Let’s talk about the elephant in room — the mindset that college students are too broke, or just won’t pay to be a part of a student organization. I’m going to clear this matter once and for all; college students (or anyone, for that matter) will pay for anything that they perceive to have value.
What kind of value does a student organization provide a student such as yourself? All student organizations provide a community made up of similar values and goals. These communities provide a universe of opportunities ranging from personal growth to leisure to changing society. But how do we decide the cost of these opportunities?
I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again, running a student organization is akin to running a small business. A membership is just a product and it’s up to you, your members, and your fellow officers to determine what this product is and it’s cost.
Here are the top questions to consider when deciding on a membership fee for your student organization!
What is the cost of administration?
At a bare minimum, your dues should be able to cover the costs of running your student organization. These costs may arise from:
- Subscription-based accounting software used to track your organization’s cash flow
- Annual renewal fees of your group’s website hosting service and the domain name
- Marketing material such as posters, flyers, and bulletin boards
- Learning resources such as books or online courses
- National or Regional Chapter fees
How much does it take to fund your activities?
This is why planning is so essential! You and your fellow officers may be planning to have food for every meeting, flying in interesting speakers for events, throwing socials at restaurants, or taking a group trip to a convention or on a tour of your industry, but it’s kind of impossible when your organization lacks the funds.
This was the case for a Professional IT student organization I was a member for during my sophomore year of college. The organization lowered its membership cost to only $20 a semester, which seemed great, but in reality, meant that there was less to look forward to. There wasn’t food at meetings and, in fact, there were fewer meetups than the previous semesters. We didn’t have educational workshops, interactive activities, or interesting speakers, but instead had professors and local employers speak.
It became synonymous among my peers that this professional IT organization was a shadow of its former self. I’m not saying you need an extraordinary amount of money to make a student organization great or that all of this organization’s problems boiled down to a simple lack of funds, though it certainly was part of the problem.
The organization could have had a decline in leadership or might’ve experienced outside factors beyond its control. A student group can also still have great meetings without spending money with a little creativity. However, it was apparent that the small budget did provide a visible setback for this professional IT organization.
When I later took on the position of Vice President for this organization, I found that raising the membership fees increased the popularity of the organization rather than decrease it. We were able to do a lot of fun things for our members with the extra funds. There was also a bureaucratic benefit to raising the membership fees that I will get to later in this article.
Is your organization willing to conduct a fundraiser?
So you and your fellow officers don’t want to have your members pay high membership fees, but this money needs to come from somewhere. Ask your officers, “Are you willing to take the time and effort to plan and manage a fundraising events?” Ask your members, “Are you willing to volunteer your time to participate in these events?”
If they are, this is a great opportunity for you and your members to bond! But, if not everyone is wanting to get involved, it could spell disaster.
Does your organization have donors or sponsors?
Acquiring donors and/or sponsors definitely has its pros and cons. Having regular donors is a great way to supplement your organization’s activities, but you and your officers will be responsible for maintaining these relationships and proving that their money is being put to good use.
Also, while no one like the idea of cold calling (ugh, calling is such a dreaded task!) alumni or other past related groups to ask for money, these potential contributions could be the life source of your organization.
Sponsors, on the other hand, might be a less painful route to go when funding events or member rewards for your organization. Contributing to the community is great PR for businesses as long as you can prove their contribution will be compensated through notoriety. This will probably include adding the sponsor’s logo to your website, event posters and publicly thanking the business at your events and on your organization’s social media platforms.
The downsides of sponsors might include their specifications on how their product or money should be used and the level of advertising required to gain their contribution.
Always take into consideration the business’s values and recent news before agreeing to their sponsorship. Although it can be intriguing to accept a potential sponsor’s offering, if their business doesn’t align with your organization’s mission or values, this can send a confusing message to the public and your members.
As officers, how much do you think your contributions are worth?
Most student organization officers are unpaid volunteers doing work that they love. I’m not saying that as an officer you should profit from your work, but I do firmly believe if you’re going to put in the hard work to help create a memorable experience, you shouldn’t have the added struggle of working with just pennies.
On the other hand, if your members are truly complaining about the membership fees, your officers are NOT doing one of two thing:
- Offering enough value
- If your organization only offers three general meetings a semester but charges $50 for a semester of membership, you may be overcharging your members.
- Communicating Your Organization’s value
- From a business philosophy, you could have the best product that has ever graced the planet, but if you don’t market it, no one will know. In other words, if you are going to charge members a fair amount, let them every detail on what their money is being used for. (transparency)
Is there an SGA or entity that rewards your organization supplemental funds?
The best resource for supplemental income for student organizations can come from your university. My school’s Student Government Association (SGA) provided funds to student organizations that equaled 30% of their annual income. That can be the difference of having hundreds to thousands of extra dollars for your members.
Remember when I mentioned that there was a bureaucratic reason to raising membership fees? By raising the fees, my student organization was able to receive more money from the SGA!
Later, I learned that the SGA wasn’t the only entity at my university that offered student organizations extra money. My business school also, provided student orgs with supplemental funds if you provided documentation on reasonable guaranteed uses for the money.
So ask your professors, school’s administration, university’s Student Affairs office, and peers, if they know of any ways your student organization can aquire extra funds.
We want to hear from you!
How did you decide the price point your membership dues? Do you have other tips or suggestions? Let us know in the comments!
The Ultimate Guide to Being a Student Organization Advisor
