Your First Meeting
Your first meeting is special, whether it’s your first meeting ever or the first meeting of the year.  You may not want to have a big event or a speaker for this meeting.  It is a time for getting to know the group and new members.  The first meeting should be held in the first week or two of an academic term. Get the interest of new students right away, before the best potential leaders become involved in other extracurricular activities.

Here are some things you might want to do at your first meeting:

• Wear nametags (Nametags are usually a good idea whenever you expect new people.)
• Introduce the group, its purpose, your plans for it, and your vision for how it will change your institution
• Introduce all officers
• Have officers briefly speak about how they became a nontheist in whatever flavor they happen to be
• Have an ice breaker, or just have people introduce themselves to those around them
• Introduce the movement that your group is a part of.  You might define terms people use (atheist, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, skeptics, etc.); talk about some famous nontheists (http://www.celebatheists.com); discuss briefly what some of the most popular books are; and maybe list the big secular organizations out there and what they do, the main goals of the movement and the many different approaches people take to it.
• Talk about what the group has done previously or what’s planned for the semester
• Ask for feedback, either written or from people who raise their hands

General Meetings
Stay focused:

• Write up an agenda before hand
• Print copies of the agenda 
• Stick to the agenda
• Have someone (group secretary or historian) keep meeting minutes and type them up for the group, send to officers after the meeting.  They don't have to be detailed.  They can just cover the overview of what happened and record if any decisions were proposed or made.

When and Where?
Most groups meet either weekly or biweekly. If you want to keep continuous interest, you should have your group meet at least that often.  When groups really get cranking, they might meet at least twice per week.  Most of these groups find it is best to have at least one of these meetings be purely social with no set program.

Once you advertise a time, stick to it.  You can wait a couple of minutes to start the meeting if people are still trickling in.  However, don’t let the meeting start more than five minutes after the advertised time.  People have studying to do.  Don’t waste their time sitting around waiting for your meeting to start.  Also, starting late only encourages people to be late in the future.

Basic supplies

Have stuff people can take home (sometimes you can even sell it!)

In addition to having agendas, you’re likely going to want some of the following:

• A sign to hang up outside the room so people know it is the right room when they enter.
• Nametags (the silly red or blue kind with “Hello my name is…” on them) and pens to fill them out with.  (Be careful – this might seem too formal at a small school or small meeting.)
• An attendance sheet (an excellent way to collect people’s email addresses for a weekly electronic announcement list)
• Some yummy munchies
• Some well-organized freethought literature for people to inspect and ideally take home

What to do?
General meetings serve three main purposes: to educate, socialize and activate.  However, the most important thing to bear in mind is to keep the interest of the audience/participants. If you bore them, they are not likely to be back.

• If you feed them, they will come. Even if it is just potato chips, having some munchies at all your general meetings really does increase attendance. Remember to have a vegetarian alternative—vegetarians seem to be especially common among populations of nontheists.
• Start on time with a well-prepared opening from the President or Chair, including the name of the group, agenda and announcements of future events.
• Many groups conduct quick, personal introductions. A typical introduction could include: Name, major or occupation, philosophical label and a random silly question that changes every meeting, such as:
• “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?”
• “What mystery of the natural world you most like to know the answer to?”
• “If you could know the exact time and manner of your death, would you want to know?”
• A nearly endless supply of excellent questions can be found in the “If” books by Evelyn McFarlane & James Saywell.
• Make sure the President states that all questions are optional so nobody feels like they are being put on the spot.

• Wabash College Freethought Society President, Charlie Lopez, runs his meetings with aplomb and efficiency

  Make newcomers feel welcome.  During the meeting, try not to make too many inside jokes and remember to explain past announcements fully.  If possible, the President and/or board should try to personally speak to all newcomers before or after the meeting or at least make themselves available.  If the officers are busy planning things or talking to friends, they are far less approachable. 
• Consider giving away attendance prizes at meetings: a bumper sticker, last year's t-shirts, freethinking books you found cheap on amazon.com.  This is a pretty low-cost way to get people to meetings and make the meetings more fun.
• At some meetings or events throughout the year, try to hand out feedback slips so people can anonymously suggest possible improvements for the group.
•  Do your best to keep the whole meeting under an hour and a half.  If the formal meetings go longer than 90 minutes, people can feel trapped.  You can always hang out informally as long as you want to after the formal meeting.  Make sure to make it very clear when the official meeting is over.