Hosting a Meet-and-Greet

Every school year brings new students to your college or university. These students are looking for a place to belong, and as a member of a student organization, you are looking to recruit new members. One way to do this is to host an event that lets students get to know what your organization is all about. Your goal is to inspire them to enjoy themselves as much as you do and to become a member, so Wedding and Party Network has a few tips for hosting a meet-and-greet.

Start with invitations: Send invitations to members of your organization detailing the goal of your party and asking them to bring a friend. This will help hand-select individuals that existing members think would be a perfect fit. To draw in the general student body, place banners with your invitation printed on them in strategic places around campus. Close to the cafeteria, gym, and central hub of campus are great places. Banners printed on plastic and stuck in the ground with metal stakes will hold up through most weather.

Plan activities that show why you’re worth joining: Does your religious group have a worship team, or maybe your sorority has a step team, or could you possibly have some creative talents from other cultures to show off? In order to show prospective members why they should join, have current members provide entertainment. Your guests may find the niche they’ve been looking for by becoming the next talented member of your band or team!

Ensure guests have a good time by being friendly: Simply approaching someone, getting to know them briefly, and discussing your organization can make a lasting impression. Some new students come to college with no friends and are desperately seeking a friendly face.Whether or not they were looking for a ministry, cultural group, or student organization in the first place, they may choose to try your club to make new friends.

End the night right with party favors: Leave a lasting impression with your guests by sending home something to remember you by. A few great ideas for this are refrigerator magnets, cups, pens, and notepads.

• Magnets: Having magnets made with your logo and motto, a schedule of upcoming events, a link to a group page on Facebook, or a reminder of where and when your group meets can be very valuable. Help students spice up their dorm with a reminder of your organization that they will see every time they reach for a soda.

• Useful Items: A college student can never have enough cups, pens, or note pads. Personalize these items with your organization name and basic information. Every time they use them, they will remember your wonderful event.

With the right planning, any back to school meet-and-greet is a perfect way to jumpstart your organization’s membership. Serve snacks that guests can eat while they mingle and make sure current members are helping each and every person feel involved. By investing a little bit of time and money into your party, you can reap the benefits of not only growing your organization, but also knowing you made a difference by including someone new! These new students will appreciate the chance to become a part of something that can make the next four (or five or six…) years a blast.