Starting your own club or organization is not uncommon; I myself started my own Neuroscience Club at my high school. However, despite how common it may be, it is important to consider WHY you would start a club or organization and HOW you would go about doing so.
Let’s start with WHY you would start a club or organization:
- You want to pursue a passion you enjoy. Clubs and organizations allow you to take your passions further by pursuing them in a different setting. Particularly if your school or area does not have a club or organization for your interest, starting your own club or organization will allow you to continue pursuing your interest.
- You want to raise awareness about a cause that you care about. If there is a particular issue that you feel strongly about, you can have an impact and bring more people into your cause by starting a club or organization that focuses on that issue. By starting a club or organization, you can spread knowledge about the cause, run fundraisers or drives to support the cause, and possibly even spend time volunteering for the cause.
- You want to meet people with similar passions. Starting a club or organization can be a great way to connect with like-minded individuals that share similar passions and interests to yours.
- You want to gain leadership experience. While this should not be your primary motivation for starting a club or organization, it can certainly be an added benefit. You will learn the basics of starting a club or organization, recruiting members and officers, advertising events, and running it successfully. Colleges particularly love to see leadership in applications, and being the founder and president of a club or organization can be a great way to show colleges that you are responsible and can take charge to pursue your interests.
While there may be other reasons as to WHY you would start a club or organization, from my experience, these four reasons tend to be the most common motivations behind starting a club or organization.
Now that we have identified why you would start a club or organization, let’s talk about HOW you would go about doing so:
- Brainstorm ideas. Decide what you want your club or organization to be about. Which topic would you like to pursue? You may already know, but if you don’t, think about which interests and activities you deeply enjoy. Consider starting a club or organization on one of those topics. Make sure to choose a topic that would be open to everyone, if they choose to participate.
- Define the club or organization’s purpose and goals. Once you decide on what you want your club or organization to be about, get more specific. Figure out its purpose, what activities members would participate in, and what its goal is. By laying out the goal and purpose early on, you will have a clearer and more complete vision of the club as you proceed forward.
- Assemble a team of officers. To keep your club or organization running smoothly, it is important to delegate and create a team of officers, each of which has a different position in the club or organization. Common officer positions include a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Start with these four positions, adding positions as the club grows and it becomes necessary.
- Register your club or organization. If you are creating a club at school, follow the appropriate steps to get your club formally established at your school. If you are creating an organization, follow the appropriate steps to get your organization formally established in the area so that others do not form a similar organization.
- Advertise and spread the word. Now that you know what your club is about, it’s time to advertise and recruit members. Post on social media, talk to your friends and friends of friends. The most important job is to put the word out about your club or organization and make people aware of what you are offering to them through your club or organization.
- Establish a budget. Prior to your first club or organization meeting, it is important to discuss your club or organization’s budget. Most clubs or organizations require some amount of money to run, whether the money be put toward organizing events or buying snacks for meetings. Many schools often provide stipends to school clubs; however, you may have to collect money in other ways as well, such as through fundraisers or drives.
- Hold your first meeting. Don’t try to do too much in your first meeting; your main goal should just be to introduce the club or organization, what being a member entails, the activities that the club will hold, and answer any other relevant questions. Make sure to make yourself and your officer team friendly, approachable, and knowledgeable about the club or organization’s topic so that potential members ask questions and are inclined to join. Providing snacks during the meeting could also be a great way to get people to become interested in your club or organization.
- Keep your club or organization going! This step is the most important step of all. Now that you have started your club or organization, it’s important to make sure it lasts. To keep your club or organization up and running, make sure to continue following the above steps, recruiting new members, and bringing different, innovative ideas to the club or organization to keep members interested.
While these are just introductory steps to starting and growing your own club or organization, keep the following tips in mind: first, starting a club or organization is time-consuming; make sure you have enough bandwidth to devote sufficient time to running your club or organization. Second, it’s okay to start small and expand your club; don’t try to do everything all at one; that is an unrealistic task. Third, encourage members to voice their ideas and take into account their feedback and criticisms; these opinions are essential to keeping members interested and developing the club or organization. Finally, consider partnering with clubs or organizations that have similar purposes to yours; this will spread the word about your club and introduce more individuals to your club or organization.