How to Start a Vegan Group

Where to Start

A local group can be run by two or three people or very many more. Some groups have 50 people plus but more often than not there is a hard core of up to 6 people who do all the organising and work involved in keeping the group going. Other people, while wanting to come along to support events, may not want to dedicate a lot of their time and effort to the group.

Some groups evolve as a campaigning group undertaking demonstrations, leafleting sessions, stalls, etc. Others may want to simply provide information or evolve as a social group visiting restaurants, going for walks, etc. with like-minded people. Whatever you do, it is always going to be better than doing nothing so give yourself a pat on the back for just being there. It is surprising how much influence a social group will have. For example, regular visits to different restaurants encourage those establishments to provide vegan food. 

Your very first step should be to contact our Contacts Coordinator.  Find out more.

Your First Step

Organise a meeting to get everyone together. An informal meeting will help you to find out what people feel about having a new local group without committing yourself to anything. You might find that there are 30 people queuing up to help. On the other hand there could be only 2 or 3.

Advertise the first meeting as cheaply as you can to avoid getting into debt before you even start e.g. postcards or posters in libraries, wholefood shops, newsagents, schools, colleges, universities, tourist information centres, health centres, etc. If you can get some free advertising space in the local paper or on the local radio station all the better.

Give yourself plenty of time, its best not to advertise a meeting at short notice and remember some newspapers need a notice to be submitted several weeks in advance so check their deadlines.

You can submit an event for our Events page (contact the office with details of the event).

You could also publish an e-mail address on your advertisements so that people can contact you if they would like more details.  If you don’t want to publish your normal private e-mail address you can easily create a separate e-mail account.

It is worth contacting kindred groups too.  For example many environmental groups have vegetarian or vegan members and members of local animal welfare groups might also be interested in a veggie/vegan or vegan group.

Hold the first meeting in a small hall, a pub, or a veggie/vegan restaurant or hotel. It is best not to use your own home - especially if you don't know who will be turning up or even how many! A neutral place may mean more people turn up to the first meeting. Some people do not like visiting unfamiliar houses and feel safer in a public place.

What to Achieve at the first Meeting

What should you achieve at the first meeting? There are several areas to cover. Firstly, try to decide amongst yourselves what sort of group you want to be. Ask people what they would like to do as individuals. Some like fundraising, others are happy to talk to the media or be involved with publicity work, some can cook and others like to do secretarial work. There will be people who thrive on campaigning and being 'up front' while others prefer to work in the background without drawing too much attention to themselves. All these strengths are necessary for a strong group to grow. Make a note of all that was said at the meeting (Minutes of the Meeting), including what you want to do as a group, and type them up so at the next meeting everyone will know what was said and newcomers will not feel left out. You may want to leave it until the next meeting before you decide on organising an event, or if everything is going well and you are all enthusiastic you may want to organise something immediately. A list of ideas on what your group can do is given later.

At the very end of the meeting ask for donations (say 50p-£1 each) to cover the cost of the hall and any advertising you have done for the meeting. Then make a note of everyone's telephone no/address/e-mail and organise details of the next meeting. This is very important otherwise you may not see any of them ever again!

Is it necessary to have a Treasurer, etc?

If there are enough of you and you are organising lots of events, it is a good idea to appoint various people to do specific jobs such as:

• Treasurer: to hold the bank account book, bank money, keep basic accounts.

• Secretary: to take minutes, keep contact details of people, organise meetings.      

If there are enough of you may want to create further positions such as a Publicity Officer, Campaigning Officer, Membership Officer, Editor, Fundraising Officer or Information Officer.

Some Ideas for Group Activities

• Leafleting high streets, shopping centres, etc.

• Demonstrations (leafleting with banners)

• Talks to local schools, colleges, womens groups, health centres, etc.

• Showing videos

• Cookery demonstrations at other groups e.g. Guides/Scouts, yoga, WI

• Food tasting evenings

• Social events e.g. rambling, meals at alternate homes, vegan "cheese" and wine tasting evenings, etc

• Fundraising e.g. jumble sales, boot sales, garage sales, etc

• Letter writing to local papers, magazines, etc.

• Information stalls at fetes, fayres, fleamarkets, shopping centres, etc

• Producing vegan guides to your area

• Producing newsletters, leaflets, posters

• Organising regular meetings with speakers

• Catering at local events

• Organising a parent/toddler group

• Organising bulk/co-operative buying of food for the group

• Organise something for World Vegan Month which starts on 1st November each year

• Organise a regular dining club

• Getting local restaurants to provide vegan meals and getting shops to supply vegan foods

Media and Publicly Work

Media or Press Releases

A media or press release is just a way of informing newspapers, radio stations, TV and magazines of any events or news. There are fairly standard ways of writing these releases and by adhering to these a few basic rules you will have more chance of your release being published.

You must make sure you include the following points in your press release:

• Embargo (a date when it can be published)

• Headline to give them an idea what it is all about

• 2 or 3 paragraphs detailing the event remembering to include dates, times, places

• Contact name and telephone number (they won't want a PO Box)

Make sure it is typewritten. Don't leave in mistakes. Make it neat and clear. If you can rope in a local celebrity to help you all the better — although sadly vegan celebrities are hard to come by!

