How To Start a New Association

IN THIS ARTICLE

• CORE EXEC ROLES
• ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION
• MEMBERSHIP FEES
• REGISTRATION FORM
• WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

If you are interested in starting a new association it's not as hard as you may think, plus you'll receive help from Union staff throughout the process, and after as a ratified association.

First, you should consult the list of ratified associations to see if a similar association already exists as we are unable to accept duplicates. If no similar association exists, you're almost ready to apply!

Before applying: 

1. You should contact any similar existing groups / associations to discuss whether there would be any conflicts or concerns. 
2. You will need to have a president, treasurer and secretary in place and these positions all need to be taken up by three separate people who are all current Durham University students. 
3. You need to edit the Association Constitution file to detail the association’s aims as well as some key governance rules for your association.
4. You should seek out other interested students to demonstrate support for the association.
5. You will need to read and agree to various terms and conditions which can be found in the in registration form itself.

CORE EXEC ROLES

Firstly, you need to have at least 3 people who will take up the positions of President, Secretary and Treasurer in the group. These 3 positions are the core exec, and you cannot run a group without them. No matter when you apply, your exec will stay in their positions until the first day of the summer holidays, unless they have resigned, been re-elected or handed over to new exec before the date. 

• President – Responsible for the overall running of the association and setting objectives. Lead contact with the Students’ Union, and main representative of the association. Manages and supports the exec team, ensuring role duties are being fulfilled. Ensures activities are in line with the associations' aims, and the association is compliant with Students’ Union policies and processes. Calls and chairs exec meetings.
• Treasurer – Maintain financial accounts in a transparent manner, using Students’ Union finance processes. Create the association’s annual budget and work with other exec on budgets for events. Ensure expenses and invoices are paid. Oversee grant applications and sponsorship agreements. Keep the exec and members informed of the association’s financial situation. Present accounts to the membership at the annual general meeting (AGM).
• Secretary – Ensures effective communication between the exec and members. Supports the President in setting exec meeting agendas, and organising AGMs (and GMs), as well as taking minutes. Manages the student group area of website. Maintains up-to-date membership records and mailing list. Maintains records and associated paperwork.

ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION

Next, you will need to decide the association's aims and how you will achieve those. When you have defined them, you need to edit the template file. We recommend that you read the whole template, but you only need to edit the highlighted yellow sections (sometimes we’ve added in a suggestion to help you) – the rest of the document is locked from editing. There are notes within the form from page 13 onwards – these pages give guidance on how to complete the form, but there’s nothing to edit after this page. If you would like to make any changes to the locked sections of the constitution template you will need to get in touch with us to discuss this. 

MEMBERSHIP FEES

Anyone wanting to be a member of your association must buy a membership through the website, including all exec committee members. Associations have free memberships. Memberships give members access to your group up to 30 September following the end of an academic year. Examples are:

• A 1-year membership for the 22/23 academic year would end on 30 September 2023.
• A lifetime membership (4 years) beginning in the 22/23 academic year would end on 30 September 2026.

REGISTRATION FORM

Once you have organised all the above, you are ready to apply! To apply to start a new association, you will need to complete the online registration form. For more information on the areas of the registration form itself, you can view the article Registration Questions – Why Do We Need This Information?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

When the registration form is complete, the ASK team will check it over and contact you if there is anything else that we need from you. Once we are happy that you have submitted everything and have no further questions, your association will go to the Student Group Committee for approval. We apologise that we cannot advise on how long it may be as it does depend on many different factors. 

When your group is ratified by Student Group Committee, you will be invited to an induction session with a member of the ASK team, and you will be given all the information you need to get started. 

Once ratified by Student Group Committee the final stage is for the application to go to our Assembly to be approved and formally recognised as an association as they are the body responsible for the political and campaigning side of the Union’s work. Assembly meets around 3-4 times during the academic year, and the SU staff team will work with you once ratified by Student Group Committee to get your application to the next Assembly meeting. 

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