Building a Club for Dummies

Three steps to building a Club/Organization

I) First thing’s first!
A club or organization can be started by any full-time matriculated student at Wheaton College. According to the SGA Constitution, Article VII, Sec. VI, the following are elements and guidelines that compose a Club and Organization.

“1) Clubs – Active and recognized SGA entities whose duties and functions are limited to activity during the academic school year.”

“2) Organizations – Active and recognized SGA entities that need to function throughout the calendar year in order to fulfill legal or institutional requirements. These entities require operational funds during all times of the year, not just during the academic semesters.”

Knowing the type of entity you would like to begin is a good place to get started. After you’ve decided on what to build, next is to decipher what type of things your club will be involved with and actually do. Now, the important thing here is not just planning activities, for that reason we have larger programming groups to coordinate this. Instead, what theme will your club carry out to enrich the Wheaton and Norton Communities? Hence, the title of the article reads “Building a Club,” which entails a club that must be carefully and strategically planned in order to conduct its mission statement accordingly.

II) Becoming a Club/Organization
After you have carefully done your personal research and formed a group of people who would like to be part of your Club/Organization, it’s time to get started with the application process. In this packet you will find the template for creating a Club Constitution. We’ve made it simple for you to just plug in the information as we’ve outlined. You can add or delete the categories and decide which ones pertain to your Club/Organization.
When you have completed the Club Constitution, it falls on you to contact either your SGA Senator or the SGA Vice-President to make the agenda for the next SGA Meeting. Here you will present your Club Constitution for ratification by the senate. Be prepared with your research and valid points to defend the importance of a Club/Organization like yours on this campus.
One of the most important things in forming a club is having a reliable board that will be efficient in their positions. Be sure to emphasize the type of organizational structure your Club/Organization will have AND what responsibilities will that structure fulfill.

III) Funding your Club/Organization
After your club has been approved it will be assigned to a Tier. In SGA terms, a Tier is a larger group of Clubs/Organizations that all have similar intentions in a larger scope of things. There are four (4) Tiers; Communications Tier, Intercultural Tier, Educational Tier, and Recreational Tier. Please know which Tier you were assigned.
The last thing is a two step process. In this packet you will find the template for creating a Club Budget. In creating a Club/Organization it is obvious you will incur operating expenses. As an SGA entity your Club/Organization is eligible for funding. In applying for these funds there are certain guidelines you must follow.

**Make sure to UNDERSTAND this before you proceed…**

i) PLEASE BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE AS THIS WILL ONLY HELP YOU.Be sure to itemize your yearly expenses. An idea is to plan the events for individual semesters and come up with an approximation of each. In other words, plan your activities and budget them by semester as this will be a better estimate than for the whole year. When you overestimate you will only decrease your chances of getting the necessary amount.

ii) After you have created your budget and money has been allocated to your Club/Organization it is the club treasurer’s duty to keep records of the clubs income and expenditures throughout the year. Under The Wheaton College Honor Code your Club/Organization will undergo an audit of these records to check for efficiency and appropriate use of funds. Your club should not overspend its allocated amount.

If you do not meet the budget proposal deadline (Tuesday, September 21st at 5:00PM) then your club will not undergo the Tier Funding process. Or if in any case your club seems to be in need of more funding for additional projects there are other sources within SGA you can apply for. These are Senate Fund, Venture Fund and Speaker Fund. For more details on how to apply for these contact the Treasurer.

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Club Constitution Template

Preamble
This section states the purpose of the club and/or the reason for founding it.

Article I – Name
This section declares the name of the club.

Article II – Sources of Authority
This section states where the club derives its power. A good statement is this: “XYZ Club shall function under the auspices of the Student Government Association and is subject to all rules established thereof.”

Article III – Governmental Structure
Write in eloquent detail what the leadership positions in the club are and what responsibilities of each position are. Refer back to the requirements that the SGA imposes on clubs as a guide towards efficiency.

Article IV – Procedures
This section explains how decisions of the club are made. Generally the elected officials, or a majority of members make them.

Article V – Elections
This section should be very clear on how the positions in Article III are elected.

Article VI – Impeachment
Again, this section ought to be very clear as to how elected officers can be impeached.

Article VII – Amendments
It is absolutely necessary for a club constitution to detail how it can be amended. Always include a clause that states the SGA Senate must ratify all amendments.