An organizer has the ability to pass leadership of their group along to another member. They can also close their group entirely or step down without nominating a specific member. If an organizer steps down without nominating another member, any member of the group is able to step up as the new organizer under their own organizer subscription plan.
Organizer subscription plan goes unpaid
An organizer can also be stepped down from their position when they fail to pay their organizer subscription. The default payment setting on Meetup automatically renews organizer subscription plans when they expire. However, it's possible that the credit card on file for the organizer's account will be declined or has expired. Meetup will attempt to charge the credit card on file three times, starting on the date that the organizer subscription plan was set to renew. Meetup sends organizers an email if the final charge is declined. After this happens the organizer subscription will lapse.
When an organizer subscription plan lapses the account is placed into a 15-day grace period. Throughout this grace period, Meetup notifies the organizer through emails and on-site banners. The leadership team of the group will also see a notification banner on the group's homepage, warning them that the organizer is in danger of being stepped down. This banner prompts the leadership team to contact their organizer to ensure that they are aware of the situation.
During this grace period, you can step down and nominate a new organizer.
Group organizer is stepped down
After the grace period ends, the organizer will automatically be stepped down and the group will appear without an official organizer. If the group has co-organizers or assistant organizers, they'll receive an invitation to keep the group going by stepping up to become the next organizer. If the group doesn't have any other organizers, or if no one on the leadership team steps up in five days time, then all of the members are notified that the group needs a new organizer and they are invited to step up.
If the original organizer of a group is stepped down from their position, either intentionally or unintentionally, Meetup will not reinstate that organizer if another organizer has stepped up unless there are special circumstances. Organizers are notified before they are stepped down from their position, typically 4 to 6 times over the course of approximately a month. They are provided with ample time to take action and prevent being stepped down.
If former organizers have concerns about their intellectual property, they can reach out to us directly at the dedicated Contact Form.
Restore organizer access after a lapsed subscription
If you lose organizer access to your group because your Organizer subscription lapses (for example, a payment is declined, canceled, or not renewed), you can regain you Organizer status by visiting your Organizer Subscription page to check status and update billing information.
Once your subscription is current, you can:
Step back up as Organizer of your former group, if it's still open and no one has stepped up as new organizer yet.
If your group already has a new organizer, reach out to them to regain access amicably.
On some occasions, we can exceptionally reinstate you as Organizer of your former group after review. Please note that reinstatement is not guaranteed if a lapse happens again. To avoid interruptions, keep your billing details up to date on the Organizer Subscription page.
If you still have questions or concerns after updating your subscription, reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help.
Closed groups cannot be reopened
If your group was closed after you were stepped down as its main organizer and you're trying to reopen or reactivate it, please consider that once a Meetup group has been closed, we can't reopen it. All history and information, including photos, discussions, former events and member or attendee lists, are removed from our platform and cannot be restored once a group is closed.
You're welcome to create a new group and continue organizing.
Other reasons you may not see your group
You might be logged into the wrong account. If you used a different email for your organizer account, you may not see your groups. Check past organizer emails (like event reminders) to confirm the correct login email, or verify which account you're logged into in your profile settings.
You could be experiencing a mobile app issue. If you're using the app and can't log in or see your groups, log out and back in, then uninstall and reinstall the app. Make sure you're on the latest version (iOS, Android).
If you believe your group is a branded group that was incorrectly released, contact us and we'll take a closer look.