As you plan your event, you’ll want to reach out to as many participants as possible to attend.
1- Your personal networks are a perfect place to start. Reach out to friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and fellow members of organizations through e-mail, phone or mail. Try e-mailing your entire address book or messaging your entire friend list—you never know who is interested in volunteering! Let them know that the ServiceNation event and cause is something you’re excited about and that they can play a concrete and important role in. Also encourage them to invite a few more people of their own.
2- The internet can be a critical tool in organizing your Day of Action event. Make sure to get everyone to RSVP on the ServiceNation website . Setting up Facebook or MySpace events is also a great communication method. You can also use the ServiceNation Facebook or MySpace pages to find other people in your area who are part of ServiceNation and invite them to your events. You can also use Meetup to create an event.
3- Local media is another great way to publicize your event. Place an ad in your local newspaper or in more than one local newspaper from surrounding communities. Also, if there is one, ask your local paper to put your event on its calendar. You can also try putting your event in church bulletins, college newspapers or radio stations, or corporate or non-profits’ newsletters.
4- Community leaders and community organizations are people you should target and ask them and their membership to come. Definitely call the offices of all your state and local officials and invite them to come. Congress will be in recess at the time, so make sure to include your representatives and senators. Depending on the event, different interests groups might turn out their membership: if you’re focused on the power of service to protect the environment, for instance, you might want to contact environmental advocacy groups like local chapters of the Sierra Club, Greenpeace or 1Sky.
Finally, make sure to put up flyers around the neighborhood, or write some chalk advertisements near busy areas. A sample flyer can be found here (Coming soon!). Feel free to be creative; this is your event and your ideas will drive it.
Contacting the Media and Officials
