There are several ways required to start a club. The following steps are required by Columbus to ensure smooth initiations.

The first step to establish a club is to find a volunteer or group of volunteers to help with the grassroots efforts. Alumni should connect directly with the Columbus staff to share interest and work on identifying additional alumni who may be interested in establishing a club.

Once a volunteer leader is identified and agrees to develop a steering committee, he or she is responsible for organizing volunteers to serve as members of this committee. To assist with this process and to the extent possible, Columbus staff will provide access to the electronic database of alumni with the same affinity as well as any names of potential volunteers that have surfaced through Columbus and Columbus-sponsored events. The volunteer leader then solicits assistance from friends and fellow alumni in the development process.

Possible ways to identify potential steering committee volunteers include:

The goal is to identify 10-15 volunteers for the steering committee. The greater the number of volunteers available, the greater the likelihood of success in establishing a club. In addition, building a large pool of volunteers early on in the process increases the club’s ability to recruit members once the club is active.

Once potential steering committee members have been identified, the committee holds an organizational meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to:

An event is organized to announce the development of a new Columbus Connects Alumni Club.

This event will provide an opportunity to present the steering committee, the club’s purpose, and a general strategy to proceed forward to become a club.

The event should include the following:

A president-elect should be identified early in the steering committee process. Many clubs appoint future presidents to other positions, such as secretary, membership chair, or vice president, to give that person board experience and executive responsibility. This approach can be less intimidating to a volunteer and assures that he or she will be ready to serve as president when the time comes.

When you look for future board members in any position, look for volunteers who have similar experience from their work or personal lives to fit specific roles. Building bench strength from the beginning is an essential element to the health of the club. The election process should be held yearly and in accordance with the club’s stated by-laws.

A nominating committee should be created to review nominations and make recommendations on potential new officers.

The club budget is the projected financial plan for a year for which funding is required. The budget is an important component of your club operation as it represents a financial picture of your club for the year.

Depending on your club needs, the budget may be a simple one-page statement of expenses, or an entire spreadsheet including projected sources of revenue, financial assistance and a detailed narrative, explaining various expense items and/or costs.

Club programming needs to be conducted on a cost-recovery basis. All costs should be estimated as accurately as possible. Many clubs will add a small amount to the actual cost of an event to cover unexpected expenses and to help build a treasury to support additional mailings or other activities. Things to take into consideration when planning club finances include mailings and postage, events.

Every club must be financially self-sufficient. Dues can be charged to club members in order to offset operating expenses. If it is decided that dues will not be charged, then extra costs need to be built into the price of the event.

To gain recognition from Columbus, a club needs the following items: