Definitely do your homework and look for organizations that set the bar to entry.

"Birds of a feather flock together" and there are good and bad things to that. You get branded by the people you hang around. And if you're in a group of strugglers, guess what...you'll struggle along with them.

If the group is online, a pay barrier (ie. pay to access) is a good sign. Along with expressive testimonials using clear language about how membership helped, this will pre-qualify the group well for you.

Lots of people want to get together to GET something. Be a GIVER first. Look for groups of Givers. There are tons of Getters/Takers out there.