Starting an Organization

Review the existing list of Clubs and Organizations. Is there already an organization that is similar to what you want to do? It's focus may not be as specific as what you're interested in, but still might be a good fit.

Too often, students start up clubs with a very specific focus that don't have enough appeal to gain enough membership to last. If you can find an organization that generally deals with what you're interested in, you might be able to find a group of students in that organization interested in your same passion, and it will have greater "staying power" to keep going after you've graduated.

Come up with a plan for how the club/organization will run:

• Will you have/need officers?
• How often will you need to meet?
• Where will you meet? Can it be in a classrom, or will it be a larger organization that will need a larger space on campus?
• What will be the purpose of the meetings?
• Will you need to fundraise? If so, what will you do?

You won't be able to start an organization without having a faculty sponsor. Sometimes this is the toughest part of the process - while our teachers love what they do, their time outside of the school day may be limited by other commitments: family, commuting to/from work, etc.

Reach out to teachers you know - or ask teachers or students about other teachers who might be interested - to find someone willing to be the sponsor for your organization. If you've already done the work of setting up how often the organization will meet and what will be happening at the meetings, it may make it easier to entice a teacher to become the sponsor.