Overview
You can start a group veg-a-thon with as little as one email or as much as several planned events. A group veg-a-thon 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 Change.org, there is Choose-a-thon.com for small organizations and the services Kintera and GetActive for larger organizations. If you are are organizing a large local veg-a-thon to encourage vegetarian eating, please consider inviting local nonprofit organizations to apply for inclusion in the Animal-Friendly Giving Guide if you have not done so already. Let local organizations in the Guide know that you will mention them in your registration packet, and ask them to help to promote your group veg-a-thon to their members.

Veg-a-thon Events
Consider a recruitment event, a kick off, a follow up event and a graduation. If you only do one event, it should be a kick off. A follow up event and graduation are optional, though participants may appreciate them. Please contact us with the details of your event(s) so we can list it on veg-a-thon.com.

The easiest way to recruit participants is to set up a table at a relevant local event with leaflets about vegetarianism. Otherwise you can create an event to educate people about the reasons for doing a veg-a-thon. Either way, you should start recruiting participants a week or two before the start of your group veg-a-thon. You can have more than one recruitment event to specifically address different reasons for eating vegetarian, such as animal rights/welfare, health concerns or environmental protection. Consider a movie screening or an engaging speaker. Two possible documentaries are Peaceable Kingdom from Tribe of Heart Productions and Eating by Michael Anderson. If you can, serve plenty of good vegan food!

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, our pledge form, 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. A natural food store is an excellent venue for a kick off for large groups. Many larger natural food stores have classrooms which are well suited to these events. If yours doesn't, 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. A kick off event should be free or low cost, open to everyone (not just veg-a-thoners) and not too long. Make sure people have time to shop! For small group veg-a-thons among co-workers, family members or neighbors, invite them to cook and eat with you in your kitchen or the office break room, and offer to go food shopping with them.

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 why they want to do a veg-a-thon. For larger groups, 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 multiple-choice quizzes on vegetarian-related facts. If many of your participants are trying to lose more than a few pounds, suggest that two teams compete to lose the highest percentage of bodyweight. Award prizes to winning teams. Toward the end of the event ask participants if they have any questions.

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, where you can track RSVPs for your event(s) or attending another group's 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.