How an LGBTQ+ ERG hit 100% engagement with a daily question 'Participation Party'

The problem

Tasa's LGBTQ+ IA ERG had gone roughly four months with no real engagement. Members were on the roster but not showing up to programming or conversations.

The fix: a Participation Party

From August 16 through September 19, the ERG ran a month-long "participation party." The mechanics were simple:

• Daily informal questions sent out to the group — interpersonal, low-stakes, designed to help members get to know each other as individuals.
• Anyone who answered that week was entered into a weekly raffle.
• Weekly prize drawings (one week's winner got a $50 Uber Eats gift card).

The questions were intentionally casual — not about identity-as-a-topic, but about who people actually are.

Why it worked

The framing leaned into the ERG's core belief: in their community, you get to choose your family, and they had chosen each other. The questions made that choice concrete every day.

By the end of the month:

• 20–30 replies per day on the daily questions.
• Engagement effectively at 100% of the active group.
• Members who had never engaged before — including allies supporting partners, friends, and family — started jumping in for the first time.

When they asked the group why people had joined the ERG, the answers came back consistent: people wanted to be part of something bigger, and allies wanted a place to show up for the people they care about.

Takeaways for other ERG leaders

• Low-stakes beats high-effort. A daily one-line question is easier to answer than a calendar invite.
• Add a small prize. Even a $50 gift card is enough to convert lurkers into participants.
• Make it about the people, not the topic. Members will go deeper once they know each other as individuals.
• Allies count. Designing for "members and the people who love them" widens the door.