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             HOW TO START A LIBERTARIAN OUTREACH GROUP
                      By Jarret B. Wollstein

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WHY START A LOCAL LIBERTARIAN CLUB?  It seems that every day governments
further restrict and threaten our liberties. Rising censorship, abuses
of civil rights, out-of-control government taxes and spending, attacks
on business, and wars all threaten our liberties. Never has the need
been greater for articulate, effective spokesmen and organizers for
liberty.

There are three main reasons why you should start a libertarian club:

1. To help further your ideas. By creating an effective local
organization, you can increase the impact of your ideals a hundred-fold.
Creating a local chapter enables you effectively to work with other,
specialize in what you do best, increase your visibility, and draw on
campus and community resources. An effective organization can
orchestrate community events, reach out to large numbers of people, and
provide continuity of effort.

2. To socialist with other libertarians. In many parts of the world,
libertarians feel isolated and alienated. Holding regular meetings and
activities gives you an opportunity to make many new libertarian
friends.

3. To create the next generation of libertarians. We need a lot more
libertarians before we will have a real impact upon our societies. Local
clubs are one of the best ways of recruiting and developing new
libertarians. We particularly need to recruit high school and college
students. We also need many more libertarian lawyers, teachers,
businessmen, artists, writers, speakers, community leaders, and
organizers.


WHY AFFILIATE WITH ISIL?
The International Society for Individual Liberty is a leading
international spokesman for individual liberty, the free market, and
world peace. We presently have members in 70 countries and chapters in
15 countries.

Forming an ISIL chapter or affiliating your local group with ISIL gives
you many benefits including:

* access to a wide variety of inexpensive pamphlets, tapes and posters,

* receipt of regular chapter bulletins enabling you to benefit from the
experience of other groups,

* help with locating other libertarians and prospects in your area,

* professional help and assistance in organizing your local group and
activities from ISIL veteran chapter organizers,

* participation in special ISIL chapter activities, such as our ``Bill
of Rights 1991 Project'', and

* community respect and prestige from affiliation with an international
individual rights organization.


HOW TO START AN ISIL CHAPTER
Your first step is to contact other libertarians in your area, and ask
them to help you start a chapter. If you don't know anyone, ISIL world
headquarters in San Francisco will perform a computer search to help
identify other local libertarians.

Another good way of locating other local libertarians is to run an ad in
your local or campus newspapers. The following ads are good examples:

LIBERTARIANS. New campus (community) group now forming. If you are
interested in learning more, call Bill Smith at 000-0000 evenings and
weekends.

LIBERTY, THE FREE MARKET, WORLD PEACE. If you believe in these ideals
and want to further them, call Bill Smith at 000-0000 evenings and
weekends.

Once you have identified a few other libertarians in your area, get
together with them in your living room or at a quiet and inexpensive
restaurant to plan activities.


THE BASIC CHAPTER
You can organize a basic ISIL chapter in your living room, or your
campus, or in your community. Schools provide free meeting rooms for
recognized campus groups, and most libraries provide free meeting rooms
for non-political groups. Other good meeting places include apartment
party rooms, community recreation centers, private rooms in restaurants,
and churches.

Initial chapter activities usually consist of discussion meetings and
speakers. Anything can be used as a basis for discussion meetings: an
interesting article in the newspaper or a libertarian publication, tapes
from a libertarian conference (available from ISIL), or perhaps just an
idea you want to discuss.

Be sure to plan your meetings at least 30 days in advance, and make sure
everyone on your mailing list receives a written notice with clear
directions, and gets a reminder call a few days before the meeting.
Postcards or simple, typed flyers are fine for such initial meetings.

If you meet at a restaurant, pick an inexpensive one with a buffet.
Otherwise you will find that a lot of people won't come because of
prices, and many will still be ordering and eating when your program is
supposed to start.

At the meeting, wear name tags and greet everyone. MAKE SURE NEWCOMERS
ARE INTRODUCED TO EVERYONE, AND MADE TO FEEL WELCOME. Serve light
refreshments if you are meeting in your home. Start on time. Every
meeting should also have a moderator whose main function is to keep the
discussion going, and to make sure that everyone has a chance to speak.

Have a good selection of ISIL issue papers on hand for people to pick
up. It is also very desirable to print up a brochure or flyer describing
your group and its objectives. Be sure to include a mailing address,
contact person, and telephone number.

At the end of the meeting ask everyone what they liked and didn't like
about the meeting. Ask them to suggest future topics and activities, and
ask them to bring their friends with them next time.

If you are forming a campus group, you will need to become a
``recognized campus organization'' in order to qualify for free meeting
rooms. This is usually a simple process, involving getting a few charter
members, a faculty sponsor, and a written constitution conforming to
Student Government Association guidelines. Check with your campus
Student Government Association if you are forming a campus organization.

If you are forming a campus group, have live speakers whenever possible.
And be sure to advertize your event with flyers on the campus bulletin
boards and via notices in the campus paper, and on the campus radio
station. Be sure to get everyone's name, address and telephone number.

Both campus and community groups should meet at the same place at the
same time, at least once a month. That way members always know where and
when to come to meetings.

Once you have formed a basic chapter, you can branch out into many more
activities - limited only by your imagination and objectives. Possible
group activities include debates, speaking before other groups, parties,
letter-writing campaigns, editorial responses, testimony at public
hearings, writing columns for local and campus newspapers, and social
action projects.

See our booklet: ``Creating an Effective ISIL Outreach Organization''
for many more suggestions.


IT'S UP TO YOU

The strength of the libertarian movement depends upon the efforts of its
members. By starting and ISIL chapter, your ideas can have a real impact
upon the future of your country. Forming an ISIL chapter also expands
your knowledge, hones your organizational skills, and helps you make a
lot of new friends.


HELP AVAILABLE TO CHAPTERS FROM ISIL HEADQUARTERS

* Computer search service for locating ISIL members in your area.
* Speaker referrals.
* Issue papers, white papers, tapes.
* Flyer design and artwork assistance.
* Call-in service for problem-solving.
* Coordinated international and national social action projects, such as
``Bill of Rights `91'' (USA).
* Periodic chapter newsletters.
* Special literature on organizing meetings, fund raising, and
advertising.
* Discounted rates for ISIL memberships and Freedom Network News for
official chapters.
* Local, national and international conferences and seminars.
* Help with organizing discussion courses.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jarret B. Wollstein is a co-founder of the original Society for
Individual Liberty and a Director of ISIL. He has organized many
libertarian groups, including SIL chapters at the University of Maryland
and George Mason University. During the 1970s, his Libertarian Social
Club in Washington, D.C. regularly drew 60-150 people at monthly
meetings. Mr. Wollstein co-authored SIL's ``Principles of Liberty''
course, which has been used by hundreds of groups throughout the world.

           INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
           1800 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
            Tel: (415) 864-0952    Fax: (415) 864-7506




