Starting a group

Well done for having the courage to take that decision. It's not easy to start from scratch, but as long as you're prepared to learn from your experiences you shouldn't worry to much.
One of the best sources of materials is on here I think:
http://libcom.org/organise/

It's obviously important to build contacts with other groups, that's the best way of getting information about what's happening locally. I'd say being part of one of the national federations helps (Solfed or AF) - you'll get propaganda to distribute from them, info, contacts, skills etc.

Good luck

edit: Steven beat me to posting that link.

To be honest I'd be pretty interest in any half-decent Anarchist group in or near York. I've no political experience or anything, but I'd be happy to help out any way I could.

~J.

sorry, where are youse?
if there are other established group in your area have you thought about getting in touch with them?

He is in YORK.

done.

other stuff i'd suggest:

- especially if you're new to organising in a group, have a read of The Tyranny of Structurelessness - it's not too long, and probably something you could discuss as a group. especially as you say you're starting from a circle of friends (which is common), it should help avoid some of the cliquiness and informal hierarchies that can put off newcomers and which often define the gender dynamics of a group.

- general formal organisational things that are useful: every meeting, elect a chair and a minute taker. try to rotate these roles. it might seem a bit superfluous with only four members, but it's a good habit and adds structure to the meeting (delineating formal meeting time from chatting in the pub as friends, which will help new members feel welcome). having minutes which are circulated also helps people remember what they said they would do, helps the group follow up on things people have taken on, and provides a sense of continuity, since the first item on the agenda every meeting can be a quick recap of where you last left things (saving the dull experience of having all the same discussions again)

- on that note, yeah agendas are really useful. allows you to see how much you have to get through, and allows the chair to move the discussion on if it's going in circles etc.

- subs are also important, imho. obviously, they mean the group has funds so it can do stuff. a lot of the time there's a temptation to rely on ad hoc fundraisers and the like, but this puts the group at the mercy of the talented gig promoters/charismatic members etc, who may leave the group, leave town etc. Subs are the most democratic way to finance a group imho. in our local we have a minimum for low/unwaged/people with kids, and a sliding scale of % take home pay for everyone else (around 2%). if the group has a reliable, regular income, this allows them to take a more long-term perspective on stuff (we've been discussing things we might do next summer for example, as we could budget for bigger projects with a reasonable degree of certainty).

- if something needs doing, mandate a delegate. that means defining what the persons role is so that they both know what they're taking on, and the group can recall them if they don't do it, or exceed the authority of their mandate.we have mandates for secretary (dealing with formal communications within and without the group), treasurer (collecting subs, reporting on the finances, and budgeting for agreed projects, e.g. we've had some money provisioned for a banner for a while which we're about to use), webmaster (maintaining the website and our internal wiki, used to collaboratively author stuff) and librarian (keeping track of our collection of 40-50 pamphlets and books which members can borrow, and sourcing new stuff). we're looking into whether we need a press/external relations mandate too. obviously some of those roles reflect the fact we're a more established group with various things that need doing, a lot of groups get by with a combined sectretary-treasurer, but it's good to share things around, taking the pressure off individuals and giving everyone a stake in the group.

- finally, despite me banging on about the ins and outs of formal organisation, organising should be exciting! nothing's so destructive to a group as a feeling of going through the motions, where everything becomes a chore and members become martyrs to the cause. you should feel like what you're doing is worthwhile and useful - otherwise why bother? - and therefore it's easy to get a sense of achievement out of trying new things, especially when they work out!

- something that can help this is having some kind of goal where you want to be in say a year's time, and a strategy for getting there. this will obviously be the product of discussion, but it could be a to have produced a certain leaflet or position on something, got a certain number of new members, made links with specified other groups, or whatever it is that makes sense to you in your local context.

right, that's me done for now. hope it's all useful and not overwhelming, it's not meant to be definitive, just some stuff to think about really.

I was recently iinvolved in trying to set up a group (OAF) and it wasn't very succesful in the end but I think there are a few good tips.
I'd agree with Joseph K about writing a blurb for the group. Our group read an existing one and then changed it up a bit. Once you know what kind of group you are going to be it is much easier to decide what you want to do.
I'm mostly saying what's been said before here.

I think regular meetings are the key, they provide a focus for the group and help create a divide between group work and social time. A social element to the group is handy though, after meetings a trip to the pub is a good way to get to know people. The meetings should be on a regular schedule, for example first tuesday of the month, so that people always know when the next one is, also people are more likely to make time for a regular meeting.

Make an effort with any new people. They won't show up early so involve them as much as you can when they show up, ask their opinions give them a chance to speak. It's easy for existing members to get drowned out at times so make sure to stop and ask new people what they think.

We used the same rough structure as HSG for meetings.
-Pass round an agenda, anyone can add to it.
-Introductions - say who you are, doesn't need to be much.
-Finances/admin - if you have an office/phone line etc mail received and so on.
-report backs - on events attended, activities etc.
-new business on the agenda
-off to the pub

Each meeting needs a facilitator and minutes or notes should be taken (these should be circulated to the people at the meeting to check them then put out onto the mailing list.) Everyone in the group should have a go at facilitating and note taking, they are very useful skills and everyone in the group should have them.

Don't use jazz hands Try to limit these kinds of symbols and shorthands because they can exclude people (even if they are explained.) if you have to use them make sure they are explained clearly before the meeting starts.

The hardest thing is to find things the group can actually do, it can seem a bit of a catch 22 but there are always possibilities.

When you have found things you want to do then you need to agree who will do them and how. For example if you want to do a collection for strikers: who will do it? when? where? who will deliver it to the strikers and how?
As a rule anyone if you decide to do something then who will do it and by what time should be agreed at the meeting and put in the minutes.

In terms of presentation I always describe HSG as a community group because that's what it is, although it's run on anarchist principles and most people happen to be anarchists. The other group never quite got to that stage. You should have a quick blurb to describe your group and this should be put on any group leaflets along with group contact details.

That's a good start and although I'm not 100% about the wording ( I think they've changed it) I'm happy to work with a group that describes itself that way.

Is SolFed limited to the UK?

yep that's right. feel free to adapt any of our aims and principles or propaganda. the IWA secretariat won't be very responsive at the moment (because they're in prison), but feel free to PM me and i'll try to field any questions/queries or pass them in the right direction.