Title: Retiring Meetup Groups
Author: Josepha
Published: August 14, 2015
Last modified: June 21, 2024

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# Retiring Meetup Groups

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The lifespan of a MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get
together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn
more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/).
group depends on a lot of factors. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes groups
have to be closed and their members redirected elsewhere.

There are a few reasons that a Meetup group might need to be closed:

 * They are joining forces with another group in their area.
 * Their community is active on a different platform.
 * They have worked hard to organize events, but are without an organizer or without
   a local community.

First, begin with the steps listed in [Reengaging Local Communities](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/community-deputy-handbook/reengaging-local-communities/).
Once those steps are complete, if no one has stepped up to help organize regular
events, then the steps to retire a group are shown below.

 1. **Let the group members know. Select the ‘Email Members’ option from the ‘Group
    Tools’ drop-down menu** and send a message to all members letting them know when
    the Meetup will be closed (about two weeks is plenty of time). If there is another
    group they should be directed to, share the URLURL A specific web address of a 
    website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org 
    in the email so it doesn’t disappear when the group closes.
 2. **Step down as the organizer.** When you’re ready to close, go to the Meetup group’s
    homepage and choose “Step down as Organizer” option from the “My profile” drop 
    down menu. You’ll be prompted to select a reason, and then click “Continue” and
    on the confirmation page select “Or close down this Meetup completely and don’t
    allow anyone to step up as Organizer” at the bottom.
 3. **Email support@wordcamp.org to let the Community Team know! **This is very important,
    as it helps us track the status of our meetup groups.

Closing a group is a permanent change. All photos, past events, and membership lists
will be lost. You probably won’t ever get this particular prompt, but just in case
you do _don’t change or end the Organizer Subscription plan_.

When in doubt, ask in #community-team!

First published

August 14, 2015

Last updated

June 21, 2024

[  Previous: Reengaging Local Communities](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/community-deputy/meetup-program/reengaging-local-communities/)

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