Using Meetup.com For Starting Groups

More information coming soon…

Groups organized through Meetup.com are rather easy to start, and allow for tapping in to a large number of existing Meetup.com users, many of whom Meetup will email when you start your group which is essentially like free advertising to those in your local community.

Instructions on how to create a meetup are located at https://secure.meetup.com/create/  and you can also check out the video below created to provide an outline for many of these steps and more of what is involved in starting a meetup.

Meetups vs Nonprofit Organizations

Meetup groups are not usually a formed as a nonprofit corporation, and are usually controlled by one person instead of a legal entity, so the meetup group cannot open a bank account without registering first with the state, and does not offer the legal benefits of a nonprofit corporation like liability protection for organizers, or the potential for tax exemption.

However, it is also possible for state registered organizations such as nonprofit corporations to start a meetup in the name of a formal organization, and it is also possible for the meetup group primary “organizer” account to take on the identity of a formal organization at any later date.

Staying Connected

One challenge organizers can face is that the contact information of members is hidden from organizers unless directly requested of members. This ensures privacy for users but makes it impossible to set up an email list outside of meetup.com, so we recommend always asking new group members for email addresses at each event.

More coming soon…