Group Veg-a-thons
As you may have guessed, a group veg-a-thon is when a group of people do a veg-a-thon at the same time. You can organize one to raise funds for a nonprofit organization, encourage vegetarian eating or just to invite others to do a veg-a-thon with you. They should last for at least 21 days, with 7- and 14-day options available for participants as well. Announce your group veg-a-thon and any accompanying events (optional) at least a month before they happen. Be sure to mention veg-a-thon.com too! In addition to the personal fundraising websites here, there is Choose-a-thon.com for small organizations and the services Kintera and GetActive for larger organizations.

Veg-a-thon Events
Consider a recruitment event, a kick off, a follow up event and a graduation. Please contact us for assistance in planning such events.

Hold a recruitment event a week or two before the start of your group veg-a-thon to recruit participants. You can have more than one recruitment event to specifically address different reasons for eating vegetarian, such as animal rights, health concerns or environmental protection. Design the event(s) to explain the benefits of eating vegetarian and the importance of your cause(s). The event can be a movie screening or an engaging speaker. Two possible documentaries are Peaceable Kingdom from Tribe of Heart Productions and Eating by Michael Anderson. Be sure to point out any connections between the benefits of vegetarianism and your cause(s) and serve plenty of good vegan food. If you have a local vegetarian festival, consider recruiting participants there.

At the recruitment event, register participants and give them (or mail to them) a packet with a list of local veg-friendly grocery stores and restaurants, instructions for collecting pledges, information on vegetarianism, any donated coupons or freebies, and announcements of later events. For larger group veg-a-thons, you can ask for a registration fee of $10 or less to help cover costs and ensure that participants are serious. You can also sell advertising space in your registration packet to veg-friendly companies. If you would like your group veg-a-thon listed on veg-a-thon.com, we ask that you not advertise or endorse non-vegan products.

A kick off event launches your group veg-a-thon and introduces participants to vegan foods, vegan cooking and each other. Schedule it a day or two before your group veg-a-thon begins. It can be a food sampling event or a one-time vegan cooking class. You can get a free how-to booklet on teaching a vegan cooking class at PETA's GoVeg.com. When deciding what to serve, look for foods with lots of flavor that are inexpensive and easy to prepare. If you have a lot of participants, consider having more than one kick-off event to reach different neighborhoods in your region or to offer events tailored to certain types of people, such as young people, those with health concerns, gourmet cooks or those interested in eating raw food. Try to schedule these so that participants can go to more than one. You can also give participants a taste of the vegan options available to them at local restaurants by hosting a tasting event. One example is the Veggie Bike and Dine of Chicago.

A natural food store is the best venue for a kick off. Some possible exceptions are when you are doing a veg-a-thon with co-workers, family members or neighbors. Then a break room or living room may be more convenient and familiar. If you have the kick off in a store without a classroom, ask if they would offer samples of vegan foods throughout their store and have participants gather in a seating area if they have one. The store will likely list your event on their calendar and might accept reservations for you. Some natural food stores will even give you free or discounted food for your event. Offer attendees a quick tour of the store's vegan selection as well. Ask the store to have more vegan food stocked during the veg-a-thon and to discount it if possible. This event should be free or low cost, open to everyone and not too long. Make sure people have time to shop!

At the beginning of the kick off register any last minute participants and offer them a registration packet and name tag if you want to. Have participants introduce themselves and say why they're there and want to do a veg-a-thon. Consider having participants divide into teams, each with a team captain. Teams can compete for the title of "Most Funds Raised" or in cook-offs or quizzes on vegetarian-related facts. If several of your participants are trying to lose more than a few pounds, suggest that at least two teams complete to lose the highest percentage of bodyweight. Award prizes to winning teams. Toward the end of the event ask participants what they plan to eat during their veg-a-thon for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and offer suggestions to those that you feel are less prepared. Answer any questions as best you can, suggest where they might find answers to those that you can't and offer to find out for them.

A follow up event is more social and offers participants continued support. Schedule it a week or two after the kick-off. For small, casual group veg-a-thons with people that you know, you can just ask your fellow veg-a-thoners to join you for lunch or invite them over for dinner. For larger more formal veg-a-thons, a follow up event can be a restaurant visit, vegan potluck or a few people can cook for the rest at someone's home or a rented space. Consider setting up an online group for participants on Zanby.com, CityCita.org or Meetup.com ($19/month), where you can track RSVPs for your event(s) or you can attend an ongoing monthly potluck or restaurant visit together. At the follow-up event, ask participants how their veg-a-thon is going, what their favorite new foods are and if they've had any difficulties. Respond with appropriate suggestions.

At a graduation you can give people certificates that they have completed their veg-a-thon and award star fundraisers with donated prizes. Allow some time between the official end of the group veg-a-thon and the graduation to allow participants to make up any days that they slipped.  Recognize and applaud participants who have decided to go vegetarian or vegan.