Start Something New
I want to start a society, what should I do?
All you need is an idea and 30 people willing to join your society. Just follow the steps below:
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Contact VP Activities Chris Ruff to discuss your idea. Email ubu-activities@bristol.ac.uk or phone 0117 954 5865.
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Collect your membership list - you'll need to get the name, student number, email address and signature of 30 people.
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Write a constitution - make sure you your aims are clearly laid out and that the officer roles are clearly defined. Your society will need a minimum of a President, Treasurer and Secretary. Download a sample constitution.
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Write a letter explaining why Bristol needs your society, what activities your society will engage in and what it can offer to students here.
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Take the documents to the Do It! Hub on the 4th floor of the Students' Union building.
These documents will then go to the Societies Exec who will decide whether or to to recognise your society. The Societies Exec may ask you to attend this meeting to answer questions about your proposed society.
Under what criteria will the decision be made?
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Originality - If an existing society already offers the same experience as the one you are proposing, then the application will be rejected. Societies require a lot of administrative support and we cannot have two societies doing the same thing.
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Long-term sustainability - You need to have thought through what your society will do if affiliated: What events will you put on? How will you make money? Once you have left University, will the society be able to carry on? The more prepared you are, the more likely we are to affiliate the society.
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Passion - If you are just starting up a society to build your CV, we can smell this a mile off and you won't be affiliated. We want society leaders that are genuinely passionate about something and can inspire others to do it with them.
What next?
If the Societies Exec approves your new society then there's lots of help available to help your new society to go from strength to strength. To help you start your activity, we have the Give it a Go programme. Whay not run a session as part of Give it a Go to encourage people to come along to the activity and join in. This is a great chance to introduce your society to students and let them see what you’re about.
What about Sports Clubs?
If you want to start a Sports Club you need to get in touch with the Sports Development Coordinator, email: auadmin-ubu@bristol.ac.uk