Being part of a student club in college can be a very
memorable and rewarding experience, but it can also be a frustrating one. You
want your club to be successful, you want lots of members, you want to do great
things; but, you’re not sure how to recruit new members, your meetings are
disorganized, and you can’t seem to accomplish anything.
I’ve been involved in lots of clubs, and I’ve even led some
of them. I’ve been part of some really successful clubs, and I’ve learned what
works. I’ve also learned what doesn’t work by making mistakes.
CLUB PITFALLS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
Here are some pitfalls many clubs fall into and how to avoid
them:
Pitfall: Assuming
your club is too small to do great things.
Small clubs can spend (and usually waste) a lot of time
trying to figure out recruitment strategies. When you focus too much on
recruitment, you don’t accomplish much of anything else. Your club has a
purpose and that purpose is not to acquire more members than any other club on
campus.
How to Avoid It:
Value your current and active members.
Use your current and active members’ talents. Even if you
have as many members as you can count on one hand, each person has special
abilities and knowledge. Get to know your members well and find out what they
bring to the table. Do you have a graphic designer in the group? Does one of
your members know a lot about business? There are plenty of great things your
club can do that don’t require a small army. Generate event ideas for your current members. If you want to plan
an event that requires a lot of hands, team up with other student
organizations. The Web Developer Club I’ve been a member of at MPTC has teamed
up with the Graphics Club in the past so we could go to a convention in
Chicago.
Pitfall: Spending
lots of time planning but nothing gets done.
It’s really easy to spend an hour discussing an idea and
tabling it for the next meeting to discuss further. It’s also really easy to
accomplish nothing this way. Oftentimes no clear decisions are made. Nobody
knows who is supposed to do what and when it’s supposed to get done.
How to Avoid It:
Create tasks, set deadlines, and ask for volunteers.
First, vote on decisions so everyone is in agreement and on
the same page. Break down the idea into smaller, specific tasks and attach
deadlines to them. It’s very important to have these in your meeting minutes.
Ask for volunteers to complete the tasks. If nobody volunteers, ask a member
you feel would do a good job with the task based on his or her talents or
background. Divide the tasks evenly.
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT CLUB
Now you know what not to do, here are some recommendations
that will help your club to be a success:
Create a club
identity.
Design a logo, come up with a motto, and put them on shirts.
It will make members feel like they belong (and you’ll be advertising your
club). I’ve seen students walk down the hall wearing something really cool or
really funny and thought, hey, I’d like one of those shirts. It may even spark
conversations with non-members.
Write a club mission
statement.
Make your club mission statement clear enough for outsiders
to understand. Determine the purpose of your club (educational, recreational,
hobby, etc.) For example, the Web Developer Club has chosen the purpose of our
club to be an educational, peer-taught club. We take turns each meeting
presenting information we have learned outside of class. I know a lot about
art, so I gave a presentation about what makes websites aesthetically pleasing.
Communicate clearly.
Explain when, where, for how long, and if people need to
bring anything to a meeting or event. It seems obvious to share this
information with others, but communication is a big problem in many organizations.
Distribute your agenda and meeting minutes to everyone.
Designate someone to
be in charge of paperwork.
Most colleges require student clubs to fill out paperwork in
order to be recognized as a club. In some cases paperwork needs to be filled
out at the beginning and the end of the academic year in order to receive a
stipend for your club’s account. I’m not sure how they do it in other clubs,
but as the secretary of the Web Developer Club, I was in charge of making sure
we had all the forms we needed, that we met the requirements, and turned them
in by the deadlines. Talk to your student life advisor to make sure you have
everything you need.
Take advantage of
field trips and conferences.
For some potential members, the notion of going to new
places and doing things outside campus is enticing. I’m all grown up, but I
still get excited about field trips. If your club is part of a larger regional
or national organization, find out if there are conferences you can attend as a
group.
Don’t forget to mix
it up.
If you’re an academic-based organization, make sure you
include one or two purely social activities during the year. In both the Web
Club and Student Senate, we’ve gone out to a restaurant for lunch or dinner.
You could have a bowling night, see a movie, go to a sports game, or do
something else members like to do.
BONUS TIP: Recruitment
As I said before, don’t spend so much time recruiting that
you forget your purpose as a student organization. If you follow the
suggestions above, you should be drawing people into your club (as well as
retaining members) naturally. But since this is something every struggling club
is interested in (I’m not going to lie, I’ve Googled the topic in the past), I
do have a few tips I’ve picked up on from experience:
- Ask your club advisor and class instructors to promote your club. Our Web Club advisor has done an excellent job promoting our club to other students. He makes an announcement at the beginning of each semester to his classes to let them know what we do, when and where we meet, and the benefits of joining our club. It’s a two-minute spiel and it has gotten us the exposure we needed to reach people who are most likely to be interested in joining our club.
- Be visible on campus. If other students see you doing awesome things and getting involved on campus, you'll attract attention and possibly new members. Go to Student Senate meetings. At MPTC, each club is required to send a representative to these meetings. You’ll get to share what your group is planning, and then other students at the meeting might be interested in attending your upcoming event.
- Explain specific benefits. Why would someone want to join your club? What’s in it for them? You should ask yourself these questions before speaking with perspective members. Most, if not all, clubs are great for networking and resume building. One thing that I think makes the Web Club appealing is that it is peer-led education. Members are not required to do anything more than come to the meetings and listen to other members. When I talk to someone who’s interested in our club, I explain to them it’s like taking an academic class for free.
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