| APRIL 26, 2015 -- What do people think as they drive by your Grange hall day after day and week after week? What do they see? We are sharing a provocative article from the Oregon State Grange Bulletin by Sister Pat Heard, Community Service Involvement Director for the Oregon State Grange.
Pat put into words one of the things all Granges need to understand. We have to make our meeting places and Grange Halls inviting in order to attract new members. So, with her permission, I’m sharing this message.
Nothing Ever Happens...
In that old building over there I have been driving by for years and rarely do I see a car. It’s got a sign out front that says Grange and a number. Somebody mows the lawn, somebody paints it. But other than that the parking lot is empty day after day. It’s a little creepy, it almost looks abandoned. It’s not for sale, there’s no sign. Saw a few cars there sometime last summer but other than that the parking lot is empty nearly all of the time.
Is this what you want people thinking about your Grange? Is it always empty except for on meeting nights?
It has long been one of those aphorisms that you can always tell if a restaurant is good because of the number of cars in the parking lot. People look at an empty parking lot and think “nothing ever happens there”; so if people are looking for a place to hold a community event they think “people don’t know where this is or maybe it’s unpleasant inside, or it must be pretty small or even that it is not available at all.”
Work to change that perception. Start by hosting events that won’t cost much. Host a candidate forum. Serve coffee and drinks and put out a donation can. Host a Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop. Host a 4-H club. Ask the fire department or the Marines to use your Grange as a collection point for a toy or school supply drive. Host swap meets, put on a play, or a music night to raise money for charity. Just make yourself visible.
Advertise, advertise, advertise. If your Grange has a reader board, use it. Put up flyers all over town, the café, the store, the school churches and the library. Most members can find at least two places to post it. Send it to your non-Grange friends on Facebook. Pass it out at community events you are already hosting. And if you have access to radio, TV and newspapers you can usually get it onto the community event pages for free. Make sure your number and Grange name are highly visible both on the sign out front and on any advertising you do.
But you say, we have tried all these things and nobody comes. Well keep trying. Remember that empty parking lot? The more things people see going on, the more people will think that the things going on are worthwhile, and exciting... and that includes joining the Grange. |
