Stayin’ Alive:
Making Sure Your Club Survives After You Graduate

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Are you a senior who just started a Do Something Club? Are you worried that your club might fall apart when you leave? Don’t worry, here are some ways that you can lay a good foundation for a long-lasting club. (And congratulations! We know you’re going to be moving on to more great things after this year!)

• Draft a mission statement. You’ll want it to remain flexible and open for change by future members, but it’s also important for your club to talk about why you started this club in the first place. What are the issues that your club is passionate about? What do you want to change in the world, for you, your friends, your neighbors, and people across the world? Putting this down on paper can help your members stay motivated and inspired as a group.

• Make sure that underclassmen are set in leadership positions when you leave. Seniors can and should still be leaders, of course, but you should actively encourage the younger students to run for positions and get more involved.

• Make sure that the younger students, even if they aren’t in leadership positions, start developing the skills to run the club. For example, start giving younger students more responsibilities, such as making flyers, contacting organizations, and facilitating meetings, throughout the year.

• Have a skill-share. By giving the underclassmen responsibilities, you’ll see which skills they have and which they don’t. Set apart times where people can teach other skills, such as designing flyers and websites.

• Try operating on a different time schedule. For example, your club could have elections at the end of first semester, so officers stay in place from January to December, for example, rather than from September to June. This means that seniors are still around for a semester to give new officers advice and help them ease into their leadership positions.

• Try to take care of as much necessary organizational stuff as you can before you leave. It’s not as much fun as planning events, but it’ll help you ensure the survival of your group. For example, if your club has to reserve space, get an advisor, and create a budget by the end of the school year in order to stay active for the following school year, you and other seniors can take charge of those details (while also bringing on a few underclassmen to help.)