Congratulations, you’re a Grokio Community Gatherings organizer! This section will help you better understand what is expected of you and how to organize the best possible event. Read the sections below to find out what’s expected of you, tips for preparing for a gathering and tips for how to manage the event while it’s underway!

Organizer Expectations

Failure to meet these expectations can result in the removal of your Grokio Community Gatherings organizing abilities. We understand that things can go wrong—the common theme here is to clearly communicate with both attendees and the Grokio team if things do go wrong, so that no one is left wondering “what’s going on?”

Review each of these items and make sure you don’t run afoul of them:

1. Post dates far enough in advance

Ideally, all GrommOffs and Feabie Meets should have their dates posted a month in advance. At minimum, dates must be posted two weeks in advance. Any gathering posted less than two weeks before the event must get prior approval from the Grokio Team.

2. Post itinerary at least two weeks in advance

People need to make plans, especially those who are coming in from farther away, so the difference between a brunch or a dinner or a bar night is important for their planning. Itinerary details (times and locations of various events) must be posted at least two weeks in advance. If you’re still working out the exact location of one activity, you can post the time and TBD location in the interim, but all missing data must be filled it by one week out, bare minimum.

3. Get a mass message sent

Notify the GrommOff or Feabie Meet account when your event is posted and details have been finalized, so that a mass-message can be sent on your behalf to notify locals of the upcoming gathering.

4. Answer all relevant questions

If someone poses a relevant question to you before the gathering via message or the event listing, you must respond, even if just to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out”. If those users come to the Grokio Team because you’re not responding, we won’t be happy.

5. Attend the event

The gathering organizer(s) must attend the entire event. If an urgent matter comes up at the last minute, you must assign someone else to cover the event and notify the Grokio Team immediately. Cancellation within a week of the gathering is not allowed.

6. Introduce yourself to EVERYONE

As the organizer, you have a special responsibility to meet everyone. Now is not the time to be shy. If someone new shows up, throw out a hand and introduce yourself. If you can’t muster the courage to do it, it’s likely no one else will. Don’t just say hi, ask some questions and give them a chance to engage in conversation. You must be a role model of friendliness, especially to new attendees.

7. Don’t reinforce cliques

It’s easy to fall into routines, for example sitting with your friends and people you already know. Organizers must break this habit. As an organizer, it’s your responsibility to make sure attendees don’t feel left out. And while you cannot control others’ habits or actions, you can (and must) be a role model and an ambassador to all attendees. If you want to hang out with a small group of your friends, plan something private another time.

8. Address bad behavior

As the organizer, it’s your responsibility to address bad behavior on the part of attendees to make sure everyone feels safe. That means taking reports from attendees seriously and following up with the involved parties to gather information and make a determination on what actions (if any) to take. If you need help deciding on a course of action, you can always message the GrommOff or FeabieMeet accounts for guidance. For GrommOff organizers, we have a detailed guide for how to deal with problematic attendees.

Posting Your Gathering

This is a step-by-step guide for how to post your GrommOff or Feabie Meet and ensure it’s successful. 

Step 1: Create Your Event Listing

To post a GrommOff or Feabie Meet, simply click on the events listing from the Grommr or Feabie website. Once you’ve been approved, you’ll see a button that says “+ New event” in the upper right corner. Click it.

You’ll need to give your event a name. Be sure to include your location (either your city or a name your region is known for) and either the phrase GrommOff or Feabie Meet. You’re also welcome to add simple modifiers to denote what makes your gathering special, such as the time of year (e.g. “Chicago Holiday GrommOff”) or the focal activity (e.g. “Dallas State Fair Feabie Meet”).

Below the name field, you’ll see the “Event Code” field. If you fill in a name, this will auto-fill for you. An important note: Every event posted must have a different Event Code. If you give your gathering a generic name, like, say, Atlanta GrommOff, it will autofill with the code “AtlantaGrommOff”, which is likely to have been used before. If it has, then when you try to create your event, you’ll get an error. This is easy to fix. No need to change the name of your event, just change your Event Code (in this example, something like AtlantaNov or Atlanta2017 would suffice).

For the Event Details section, be sure to include specific times and locations. If your event has multiple activities, make sure the times reflect travel time between them. It’s always helpful to provide a link to your personal profile or the local GrommOff or Feabie Meet profile you use so people can contact you with questions.

Step 2: Add an Image

Once you’ve created an event, open the event listing again. You’ll see an option in the right column to upload a photo. Always upload a photo for your gathering, even if it’s just a simple picture of your city, the event venue or a type of food. People like seeing an image there. And don’t forget to include a caption with some basic details, like “Don’t miss out on the [city] GrommOff/Feabie Meet on [date]!”

We recommend using a custom image that includes the GrommOff or Feabie Meet logo, to give it that extra professional touch.

Feabie Meet organizers can contact the Feabie Meet account on Feabie to have a custom logo created for them.

GrommOff organizers are able to download the GrommOff logo and add it to any image they want. Here’s a link to two png files of the logo: One is the regular Grommr green color and the other is knockout white, for use over a dark background or image. (Note: You do not need to request edit access to download these files; simply click on the three dots next to each image and then select “download”.) If you have advanced design skills, you probably already know how to superimpose a logo onto an image, but for those without them, it’s fairly easy!

We like to use a simple web-based tool like https://www.watermarquee.com. You can upload whatever photo you want, then click “Add Logo” at the bottom and upload the white GrommOff logo. We normally adjust the opacity (that’s how much you can see through the logo) to about 75% so that the logo is still visible but doesn’t obscure the entire image behind it. You’re welcome to use this however you like, just try to make sure the logo is readable. We recommend leaving plenty of room around the top and bottom of the logo, so that it displays well as a thumbnail in the events listing.