Quotes are also a good thing to include and newspaper editors seem to favour stories where there is a quote from someone for example

Jane Smith of X vegans who has organized the fair says “more and more people are interested in compassionate living”

Group Website

A group website is a really good idea with so many people using the internet.  There are many things you can include on your website such as events listings and group news as well as information on where to get vegan food and even members' favourite recipes (to show non vegans just how good vegan food is).

Writing to Newspapers

Letter writing is an inexpensive way of obtaining publicity in local newspapers. Items in the news often present opportunities to put forward the vegan viewpoint. Below is a list of points to follow when writing to the Letters Page or Editor of your local newspaper.

• Reply to letters/articles that have already been printed

• Research the subject before you reply so you don't contribute inaccurate statements

• Write clearly or type your letter

• Be brief and to the point. A letter which is 5 pages long won't get printed and may not even get read

• State clearly that your letter is for publication at the top

• Always include your name and address. Most newspapers do not print your full address (only your town of city) but if are unsure or you don't want your name and address printed at all then state 'not for publication' next to them

Writing to Companies, Schools, etc

Write letters to companies which produce food, footwear, clothing, toiletries and cosmetics. Ask them for a list of their products suitable for vegans. If they don't have any, ask them to produce some! Don't forget to define veganism - some may not have a clear idea. Companies do take notice of their customers - you will be surprised at the long term effect a few letters can have.

Ask shops to buy in certain vegan foods. As well as encouraging them to sell vegan items, don't forget to thank them if they get a new vegan line in stock.

Write to schools and colleges and ask them if they would like you to supply information packs on veganism for teaching purposes. The Vegan Society produces an educational interactive CD ROM and runs a schools speakers program.

Funding Your Group

You need money to run a group (for leaflets, posters, magazines, to hold meetings (if hiring a hall), photocopying, postage, etc). So unless you have a particularly rich benefactor it is a job you must organise as soon as possible.

Some groups charge a membership fee which goes towards the group’s costs; this may be an annual fee or a fee per meeting.

There are lots of ways of raising funds and most involve an element of hard work. You can, however, combine fundraising with other events such as information stalls. Some tried and tested examples of fundraising are:

Street Stalls

Organise information stalls in the high street/shopping precinct.

If you want to collect money you will need to obtain a permit from your local council and you may also need permission to distribute leaflets or hold the stall (sometimes councils have allocated spaces for stall). It very much depends on your local council. 

Stalls at Event

Hold stalls at local fetes, fayres, boot sales, church events, green fairs, animal sanctuary open days, etc. As well as providing leaflets, information sheets and recipes you can also sell things such as second hand books, books on veganism/animal rights, vegan toiletries and cosmetics. You could also run a cake stall and sell vegan biscuits, cakes, flapjacks, etc. that your group has made.

Fairs/Free Vegan Food Events

On a grander scale you could organise your own cruelty free fare or information day. Get groups along from other local societies such local green groups, animal rights groups, hunt sabs, etc to pay a nominal fee for a stall and/or you could make a small charge on the door (for example adults 50p, children free). You could organise fundraising gigs, a video showing, a talk or a cookery evening. You can have tombola and/or raffle at these events too (you need a raffle license from you council if you are selling raffle tickets in advance).  For raffle prizes you could off with vegan cakes, books, etc or contact vegan companies to see if they will donate a prize.

Free Vegan Food Events are becoming incredibly popular and are great for getting people to try vegan food (which is often the hard part).  See the Food Fairs page for more details. 

Special Note about VEGAN FOOD

Please note that selling tasty vegan food is very profitable and highly recommended. The way to a human heart is nearly always via their mouth with something chocolaty!

Remember you can contact the Vegan Society for leaflets and posters.

Local Veggie/Vegan Guides

Writing a local veggie guide is an excellent thing to do as a common barrier to veganism is the perception that people won’t be able to find vegan food.  A local guide makes it easier for people to join the vegan masses.

Guides have proved very popular not only with local people but also for those visiting the area for holidays, weekends, etc. The guide can contain details of vegan B&Bs, hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, in fact anywhere that provides or sells vegan food and other goods. For example, you could include good clothes/shoes shops.

Decide what sort of guide you want. Do you want it to be just a guide to eating out or one that includes places to stay and where to buy toiletries, clothes, shoes, etc? Here is a list of ideas for material to include:

• Hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes, delicatessens, supermarkets, wholefood shops, etc.

• Places to buy toiletries, cosmetics, shoes, clothes, etc.

• Details of your group, membership

• Details of veganism

• Basic map of the area

• Tourist attractions

• Illustrations

• Advertisements from local businesses to help you cover your costs

Advertising your finished booklet is important so write/visit with a copy to the following places:

• Veggie/Vegan Societies and groups

• Local media

• Local tourist board

• Local shops such as newsagents, wholefood shops, etc.

• Sympathetic companies where staff have shown an interest in your group

• Stalls at animal rights events countrywide

Vegan Society Local Contacts

Why Become a Vegan Society Local Contact?

Vegan Society Contacts act as points of contact for those interested in veganism or the Society.  They do as much or as little as they are able. Some work as part of a group; others work alone. They can be a source of support for a lonely vegan who just wants a chat or they can actively promote the vegan message by leafleting, talking to the media, organising events, etc.

Local contacts can request free literature and posters for stalls library displays etc.  You will also be listed in back of the Magazine and on our website in our Local Contacts list.  You can also request extra help from us such as help with press releases or letter writing.

Find out more here.