One of the best ways to find potential founding members is to contact your local Party Chair and/or Executive Director and ask if he or she knows of other young people who would might be interested in starting a Young Democrats chapter.  Don’t be shy about asking your Chair to put you in touch with other individuals (many of whom will fit into one or more of the categories below) who may be of assistance to you in this process.  You may be surprised at how excited he or she is to help you build your chapter.  Networking is the foundation of any successful chapter, so get out there and meet some people!

May we recommend:

• Children and grandchildren of county central committee members

• Local Party staff

• Local Union meetings, including teachers’ unions

• Other Liberal and Democratic clubs, such as Stonewall and Drinking Liberally

• The offices of local Democratic elected officials

• Environmental groups, like Sierra Club and Greenpeace

• Women’s Issues groups, like NOW, NARAL, or Planned Parenthood

• Minority student groups, like NAACP, Black United Students

• ACLU, LGBT oriented advocacy, political, and recreational groups such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Lambda Legal, and the like

• Disabled Associations, Amnesty International

• Party Builder, Meetup.com, Myspace, Facebook, ADonkeyandanElephantWalkintoaBar.com – social networking sites are another great way to find people who are already engaged and looking to get involved.

• Your church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other religious congregation 

• And last, but certainly not least, talk to your friends, co-workers, and acquaintances.  The nice lady at Starbucks who makes your drink every morning?  Probably a Democrat – talk to her and other young people you see on a daily basis about the issues that matter most to them and ask them to bring their friends.  The Democratic Party really does have something for everyone.

In short, wherever you find people working for social change – or just working – you’re likely to find fellow Democrats and potential club members.  Be respectful, but don’t be shy.  After all, the worst someone can say to you is that they're not interested.