How to Get More Homeowners to Attend Your Indianapolis HOA Meetings

As an HOA board member, what's the biggest challenge you face in your role? Chances are, it's convincing residents to attend your meetings.

Unfortunately, this aspect of your duties isn't something you can afford to ignore. Annual HOA meetings touch on many large-scale issues relevant to your community. During the meeting, you may want to:

Present the annual budget
Hear committee reports
Address residents' issues
Elect new board members
Announce key projects

So, how do you convince your Indianapolis residents to attend meetings? Here are some time-proven tips that will make them more likely to show up!

Choose a Good Venue

One of the best HOA meeting tips we can give you is to pick your venue carefully. Not everyone has the time to travel to a meeting. Some people may work until late, and others may not be able to drive.

For this reason, it's best to opt for a venue close to the community. Your clubhouse may be the ideal solution. If the clubhouse also has a kids' playroom, it will be much easier to entice parents to attend!

Advertise Thoroughly

HOA communication plays a key role in setting up meetings. Ideally, you should notify all residents of the meeting at least 30 days in advance. Some communication methods you can use include:

Email
Snail mail
Posters or flyers
HOA newsletter

Take Concerns Seriously

Make a habit of surveying your residents about issues in your community. If the issue is serious enough, make sure to bring it up at the next meeting. For best results, add the issue to the agenda and share that as well.

This will lead to more effective meetings for two reasons. First, your residents will feel heard and validated. Second, they'll be more likely to attend a meeting if the agenda is pertinent to their interests.

Make the Meeting Fun

Scheduling a meeting around an event or activity can make it a lot more fun. Have the activity take about 10-15 minutes at the start, then move on to the meeting agenda. Some ideas you can incorporate are:

Pizza party
Raffle or giveaway
Seasonal cookie swaps
Photography contest

Include an End Time

Nobody enjoys blocking out the whole day because they're unsure when the meeting will end. Let your potential attendees know exactly how much time they'll have to set aside by including an end time on the notice.

In general, keeping the meetings short helps with attendance. That said, the key here is to stick to your timetable. If you say your meeting will last an hour and it goes over that, your attendees may get antsy.

Improve Your HOA Meetings Today!

Getting residents to attend your meetings is a huge part of HOA community management. If the above tips don't help, consider hiring an HOA manager to assist your homeowners association in improving attendance.

At PMI Meridian, we customize our services to the needs of each Indianapolis community we manage. Beyond planning your HOA meetings, we'll provide easy access to meeting minutes and other key information.