Making Neighborhood Association Meetings Effective and Engaging
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.)
