What is a house meeting?

A house meeting is an informal meeting of 8-20 people in the home of someone who supports Senator Obama. In house meetings, a volunteer invites several neighbors or friends to their home to talk about the Ohio for Change campaign. House meetings identify new leaders, help people see how they can make a difference and lay the foundation for change in our community and nationwide.

Generally, meetings last for about an hour and have the following components:

• You, as the host, can share your thoughts such as telling the group a little about yourself and why you are hosting a house meeting.
• A campaign field organizer can share a little about him/herself and the campaign organization.
• If you like, the field organizer can show a short video about community organizing and how it is used in this campaign.
• You can encourage the attendees to engage in a discussion about the campaign and how they want to organize over the next few months.

The goals of a house meeting are to:

• Share and learn more about community organizing in your neighborhood
• Motivate and inspire people through personal stories of hope and action
• Extend the chain of house meetings and sign up more supporters of the Obama campaign

Why are house meetings so important?

The Obama campaign has an ambitious agenda: to recruit every supporter to become active and engaged in the campaign and to then reach out to conservative and Republican voters to convince them that Barack Obama is the best option for the future of our country.  We need many people involved in our community with different skills to be successful.

House meetings serve three crucial purposes:

1. Find new supporters. House meetings are an effective way to connect seasoned activists with newcomers. A successful house meeting will be a mix of both.
2. Help people renew their hope. The best way to build a base of committed, engaged volunteers willing to work for change is to draw out the hope that we all need to overcome inertia and cynicism.
3. Begin the persuasion process. If people are fence sitters, a house meeting is a good way to begin the persuasion process in a non-threatening environment. They hear what their neighbors and friends are saying, ask questions and hear the facts about Barack Obama, not trumped up lies and innuendo from other sources.

Why is a home better than a public meeting location?

Most of us feel more comfortable in a casual setting where we know at least one other person. People are more likely to share their own stories, and are more willing to commit to taking action, when they are with people they know and trust. Many people who may be reluctant to come to a large public meeting may be willing to come to a friend or neighbor's home to talk about the same issues with just a few people.

What does a house meeting host do?

A house meeting host must be willing to connect with 15-30 people in their circle of influence; first, to extend an invitation, and second, to share his or her sources of inspiration and hope. The host (or co-hosts) should of course be interested in the issues and willing to help motivate their guests to take action and work for change.

The host has a few simple tasks:

• Make a list of people to invite to the meeting.
• Call potential guests, tell them about the meeting, and persuade them to come. Some hosts serve light refreshments; others organize a pot luck dinner to get people together. The choice is yours.
• Contact invitees 1-2 days before the event to confirm attendance.
• During the meeting, the host will do two things: start the meeting with a simple statement about why they support Barack Obama, and encourage guests to host their own house meetings.

Who should be invited to a house meeting?

People who attend a house meeting should either be Barack Obama supporters, undecided voters or leaning McCain. If you don't know where people fall on the spectrum, invite friends, co-workers, congregation members, neighbors, family and members of other community groups who you think would be willing to attend. You should focus on inviting people who live in Upper Arlington, but we welcome people from outside our community to grow Obama's base of support. The goal is to have 8-20 people attend each house meeting, which usually means 15-30 should be invited.

The host should think creatively about whom to invite; beyond the "usual suspects." We want people with a variety of experiences, and people who are open to listening. Note: Many of us move in circles with people who share our opinions. Although these people are important to involve, many of them are already engaged in civic activities. We need to reach beyond our most intimate circle of connections and take some risks with people we don't know as well to bring new leaders on board.

What will happen at the house meeting?

At the meeting, a field organizer will describe the campaign and its goals for change. The organizer will also tell a personal story, sharing sources of inspiration and hope, and invite meeting participants to do the same. After laying a foundation of hope, the organizer will outline the local neighborhood strategy. Finally, the host and organizer together will ask guests to support the goals of the campaign through concrete action.

What will we ask people to do?

We will ask people to take concrete action.

• Host a house meeting
• Attend a house meeting
• Become part of a Letter to the Editor and Op-Ed writing group
• Canvass neighborhoods
• Phone bank for Obama

We always want people in attendance to host their own house meeting. House meetings build upon each other. If each meeting leads to two or three additional meetings, we multiply our committed volunteer base quickly. One person's invitation of 20 people can become 800 house meeting attendees in just three months!

How do we measure the success of a house meeting?

A house meeting is successful if people show up, if a variety of people attend, and if people are moved to take concrete action and/or volunteer to host their own house meetings. People will respond if we successfully communicate a sense of urgency about the issues, share inspiring stories and convince participants that we have a strategy to help Barack Obama win.