Several friends and I started a new guild (we just had our 5th birthday) because the older, established guild had developed a quilt police force, and we were tired of that. Since we had no money to pay outside speakers, we got members to volunteer to present a 20-minute program on various subjects, like paper-piecing, fusible and needle-turn applique, rotary cutting, basting, etc. We had to keep in mind that there was a wide range of experience in our members. We quickly decided that the reading of the minutes at the meeting was a time waster, so the secretary would draft out the minutes, send it to all the members via email asking for comments and corrections, then email the final copy a couple days before the meeting. Then, it was just a matter of the president asking for any further corrections and a vote to approve the meetings. We handled the treasurer's report the same way -- email the report for everyone to review, then vote to approve at the meeting. Several meetings we had 3-4 stations set up for short tutorials, and each person who was demonstrating had 10 minutes. One that I did was "what every quilter needs in her tool box". All the items were spread on a table and the participants could ask questions about tools that were unfamiliar. Another demo was putting on binding and mitering the corners. This got members involved. We also have a small lottery each meeting -- 5 to 10 items, tickets are 5 for $1.00, and if your ticket is called, you get the item. We also have a lottery block -- a pattern is given out at that meeting and anyone who wants to participate bring completed blocks to the next meeting. All the blocks are turned in and the maker receives one ticket for each block. A ticket is drawn, and the ticketholder wins all the blocks. If there are enough blocks, there may be two tickets drawn. For our first birthday, we had a silent auction -- each member was encouraged to donate an item / basket, and members and guests bid on them. We made over $1,000 on that first silent auction, and have had one at our birthday party every year since. The funds go for speakers for the next year. We also try to have a road trip or a sew-in at least one Saturday a month (most of our members also have full time jobs). It's like a mini-retreat. For the road trip, we will plan two stops (a.m. and p.m.) with lunch. We are lucky enough to have 4 public libraries in our area, and each has a meeting room with tables and chairs that we can reserve at no cost. We have also had 3 retreats and another is planned for this January. At one point, we had a mystery quilt running in our newsletter. All the members were encouraged to participate, and after the last clue was completed, all the participants brought their quilts to the front at the same time. We have also had charm square exchanges, and will probably be having a strip exchange next year.
The problem is always getting people to volunteer to DO SOMETHING.