Organizers, I really need your input here…
Since the Tea Parties & 912 groups are mostly run by people who have never done this before, we are all learning on the job! Some have skills that come in quite handy for such an endeavor; others…. not so much 
But we all get an A+++ for effort.
With 20 months or so under our belts, some organizations are still going strong while others are finding it hard to keep members involved. The reasons vary widely, but most organizers have dealt with this issue at some point. Often, you come up with a “killer idea” that you just know will reignite the fire, right! Yet, knowing what motivates people is often not what we think, and the results can be discouraging.
We need to support one another. We need to hear from those of you who have found the answers, who know what works, who have a strong active leadership team and membership.
We also need to hear from those who are struggling. Nothing to be ashamed of, we don’t all have psychology degrees, but we can listen and learn from one another. Share your questions; somone in “your shoes” probably has some great advice.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP THE ENTIRE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT -
Organizers across America are working their tails off every day to turn this country around. Encourage and assist one another – togther we become stronger.
There are two ways:
1) I’ve posted this on the Blog at FindALocalTeaParty.com so that everyone can respond, ask questions, get input from other organizers, share success stories, encourage others, etc… Here’s the link: http://findalocalteaparty.com/blog/tea-party-912-website-promotion/tea-party-dilemma/
2) If you have something that you don’t want to post on the board but would like to pose or suggest to the other organizers, simply email me; I’ll forward it on or whatever you need.
I see many Tea Party / 912 sites with little recent activity… No time to simmer; TURN UP the Heat!
Thank you,
Eric
PS – our Facebook page is taking off !! If you haven’t already, remember to implement some of those facebook tools for your site.
Great topic. Can’t wait to hear more
If I could just print some money, it would be so easy.
I am the president of the Vicksburg Tea Party in Mississippi. We are doing well, I think. We have about 231 members but usually about 50 show up for monthly meetings. I try to keep it political. Every meeting we have a guest speaker that is running for office or trying to get a bill passed. I want my group to vote with knowledge. I want to get to know every person on the ballot. So far so good.
Good to hear from you, Carolyn. I know many groups seldom bring in “established” politicians to speak because we need to change the blood and don’t want to provide a forum to spread their bull.
It sounds like you invite those trying to pass bills whether you agree with them or not (to give everyone knowledge). Am I correct? What have you learned to help you as an organizer by having such guests?
Getting people involved here seems impossible here as most here would not even contact their representatives and volunteer to help not a chance. Some are willing to show up but only if its convenient they seem to think its going to be OK till its to late.
Don, Hang in there; we’ll figure it out as I know you’re not the only one who feels this way. Frank posted a great plan on here; yet you’re probably wondering how to even reach step 1 since people aren’t involved. I think many times, this is exactly the reason: they’ll only become involved when they understand the group’s vision by agreeing with it’s goals and feeling confident that the plan to reach them will be successful. They don’t want want to “waste” their time if it looks like we’re throwing darts blindfolded.
That may not be the case with you, but this is a real issue. There are so many fires popping up daily that it’s hard to stay focused; yet if we try to chase all the rabbits at once, we won’t catch any
Here’s the 4-stage plan I put together for our group, the Staten Island Tea Party. We’re now in Stage 3:
1. [March '09 until November '10] Use rallies and local press to raise our profile, increase our membership and influence our Congressman (a freshman Democrat in NY-13). Try to affect the process from the outside in.
2. [September '10 through Election Day] Have our members become engaged in the process by working (most for the first time) for the campaign of Michael Grimm, a conservative Republican challenging the incumbent Democrat. (Mission accomplished: Grimm unseats McMahon in an upset victory). We had then become a part of the process, and started to work our way inside the system.
3. BECOME the system. This is where we are right now. We are lining up hundreds of SITP members to vie for seats on our Republican County Committee. In this way, we will be in a position to control the designation of nominees, rather than having to primary unacceptable RINO’s or cronies of the existing establishment. This is the REAL move into the system, and should carry us through 2011 and into the Presidential election cycle.
4. For 2012 and beyond: recruit and run Tea Party candidates under the local Republican and Conservative banner. And, of course, work for the defeat of Barack Obama.
When this plan is explained to your group, they will sense the purpose and direction and remain involved. Hope this helps.
Frank Santarpia
Founder
Staten Island (NY) Tea Party
Great stuff, Frank. Exciting to hear you have so many stepping up to run for positions! Such a clear plan & direction is what many groups are lacking. Thanks for letting us know.