As an example, it might look something like this:

Open

 Step 3: Send a Mass Message

The single best way to get out the word about your gathering is to send a mass message to the active members in your area. We can do that for you!

All you need to do is write up the text you’d like us to send (be sure to include a warm opening, a quick overview of the details and a link to the event listing) and send it to us via the GrommOff Profile or Feabie Meet Profile. We’ll take care of it from there and make sure your message reaches all active Grommr members within a 70-mile radius.

Tips for Organizing: Preparation

Don’t overdo it

When in doubt, keep it simple. If this is your first time organizing a GrommOff or Feabie Meet that goes double. An all-day event with multiple activities is great, but a lot of work to coordinate. Sometimes just a night at a local bar (with or without dinner beforehand) is enough!

Consider space/seating

This is especially important for restaurants. Make sure you choose a restaurant that won’t have trouble seating a large group quickly. If it will, make sure you take RSVPs and make a reservation! Larger restaurants with more flexibility are significantly better than small boutique-y ones with little flexibility. Also, pay attention to what kind of seating is available--booths and flimsy chairs may pose a problem for some attendees.

Be VERY specific with meeting spots

If an activity will be held in a large indoor space (e.g. a food court or a market), be sure to include information about where you’ll be meeting (for example: “we’ll be at the set of tables right under the main rotunda”). If an activity is being held in a large public area (e.g. a park or beach) you’ll need to be even more specific. Make sure you decide on and include in the posting both GPS coordinates (via googlemaps) and a description (e.g. “Just west of the blue tower, under the large willow tree”).

Be price-conscious

GrommOffs and Feabie Meets have to appeal to people from a variety of income levels. If you’re planning for a dinner event, check the menu first and make sure it’s not too expensive. If you want to have some kind of a splurge event (e.g. a fancier restaurant, an amusement park, etc.) that requires a significant amount of money, be up-front about costs in the event posting. If possible, combine it with a lower-cost activity before or after.

Be aware of age-issues

Bar nights in the U.S. prevent those who are under-21 from attending (and some other countries have similar restrictions). If you’re planning a bar night, try to couple it with an activity that those who are under-21 could attend, such as a dinner before-hand. If your last event was a bar night, try switching it up with an all-ages activity the next time.

Involve others in planning

The best thing you can do to boost attendance is to get buy-in from locals. By involving other locals in the planning process, you’ll ensure that they feel some ownership over the event and will promote it among their friends. It can be as simple as asking what kind of activities they like and what restaurants they’d recommend or as complex as you like.

If you can, plan around out-of-town visitors

GrommOffs and Feabie Meets always get a boost in attendance if someone new is visiting from out of town. Is a community member visiting next month? Plan a gathering around their visit!

Post the event listing as early as possible

The more notice you can give people, the better. We recommend posting gatherings at least two weeks in advance, but a full four weeks is best. That gives folks time to plan ahead, block out dates in their calendar and make sure they can come.

Make the event listing dynamic

When you post your gathering in the events listing, always include a photo. Be creative. If you’re doing a dinner, maybe use a photo of the food. If you’re going to be somewhere beautiful in your city, find a photo that shows that. In your event listing text, have fun. A bar night doesn’t have to just be another bar night–play around with names and adjectives–or planning around fun holidays–that will make the event sound exciting.

Promote, promote, promote

The number one way people find out about GrommOffs or Feabie Meets is word of mouth. Post in the newsfeed. Tell your local friends. Ask your local friends to tell their friends. Try to build interest by posting links to information, like the restaurant’s menu, or fun activities you’re going to do together.

Post photos afterward

Take photos at the gathering and post them to your profile or your local GrommOff or Feabie Meet profile (if there isn’t one and you’d like one, let us know). It’s the best way to show locals what they missed out on and encourage them to show up for the next event!

Tips for Organizing: At the Event

Introduce people to each other

Being new can be really intimidating and it can be hard to muster the courage to say hi to other people. If someone new sits down, don’t just introduce yourself, do a round of names to break the ice. If someone new has just shown up at the bar, introduce them to the group you’re talking to. Even better if after talking to them you can find interests they might have in common with someone else at the gathering and make an introduction.

Break up cliques

People tend to sit with or cluster with their friends. It’s only natural. As an organizer you have the ability to help break this habit. When groups of friends socialize together at a GrommOff or Feabie Meet, it can act to exclude new people. You can be a role model with your own actions (e.g. sitting with new people, introducing them to others, etc.) but you can also engineer a more conducive environment for socializing (e.g. suggesting that some people switch seats so they’re near new people).

Always ask for a split bill

If the restaurant allows it, ask for a split bill ahead of time to make sure everyone pays on their own. If they won’t allow a split check, ask them to sub-divide the check by groups (e.g. if you have a table of 20, ask them to take orders five at a time and to treat each group as a separate check). Having a massive table of 20 people try to resolve a single check is a recipe for disaster.

Ask before taking photos

Some people are sensitive about having their photos taken at community gatherings. If you’re thinking of posting the photo, mention it when you ask them (e.g. “hey, I’m taking some photos to post on Grommr/Feabie, mind if I snap one of you?”) Remember, “no” is a perfectly acceptable answer. If you’re willing to edit the photo to obscure the person’s face, let them know and give them a chance to reconsider. If others are taking photos, kindly remind them of this rule of thumb.

Build interest in the next gathering

Everyone has an opinion about what kind of stuff would be fun for a GrommOff or Feabie Meet. Some of the best ideas come up at a previous gathering. Ask around and see if people have ideas for what the next event could be like. If you’re super organized, pick a date for the next one and make sure everyone knows it before they leave.