Neighborhood Association Meetings
How often should you hold your Neighborhood Association meetings? Some neighborhoods have enough projects and activities to meet monthly, others are better suited to meet every two months/six times a year, and some quarterly/four times a year.
Your Neighborhood Association meetings are one of the best ways to gather your neighbors together so that they can better know each other and the neighborhood.
Neighborhood meetings can be powerful tools of communication and engagement when conducted both efficiently and effectively. For instance, there is no reason to have a meeting just because it is on the schedule, if there is no information to share or discuss. Too many meetings with little or no information will cause people to avoid them. There should always be a clear purpose for the meeting.
Regular meetings are important so that members are informed of current and future issues and projects, as well as the accomplishments of the group. It is also an excellent opportunity to give recognition to members and committees who have contributed a lot of their time for the Neighborhood Association.
One thing to remember about meetings is that it isn’t always necessary to call a full group meeting to make minor decisions. When minor decisions need to be made, consider having the board vote on such matters. Perhaps decisions regarding the allocation of pre-determined dollar amounts could be voted on at the board level. Many Neighborhood Associations have a board meeting once a month unless something important requires an additional meeting.
Setting up your Neighborhood Association Meeting
- Have an agenda that includes information, guest speakers and all items to be communicated or discussed. Plan enough time for each topic.
- Be sure to have enough copies of the agenda available when members arrive for the meeting. Members can begin familiarizing themselves with what is to be discussed and will be aware of the order of topics while waiting for the meeting to begin. The agenda should be short and concise.
- Be sure that your meeting is planned to be no longer than one hour.
- Location - Choose a place that is centrally located and familiar to the neighbors. The location can set the mood and the friendliness of the meeting. Try to estimate the number of people that will attend. The room should be comfortable but not so large as to make the people feel lost.
- The meeting room should be arranged in a way that will encourage people to participate. The chairs can be arranged in a semi- or full circle so that everyone can be seen.
- Many groups are comfortable using Robert’s Rules of Order, but feel free to use whatever method works best for your Neighborhood Association. A special effort should be made to ensure that a vote truly represents the desire of the group. Keep meetings orderly and democratic.
General Meeting Rules
Your neighborhood association should set some general operating rules for meetings so that they run smoothly and without difficulty. The operating rules could be included in the association’s bylaws so that all members are aware of them. Some common rules for all meetings are the following:
- Ask people to silence their cell phones, to prevent distractions
- One person speaks at a time
- Questions are answered one at a time, with each person asking one question, to allow all to ask their questions during the meeting
- No derogatory remarks
- No cross-talk (i.e. no side conversations or interrupting the speaker to dispute points.)
Tips and Best Practices for Before, During and After a Meeting
Before the Meeting
- Plan the meeting carefully: who, what, when, where, why, how many?
- Prepare and send out an agenda in advance.
- Come early and setup the meeting room.
- Put out the meeting sign in sheet, name tags, pens and appropriate meeting materials.
- Post the last meeting minutes and the current financial report for members to review.
- Setup light refreshments; food and drink are good ice breakers and make your members feel welcome and comfortable.
- Have meeting greeters in place at least 20 minutes before the meeting time; they are to greet members and make them feel welcome, even late members when appropriate.
Starting the Meeting
- Start on time! This demonstrates respect for the members that showed up on time. After the meeting you can brief latecomers after the meeting is over on any information they missed.
- Introduce yourself and the members of the Neighborhood Association Board.
- Welcome and introduce new members and guests/guest speakers.
- Review the agenda and set priorities for the meeting so members will understand the purpose and what is being covered.
- Set clear time limits, by letting people know when you expect the meeting to adjourn.
During the Meeting
- Stick to the agenda.
- Use parliamentary procedure to conduct the meeting
- Ask questions.
- Listen.
- Encourage group discussion to get all points of view and ideas. You will have better quality decisions as well as highly motivated members; they will feel that attending meetings is worth their while.
- Encourage feedback: ideas, activities and commitment to the organization improve when members see their impact on the decision making process.
- Keep conversation focused on the topic/agenda item.
- Feel free to ask for only constructive and non-repetitive comments; tactfully end discussions when they are getting nowhere or becoming destructive or unproductive.
- Keep minutes of the meeting for documentation and future reference in case a question or issue arise.
- As a leader, be a role model by listening, showing interest, appreciation, and respect of members’ opinions and comments. Don’t be afraid to admit mistakes.
- Summarize agreements reached and end the meeting on a unifying or positive note.
- Identify additional data needed to make decisions.
End of the Meeting
- Establish and summarize action items decided during the meeting, including who, what, when, etc.
- Quickly review and summarize all actions and decisions made during the meeting.
- If appropriate, take a few moments to discuss the next meeting agenda and ask members what they would like to cover at the next meeting. This helps create the agenda for the next meeting.
- Announce or set the date and place of the next meeting.
- Inform members of when to expect the meeting minutes or when and where the minutes will be posted. Be sure the minutes reflect all the actions and assignments that happened during the meeting.
- End on time; close the meeting crisply and positively.
After the Meeting
- Follow-up on action items and begin to plan the next meeting.
- Write up and distribute minutes within three or four days. Quick action reinforces the importance of meeting and reduces errors.
- Discuss any problems during the meeting with your board or other officers; come up with ways improvements can be made.
- Follow-up on delegation decisions and see that all members understand and carry-out their responsibilities.
- Give recognition and appreciation to excellent and timely progress.
- Put unfinished business on the agenda for the next meeting.
- Conduct a periodic evaluation of the meetings. Note any areas that can be analyzed and improved for more productive meetings.
Ways to Encourage and Increase Attendance at Neighborhood Meetings
Providing light refreshments or drinks - Food helps to break the ice and makes the meeting a little more social. Depending on the time of your meeting, the food and/or drinks could help curb hungry pains or serve as dessert after dinner. Keep it simple, for example, ask a couple members to bake or bring cookies, solicit a neighborhood restaurant or food store for donations. Some associations ask for donations to cover the cost of the food and drinks and use what was collected at the meeting to buy the refreshments for the next meeting.
Promoting Your Neighborhood Association Meetings – at least two weeks prior to your meeting post your meeting information on your website, on Nextdoor or other neighbor social sites. Keep in mind and try not to rely on meeting attendance as feedback on how the Neighborhood Association is being effective. Remember, getting people to meetings is hard, especially in the evening or on a weekend when they have been working and have other personal or family commitments. It is important to communicate with your members and neighbors using newsletters, email, websites, Facebook activities and other ways. Keeping neighbors informed about the work of the Neighborhood Association and neighborhood issues is a large part of the purpose of a neighborhood association. Meetings are just one of the many ways to engage neighbors.
Neighborhood Meetings
COM-Link
Santa Ana, California
Com-Link is sponsored by Friends of Neighborhoods
of Santa Ana,
a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization
39-2806840
contact us
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