This sounds too basic to be worth my while, but you should never do anything as a neighborhood organizer without a sign-in sheet. Every meeting, street party, door-to-door solicitation, email, or flyer that goes out should have a way for people to identify themselves, share their information (email address!) and offer to help in the neighborhood.
The basic sign-in sheet I use at neighborhood association meetings and other events asks for the following information.
- Name
- Street Address
- Phone
- Would You Volunteer For?
- Cleanup Projects
- Host Events
- Distribute Flyers
- Lately I may ask a question like "Are you on Nextdoor.com?" Or "Would you like to sign up for our e-newsletter?" This way you open multiple channels to communicate with neighbors.
Now, it's very likely that you will see a lot of the same people at all of your events. In my neighborhood of 1000 adults, there is a core of about 60 who are guaranteed to show up a few times a year for a meeting, a party, or a neighborhood beautification project, such as tree-planting along sidewalks. Very few will show for every event--those are your hardcore members--but many will show up occasionally. Still, it's good to get them to sign in, or to use that other great member identification tool, the name badge. It helps people feel that they are part of something important, which they are, and makes them a participant, rather than an anonymous bystander.
