Start a Society

Why start a society?

The benefits to running an affiliated Strath Union society include:

• Free venue/room hire within the Union and University
• A bank account for the Society
• Your own page on the Strath Union website
• Access to services and resources including training and support
• A Volunteer Profile where you can log your Volunteer Hours to receive a recommendation letter to employers, a volunteer certificate and a transcript of your hours at graduation  

If the society you want to start involves playing sport and competitive sport, your society may be more suited to the Sports Union, which is a different application.

If you want to organise a ball, click this link or the 'Organising a Ball' page at the bottom of this page (rather than filling out the new society form).

Steps to creating a society

1. Submit an affiliation request

   Affiliations for this academic year are now closed. If you are a current society who wants to re-affiliate for the 2024/25 academic year follow the handover steps here.

   Please log in to complete this survey.

   Societies Exec Committee

2. Wait for a decision

   You will be notified of affiliation once a decision has been reached.

To complete the affiliation request above you will need:

• Your society name 

  This is how your society will appear on our website.

  We would recommend not including 'Strathclyde', 'Strath' or 'Strathclyde University' at the start of your name because this makes it harder for students to find your society on our website, as they are listed alphabetically.

  If you have an acronym for your society that you frequently use, we would recommend including this alongside a more descriptive name, as students not involved with your society won't know what your acronym stands for. For example: 'Symphony Orchestra - SUSO'.

• A public email address

  This is so that your committee member email addresses are not publically available. You can set up your own (eg. gmail) or request an @strath email address when you submit your affiliation.

• 3 society aims

  These must not conflict with other Societies already affiliated or be in breach of Union policies, while also being specific and descriptive of what your society will do.

• Whether you are going to charge a membership fee

  It's up to you if you want to charge a membership fee for your society. This can be a great way to raise funds for your society and it can encourage members to keep coming back if they have invested in some way. 

  There's no minimum or maximum fee that you can charge but think about how much students might be willing to pay for the activities/experiences/trips you're going to offer throughout the year. If students can't afford your membership fee, they can apply to the Participation Fund to get it covered.

  Participation Fund

  All members will need to sign up to your society through your web page regardless of whether you charge a membership fee, so that their data is stored in line with GDPR. Any membership fees will go directly into your society bank account.

• What category your society falls under

  The options are:

  • Course Related

  • Faith & Culture

  • Community

  • Hobbies & Interests

  • Media, Arts & Music

  • Widening Access

  • Political & Activism

• Your committee members' email address and DS username 

  Every society needs to have a President and a Treasurer, and optionally you can have any additional committee members you think you'll need to run your society. All committee members must be current Strathclyde students ankd the President & Treasurer must be different people.

Your Committee

The structure of the committee and task allocation should be created and agreed by the Society. You can add additional committee members depending on your needs, e.g. a Social Media Co-ordinator if you are planning on maximising your online presence. However, the following is a recommendation of how a committee might be structured and tasks allocated:

President

• Co-ordinates all society activity
• Represents the society at any meetings
• Ensures the members are well informed of the society's activites

Treasurer

• Co-ordinates and monitors the society's finances
• Reports the society's financial position to the rest of the committee
• Submits any requests for the purhcase of anything for the society
• Submits requests for funding from Clubs Exec, Alumni Fund, and external sources

All committee members

• Act as an ambassador of your society by ensuring you are inclusive and uphold your constitution at all times.
• Act as an ambassador of Strathclyde Students' Union by adhering to all standing policy, including the Equal Opportunities Policy, the Clubs and Societies Constitution, and the University's Dignity & Respect Policy.
• All committee members automatically become Strath Union Volunteers (Strathclyde students who give their free time for the benefit of others) and are eligible to receive all Volunteer benefits that we offer.

Find out more

Society Policy

Please also be sure to follow the society policy.