Helpful Tips to Having a Successful Prospect Event

One of the biggest challenges for all youth groups is finding new members. Below are some helpful tips that we have found work very well at both energizing the group, and bring in new members.

1. Don’t call your event a prospect event. Call it a fun event or party or something similar. Getting new members is already hard enough. It’s much easier to get people to show up for a fun event, a party, a fundraiser, and similarly named events, versus having them feel like they are going to a timeshare presentation which is what a lot of people think when they get invited to a prospect event.

2. Set the expectation that you are going to have a fun event every month. This sets a nice recurring rhythm to your events that everybody gets used to. Having the events monthly also results in the members getting to spend more fun time together helping to better establish relationships between the members so they start looking forward to these events and hanging out together.

3. Now that your members are excited about doing fun events and hanging out together, you will find getting the members to invite their friends is much easier.

4. Make sure a one-page flyer is created for every fun event at least a month ahead of time. Print these out for your members and give copies to each member, asking them to hand out at least 3 to their friends.

5. Outside of what the event is that you are having, the flyer should also include a request to have a parent come to the event as well. If the event will also work with younger children, they should also be invited.

   1. A pledge group of younger youth that joins your group frequently at events is a great way to always have new members lined up to join as they come of age.

6. Give an incentive to your members to get their friends to come out.

   1. If your group is financially able to, cover the cost for any prospect and parent attending.

   2. The group can also cover the cost for the member that gets 1 or 2 prospects to come out.

7. Make sure you have brochures about your group, and petitions available at all events.

8. You will also want to post that flyer everywhere that you can, including to

   1. Your mailing list if you have one

   2. Facebook

   3. Next Door

   4. Your sponsoring Lodge and other bodies

   5. At your barbershop

   6. At the supermarket

   7. At the local schools

   8. Any other place that allows you to post upcoming events on a bulletin board.

9. Assign an advisor to work with the youth that is planning the activity to help ensure it’s success.

   1. If the event is an outdoor event, think about what the weather will be when it’s scheduled, and an alternative event if the weather prevents what you already have scheduled.

   2. Make sure you stay on top of the youth and the schedule to get everything planned and produced. Be ready to step in and work together with the youth to make sure everything happens on time.

What are examples of good fun events

Below is a list of some easy fun events that are easy to schedule and tend to be very popular. The best fun events are ones where participants actively interact with each other and that are of interest to your members.

• Laser Tag

• Bowling

• Miniature Golf

• Visit a Zoo or Museum

• Pool Party

• A game of basketball, volleyball, or similar sporting event

• Make homemade pizza

• Movie Night

• Roller Skating

• Ice Skating

• Baseball Game

• Game Night (Board Games, not Virtual Gaming)

• Superbowl Party

• Ice Cream Social

• Holiday Party

You can also schedule a big fun event occasionally. These can be a lot of fun, but they do tend to be much more expensive, and take a lot more planning and coordination to pull off. Any event that requires getting a head count and requires RSVP’ing are much harder to coordinate and pull off.

• Go-Karting

• Zip Lining