Clubs and Societies Meeting - 30/01/24

Ellie Mace

Clubs and Societies meeting. Welly Inn, Tuesday 30th January, 5pm.

Hosted by SU Sports and Activities Co-Ordinator, Ian Broadhurst and SU President, Ellie Mace. Attended by Chairpersons of Clubs and Societies (C&Ss) of HASU.

Following the above-mentioned informal meeting, below are the points we presented and discussed. Students were offered the opportunity to ask questions following the meeting.

***Funding HAS NOT been withdrawn from Clubs and Societies***

The Past
- Aware of lack of transparency
  - We are very aware that executives and members of C&Ss have been frustrated about transparency and timely and accurate information regarding their club or society, resulting in C&Ss “doing their own thing”.
- Poor communications
  - Communication has not been what it should have been on two fronts; timeliness of that communication, and, lack of clarity, again resulting in frustration and disappointment.
  - Poor documentation and lack of C&S aims and objectives has seen clubs and societies not move forward.

The Future (more about this at the C&S Execs Training - Wed 1st May 2024)
- C&Ss are going to be run in a more formal manner.
  - Key executives will be elected.
  - These key roles will be Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer (“job” descriptions will be sent out along with email on Exec elections).
  - Other roles can be added as required.
  - C&Ss will have monthly meetings.
  - Exec reports form Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
  - Minutes to be filed on Teams/MSL (to be determined).
  - Treasurer will have full and up to date visibility of club funds, initially from liaison with the SU Activities Co-Ordinator, the plan being that access will be given (tbc) to the Treasurer via file share.
- Spending of funds process (quotes/purchase orders/invoices)
  - Currently, many C&Ss go “out of process” to purchase/order kit, clothing, tickets, stash, etc.
  - Following the ‘spending process’ will protect individuals who take the risk of using their own money and will allow for up-to-date accuracy of club funds.
- C&S Executive Roles
  - Execs training to take place in the Weston Lecture Theatre on Wednesday 1st May ‘24. Further details will be communicated shortly.
  - There will be a separate training session for Treasurers on their role and responsibilities in May ’24.
  - BUCS training for all club captains will take place in Sept/Oct 2024 (this should make things considerably easier from an admin point of view for captains).
  - New Execs of Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer to be elected by 20th March ’24. Other roles can be added as required later.
- HASU Awards (Clubs and Societies)
  - We will be holding a HASU awards night on 10th May ’24. This event (the first one for some time) will be a semi formal event held in the Barn. More details to follow.

Club Funds
- The aim is that C&Ss will become self-sustainable.
- SU Funding - which is not just for clubs and societies - is totally dependent upon the money received from the University and this is not a large sum. When considering student numbers, HASU receives one of the lowest sums per student across the UK.
- Membership is very important as this is where most club funds are generated. It is known from our records that not all members of C&Ss are “paid up” members. Note: only ‘paid-up’ members are covered by the SU insurance. From a communications perspective, non-paid members won’t show on MSL and so won’t receive information directed to the club or society by either HASU or the Execs.
- Sponsorship is an important channel of revenue and whilst some C&Ss are better than others at generating income, all C&Ss should have this high on their agenda to generate more. More income results in more re-investment in the club or society (better equipment/coaching/kit/materials etc) and externally, may come from sponsorship or fundraising.

Sponsorship (longer term)
- In Ian’s opinion, not enough is done to generate Corporate Sponsorship for ALL clubs and societies. This is a longer-term vision, but the relationship Harper Adams has with large corporates lends itself to a strategy all on its own. As we move forward, HASU will be working with Execs to ‘tap into’ these opportunities. (More to come on this topic to come).

END OF MEETING