Consider why you are forming the club, what the long-term goals are, what you’ll do during meetings, and if you’ll offer services or resources to members. Most clubs are hobby clubs, such as book club, chess club, garden club, math club, knitting club, running club, and science club. You could also form a faith-based club, a club dedicated to volunteering, a club that raises awareness of an issue, or a club for professionals of a certain industry.
If you are meeting with strangers, it’s best to meet in a public place rather than at your home. Once your club is established, you could meet at members’ homes and rotate through a schedule so everyone is responsible for hosting a meeting.
Include the name of the club, the purpose of the club, and the date, time, and location of the first meeting in your ads. Don’t forget to add your contact information as well. Pass out flyers or post them on bulletin boards around town, such as at coffee shops or on college campuses. Tailor your recruiting efforts based on the target membership. For instance, if you have a faith-based club, ask local churches if you can post flyers on their bulletin boards.
For instance, you could play “Two Truths and a Lie” as an icebreaker. Each member should write down 2 true things and 1 false thing about themselves on a piece of paper. Then, other members can guess which item on the list is false. It’s a fun way to learn about your members! To encourage members to open up, you could have everyone write down their hopes for the club and/or ideas for activities on scraps of paper. Read them aloud and have someone make a list of everyone’s ideas. Keep it anonymous so there’s less pressure.
Some members may not use social media, so be sure come up with a strategy that includes everyone. You could call or text members instead of chatting online.
For instance, if the club is run through your school, you may need to have a faculty advisor.
President: the leader who runs the club and meetings and enforces the rules. Vice president: supports the President and is in charge when the President is absent. Treasurer: handles the club’s money, keeps track of dues for memberships, pays the bills for the club’s operations and activities, records of all debits and credits for accounting purposes. Secretary: keeps minutes of every meeting and reads them for correction or addition at each following meeting, gives a report of each event at meetings following the event.
Historian: keeps a record of activities and events that the club hosts, takes and keeps photos of group activities. Head of events: delegates club members to help in planning and organizing activities. Advertising team: responsible for creating flyers, posting to social media, and getting people to attend events, fundraisers, or activities.
Rules of procedure can also be useful in dictating how the club will make decisions, such as what kinds of votes will be necessary to approve decisions. If you have an informal club, you may not need to establish rules of procedure.
Your club can also host fundraising events to make money for equipment, activities, or events. You may also be able to find sponsors that will support your club financially.
Be sure to give every member an equal opportunity to speak during meetings. You may also want to assign each member small tasks to help them feel involved and invested in the club.
Encourage discussion between members outside of meetings through phone, email, forums, and social media.
You can also continue to post ads on classified and social media sites to find people who are interested in joining the club.
