There are a number of ways that groups can make money and bring some income into your student group account, these include:
MEMBERSHIPS
Membership is where the majority of money will come from to run your student group and is the easiest way for your group to get income. The fees exist to cover the costs of regular activities and is an upfront cost that enables group to run regular meetings or activities to members for free or at a reduced rate. Paying membership is a financial investment in the group, giving members the right to stand for election and to vote at general meetings (student members only).
Membership prices are determined by the exec during the re-registration process at the start of summer. Once memberships are set up on the website over the summer they cannot be changed until the start of the next academic year, so make sure to plan your budget for the year and set your membership fee accordingly.
When deciding how much your student group should charge you should think about the following:
- How many events will you be putting on?
- Will you need to contribute to guest speaker’s travel/accommodation?
- How many members are you expecting?
- Is there any immediate equipment you will need to purchase?
- How much money does your student group currently have?
Try to make sure that the fee is enough to ensure your group has money to be able to do the activities it wants to, but not too much to make it inaccessible for students to pay, or so your group ends up with money sitting unused in your account.
Groups must have an annual membership (either free or paid for), and some groups also choose to offer a lifetime membership. Annual membership gives students access to your group for that current academic year, up to 30 September of the end of the academic year, at which point they will need to purchase a new membership for the next academic year. Lifetime membership gives students access to your group for 4 years.
Anyone wanting to be a member of your group must buy a membership through the website, including exec committee members. Any members that don’t have a membership on the SU website won’t be covered by the SU’s insurance. Having a membership also allows members to participate in the groups democratic processes, and for student members to run and vote in elections.
GRANTS
Durham SU student groups can apply for a grant from the SU itself (including newly ratified groups and associations) for up to a total of £500 for this academic year. This funding would supplement other sources of income, such as membership fees, and is to be applied for, and used, solely for the benefit of your members in line with the aims of your group and the charitable aims of Durham SU.
There are also many funding opportunities and initiatives available to UK charities, so it’s worth doing some research within your group area as to whether there are any organisations that offer external funding for groups.
Please see our Grants article for more information on the above.
FUNDRAISING
Putting on some fundraising events to raise money for your group is a good way to bring some extra income in. If your group has some ideas on fundraising events that you’d like to do, please get in touch with the ASK Team and we’ll chat to you in more detail about the event, any fundraising legal requirements and what you might need to do to set it up.
EVENTS
Events are another good way to bring some money into your group by charging a ticket price to attend which covers the full cost of the event. There are many factors to consider when planning events to make your money stretch far and wide: You can have a look at the How Does Our Group Budget? article for more information about what to consider when setting up ticket prices and our Activity Planning articles to find out more information on planning events.
SPONSORSHIPS
Sponsorships are another great way of getting money into your student group account. You might also be able to get donations of equipment or resources for events so have a think about contacting local and national businesses / organisations that have similar aims as your group to see if you can seek any sponsorship from them. Sponsorships means that they will expect to receive something from you in return for their sponsorship - it is a two-way transaction, unlike donations, which are detailed below. Our article 'How Do We Get Sponsorships?' goes into more detail about the rules of sponsorship.
DONATIONS
A money donation is a voluntary contribution of funds or resources. This contribution is typically made with the intention of providing financial support to help address a specific need or support a worthy cause. In this respect, money donations, unlike sponsorships, do not require you to provide anything in return for the money - there are a one-way transaction. For more information on donations can be found in our article '[coming soon].
For any issues relating to accessing the links above, please get in touch here.
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