Sample Invitation 

NOTE: This is only an example. Please find your own words in conveying why this book is important to you, and why you are inviting people to join you in this dinner and conversation. 

SUBJECT: Invitation to a Change Dinner to discuss WINNERS TAKE ALL 

Dear _____________, 

This fall, Anand Giridharadas’s WINNERS TAKE ALL: The Elite Charade of Changing the World is out in paperback. It’s a book that couldn’t be more timely and I believe will spark a much-needed conversation about what real change is and how we achieve it. 

The book stems from a speech Anand gave at the Aspen Institute four years ago, where he raised uncomfortable questions about what is really going on when the privileged and powerful claim to lead on “changing the world.” Now that speech has grown into a book that Bill Gates calls “thought-provoking,” Bryan Stevenson calls “insightful and refreshing,” and Ai-jen Poo calls “the most important intervention yet regarding elite-driven solutions.” WINNERS TAKE ALL launched on August 28, 2018 and has been credited with changing the “national and even international conversation about social change,” and after reading it, I can see why. 

[PERSONAL SENTENCE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE BOOK]

The book raises profound questions that I struggle with — and perhaps you do, too. Why do we so often urge the powerful to do more good, but seldom to do less harm? Is justice about giving back to the powerless or changing who has power? When we set out to “change the world,” why do we so often end up keeping things the same, and keeping ourselves on top?

I am writing to you because I am hosting one in a series of Change Dinners being organized around the world in the coming months — forums to allow for candid debate and genuine searching about the questions raised by this book.

To attend, you must read the book fully in advance (this part is crucial!) before our gathering. I’ll provide the food and drink [OR DO A POTLUCK!] as well as some guidance for our discussion. All you have to do is offer your ideas and share your questions and experiences.

Date: 

Time: 

Location: 

Our gathering will be one of hundreds happening around the world in the coming days. The book is an attempt to speak truth to power, and these dinners are a special opportunity to grapple with, and act on, uncomfortable truths. I do hope you’ll join me. 

Yours,