plus one is a brand-new organization based in New York’s 17th congressional district. the organization’s mission is to connect us with our neighbors and, in doing so, strengthen our local community and democracy. we’re talking good old-fashioned grassroots community building! you can follow along via our home page and our IG.

57 hosts 57 dinners are dinner gatherings in the 57 towns and villages of New York’s 17th congressional district. they are an opportunity for neighbors to meet one another—or get to know each other better—over a shared meal, build awareness about where they live, and try on some civic action.

let's meet our neighbors and build a movement.

success shows up in two ways: 

1. you and your guests engage deeper post dinner than you did pre dinner. 

2. having had such a good time, each of you invite a “plus one” to the next event.

you certainly don’t have to! But we’d like you to! if inviting isn’t your thing, we are currently gathering a list of folks who aren’t in a position to host but would love to be a guest. we’re here to matchmake! 

if inviting IS your thing, let’s make that list! a few rules of thumb:

• we want to keep these dinners as hyper-local as possible. this is an opportunity for you to gather with folks in your town or village, not necessarily the county across the way. 

• while it’s tempting to invite your nearest and dearest, part of what we are trying to do with these dinners is widen our circle and community. plus one has resources in our kit to help brainstorm guest lists that are beyond your typical go-tos.

plus one tries our best to design events that are family friendly and accessible to all. that said, we understand that not every home is kid-friendly, and sometimes parents need a night out! so we’ll leave this item up to you, and point you toward our subsidy question (read down) if childcare is a need. 

we’re not hiding the ball that we are Dems. in fact, we’re progressive Dems—and plus one is a partisan Political Action Committee (PAC) that approaches community building from the left side of the political spectrum. 

it’s important to note, however, that our measures of success are focused on positive community engagement and education, building bonds between neighbors, and strengthening small-d democratic function. if you feel moved to invite an apolitical neighbor, disgruntled Democrat, or even a registered Republican that is Democrat-curious, we aren’t opposed to that. use your best judgement. 

if you’d like to tease out your neighbor’s politics ahead of inviting them into your home, we have some pre-party conversation starters that can be sent via email, text, or used in person if you’re knocking on doors. these easy questions should help you get a sense for if you and your neighbor will be comfortable breaking bread together. 

how do we expand and strengthen our community while also protecting it in the face of fascism? it’s the question of the moment, and we encourage practicing these conversations so that we can work toward our shared goals. there are many across the political divide!

we’d like you to send them out, and we’ll supply you with an easy-to-use free template that will allow you to customize. we’ve created a google form for all RSVPed guests to share dietary restrictions/allergies. we’ll make sure to share that information with you.

we’re currently in conversation about whether or not to set a menu for May. we’ll share that info with you during your zoom kickoff call. you may have heard that for our February dinner we partnered with four local vendors to supply hosts with special menu items. we’re in the process of sussing out what’s possible for May. allergy information and getting local establishments on board are both front of mind.

of course! If you have a favorite dish (or an entirely different menu) that is far afield from our suggestion, MAKE IT! we aren’t in the business of telling you what to serve your guests —we only want to help in case you’re not a natural born chef!

who do you think we are? of course! we’ll send along a small deck of ice breakers / conversation starters. think prompts like:

• what’s the best kept secret of where you live?

• why did you move here to begin with?

• in a world of unlimited resources, what’s one thing you’d change about the area?

• if the area had a slogan, what would it be?

the kits include name cards/tags, gift bags (replete with a piece of exclusive plus one merch), conversation starter cards, and plus one sign in sheet.

indeed there is! we are offering $150 per host until our $3,000 fund runs out. the money can go towards groceries, a babysitter, salt for your driveway—anything (related to the event) goes! 

we want to empower the people at these dinners to look to their left and right and say, “you know what, WE can do something—we collectively have the power.” we’ll let you know on your kickoff call what action we’re encouraging dinner attendees to take.

yes! no one is expected to be an expert. democracy runs on civic engagement and that’s what our events are designed to do: help you and your community meet one another, learn, get engaged, own your “We the People” power, and have fun while doing it!

reach out! emily@plusoneforamerica.org