Establishing a New Club
Decide on your club’s focus. Since you’ve decided that you want to start a history club, you will need to decide if you want your club to focus on a certain time period or region. You could also choose to study a particular topic, concept, theme, or a specific event. For example, you may want to study the concept of revolution, which would include events like the French Revolution, American Revolution, Haitian Revolution, Egyptian Revolution, etc. Alternatively, you could choose to study a specific event and focus on just the French Revolution. If you decide to have a general history club you can invite members to share what interests them. You can focus on a certain time period in history, like the Middle Ages or the 19th century. You can focus your history club on a certain place in the world, like North America or Asia. If you go this route, you can decide to focus on a certain time period in that continent or country as well.
Register your club. If you are starting a history club at your high school or your university, you may need to register your club with your school. This helps the school to keep track of the different clubs that students can participate in. Becoming a registered student organization with your school may also mean that the school will give you money for your club. Your school may have certain regulations or rules that registered clubs must follow. Ask about any potential rules that you may need to follow while you're registering with the school. A faculty advisor can help you to navigate these rules as well.
Find an advisor. Many schools will require you to have a faculty member or parent agree to sponsor your club. A history club advisor can help you organize your club and help with logistics. Ask a history teacher or history professor to sponsor your club. You can also ask any other faculty member that you know is interested in history and is willing to help you.
Choose a name. Choose a name for your club that is easy to remember, catchy, and relates to history. Sometimes simple is best, you can name your club “Your School Name History Club” Keep your club name short or use an acronym if you want to have a longer name. Brainstorm different names. You can let new members vote on the official club name at your first meeting if you aren’t ready to pick a name.
Join a national organization. You can form a chapter of a national organization at your school as well. National organizations like the National History Club and the National History Bee & Bowl accept new chapters. If your school does not have these, your history club could become a new chapter. If you decide to join a national organization as a new chapter, you will need to follow that organization's rules and regulations.
Planning the First Meeting
Decide on a schedule. You will need to decide how frequently you want your club to meet before you plan your first meeting. Clubs that meet weekly or bi-weekly will keep your members engaged in club activities. You should try to meet more than once a month if possible.
Decide on a time to meet. Along with deciding the frequency of your meetings, you will need to decide what time and day you will meet at. When choosing your time, consider how the time window may affect the meeting. For example, you may want to hold your meetings at lunch time, which would require allowing members to eat before or during the meeting. If you're having a meeting during a meal-time, be sure to plan how your members will eat. Will you provide food, or will they bring a meal? You could even decide to have a themed potluck around your topic! If you host your meetings before school, you might want to offer coffee or donuts to encourage members to come so early. Directly after school ends is a good time if you are in high school. If you are in college, the late afternoon or early evening when most classes are done may be the best time. When holding your meetings in the afternoon, it's a good idea to plan an activity that boosts your member's energy to kick off the meeting. Try to find a time that is convenient for the most people. Not everyone will be able to make every club meeting but you should try to accommodate the majority of participants. You may need to adjust your club meeting times if you find that it is not convenient for your members.
Reserve a space. You will need to find a space to hold your club meeting. Try to keep the location the same each time so your members won’t become confused. Ask your school if you are able to reserve classrooms or common rooms after school. Reserve your room a few weeks in advance to make sure that you have a space to meet. Try to meet in a central location that is accessible for your members.
Make a club constitution. A club constitution is essentially a list of the basic rules that your club will follow. The more formal your club is, the more formal your list of rules will be. The list of rules will structure how your club will run. A constitution can establish the types of officers your club will have, who can be elected to an officer position, when and where you meet, and general meeting requirements. If you decide to have an informal club, you may not need a constitution.
Acquire any needed supplies. This could include items to facilitate the meeting, such as chairs, a table, or a podium. It could also include the materials you'll need for your activities, such as paper, scissors, clipboards, pens/pencils, flash cards, maps, etc. The space you choose may require you to get special supplies, such as extra chairs or pillows for members to sit on. Similarly, your members may need clipboards if there are not tables or desks. Your club will be more successful if people are comfortable.
Invite people to your first meeting. Invite people that you think would be interested in participating in your history club. Ask history professors or teachers if you can come into their class and invite their students to your club meeting. If your school has a radio station or television station, ask the manager if you can come on their program and invite members. Invite your friends to join and ask them to each invite a few people you may not know to come with them. Use social media to spread the word about the new club that you've formed and to invite friends to join.
Hold your first meeting. During your first meeting, you should introduce the club and explain why you wanted to start a history club. Ask people at the meeting why they are interested in history. See if there are any similarities in what people are interested in. For example, if a lot of people are interested in World War II, you can plan a World War II themed activity. Decide on a club name if you have not already done so. If you have made a constitution or list of club rules, let the people at the first meeting read and vote to approve the list.
Invite people to your next meeting. Use the schedule that you designed to begin meeting on a regular basis. In the next few meetings, ask club members to nominate potential officers for the club. Officer positions could be President, Vice President, Historian, Secretary, Representative, or any others you think are relevant. Holding club elections for officer positions can encourage people to become more active in the club.
Growing Your Club
Make a club website or social media profile. Having an Internet presence is a great way to keep your members informed and to attract new members. You can create a free website through Internet website hosting platforms. Ask members from a computer coding or graphic design club to collaborate with you on your website! Create social media profiles that you can share club information, pictures of your activities, and club updates on.
Advertise your club. Attracting new members is an important way to grow your club and to bring in new ideas. Ask your members to invite their friends to the club. Talk to other club leaders at your school to set up an activity that you can both participate in, like a field trip. By establishing relationships with other clubs, you can encourage new members to join. Advertise your club using your website and your social media profiles.
Hold fundraisers. Your club may need to raise funds for activities, to go on trips, to purchase materials, or for other items. Fundraising activities will engage your club members, advertise your club, and raise funds for fun activities. Ask your school to sponsor your club if they don’t already. They may have a budget for clubs at the school that you can receive funds from. Collect dues. You can raise money for your club through dues, where your members pay a certain amount of money each year or semester to participate in the club. Try to keep club dues low though because high dues discourage people from joining. Hold a fundraiser by selling t-shirts, having a bake sale, or bringing in a speaker that audiences pay to see.
Arrange activities. You will have to decide what you’ll want to do during your meetings and how the club spends its time. Ask members to give short presentations about a topic in history that they’re interested in and have a discussion about that topic. Watch a documentary or movie from the time period you’re interested in. Travel to a local historical site nearby. This site could be a battlefield, a historical landmark, or a place that has historical significance for your town. Go to a history museum. Go see a speaker who is having a talk about the topic in history you are all interested in. Invite a professor or history expert to come to your club meeting to give a presentation.
Ask your members for feedback and suggestions on a continual basis. It's important to consider what your members enjoy so that they'll keep coming back. After each meeting, ask them how it went and what could have been better. Let them help decide the club's topics and activities, as well as the format of meetings. It's also a good idea to allow members to take turns hosting the meeting or leading a discussion or activity. Don't take feedback personally. If a member is not enjoying something about your meetings, it's not about you. Different people enjoy different activities.
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