunteer to hold their own house parties; Thank people for coming, wrap up. (5 minutes)
• Congratulate yourselves!

AFTER THE PARTY
• Return the kit to the Sierra Club. Include your completed Evaluation form and your Sign-in Sheet.
• Send Thank you notes to guests (cards and sample included)

SAMPLE HOUSE PARTY AGENDA
• Socialize
• Welcome
• Guest Introductions
• ACTIVITY
• Q&A/Comments
• Ask for Volunteers and House Party Hosts
• Wrap up and Thank You Notes