Start a Successful Club
Have you ever seen all those clubs that are really successful? Ever wanted to start one of those clubs yourself and be at the head of it? Follow these simple steps and you should have success!
Contents
Steps
- Decide what kind of a club it will be and think of a catchy name. The club should have a topic and the people in your club should be gathering because they share a common interest.
- Figure out where and when your club will meet. If you would like the meetings to be held at your school, talk about it with your other club members first. Will you be meeting just once a month or twice a week? It's important to have these details ironed out so that your members don't get confused. Make sure everyone can get to the meetings easily. If they can't come to every meeting, it's okay!
- Begin recruiting members for your club. Most members should be among your friends, but a few people you don't know well should be allowed to join so that it will become more popular. But keep in mind that having too many members can result in a lot of anger or frustration.
- Have your first meeting. It's best to have snacks and some kind of games to make a good impression. Call or email members to remind them of the first meeting, as it's best for everyone to attend.
- Decide what 'rules of procedures' will be used by the club; often referred to as 'parliamentary rules' although they have nothing to do with parliament nor government. 'Rules of Procedure' define two things: 1) Communication Procedures within the club, such as: how long a member gets to speak to the club; who gets to speak first (if two members persist to speak at the same time; and 2) how the club will Make Decisions, such as what kinds of votes will be necessary in what kinds of circumstances. Members of a club can go about to make up all the rules of their club; which can be a tedious job. In the United States, a book titled 'Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised' is used as 'rules of procedures' by over 85% of clubs. This book sets forth 'rules of procedure' for every known situation because of it's long history of research and daily website updates (www.robertsrules.com). It is very trustworthy. A shorter version of the original book is 'Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised IN BRIEF'. It is satisfactory for most clubs that have under 300 members.
- Decide what (if any) officers your club will need. Club members should vote on who the officers will be. This can happen at the first meeting or at a later meeting. Typical officer roles include:
- Leader (president). This person should run the club, meetings, and enforce the rules.
- Deputy leader (vice president). This is the person who is in charge when the leader cannot make it.
- Treasurer. This person handles the club's money, and keeps track of dues for memberships, pays the bills for the club's operations and activities. He/She also keep records of all debits and credits for accounting purposes.
- Secretary. The secretary keeps minutes of every meeting and reads them for correction or addition at each following meeting. He/She can assist with the activities of the club, such as events that are hosted, and give a report of the event at meetings following these events.
- Historian. This person keeps a record of activities that the club hosts, etc.
- Head of Events. This person delegates club members to help in planning and organizing activities.
- Advertising team. They should be responsible for creating flyers, etc.
- Decide on a club symbol, colors, etc. This should also be decided by the club and voted on.
- Make club IDs. Make a template with your name, the club's name, the member's rank (if they have one), contact info for the club, club location, and the time since they became a member.
- Create a motto/slogan. This step is optional, but it can help to keep everyone in the club on the right track. Make it inspirational.
- Keep moving forward. Have a good constitution to help clarify what you want to do and how. Help your officers know what they should do and how to behave. There are books to guide you in these things - get one.
Tips
- Always attend your own club meetings. If you're not interested in your club, other people won't be either.
- If it is a secret don't tell anyone!
- Be on time!
- Do not decide stuff for your club without doing a vote.
- Let members bring things to the club so you don't do it all yourself.
- When doing one of your club activities, make sure to respect everyone and their opinions. Clubs weren't made to let the leader treat everyone like crap!
- Goals of the club should always relate to the club's main purpose.
- Remember, you are starting a club, not another school class. You should not be giving the members as much homework as in regular academic classes.
- Make sure everyone has an equal say in what you do but don't let it become an argument.
- If one of your club members get mad at you, apologize and try to make things right with them. Ask them what offended them and sincerely try to make a change.
- Start off by first making your club with best friends and invite other people later as your club becomes stable.
- If you're planning on having snacks, ask about food allergies.
Warnings
- Don't let all this "leader" business get to your head: become too swelled up with pride and your members will either overthrow you or they'll simply leave. You should be fair and not stuck up.
- Don't start your club until you are sure you have everything organized
- See that your group doesn't become too "exclusive", otherwise people will start to think of your club and all the members in it as snobbish, and they will give you the cold shoulder.
Related Articles
- Start an Online Club (for Teens)
- Be a Good Club President
- Start an Exclusive Society
