Start an organization
From Student Link
It's actually relatively easy to start a student organization at Duke. The process primarily involves knowing what you want your organization to do and how you want it to do that. Duke's student governance structure is set up to accomodate every conceivable kind of organization, from the Orchestra to the Humour Magazine.
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Getting Started
What you need to know
First, Duke has a single organization which everyone must approach to create their own group, called the Student Organization Finance Committee or SOFC. The SOFC administers regular yearly budgets for groups, and one-time allotments for groups to spend money. Only through making successful application to the SOFC can your group legitimately reserve space on campus, use the Duke brand, and have a bank account for funds.
The SOFC has two tiers for its student groups - Chartered Groups and Recognized Groups.
Chartered Groups
A Chartered group receives an annual budget from the SOFC for running its activities and putting on events each year. Since this is a very special privilege, chartered groups must fit very specific criteria. Loosely, Chartered organizations must:
- Not be selective in their membership such as by using tryouts, applications, or any other method to limit membership.
- Not charge mandatory dues of any kind.
- Operate an activity which could not otherwise exist without a specialized source of funding
Performance groups are occasionally chartered, but then are unable to charge for performances funded by SOFC and are no longer allowed to be selective through tryouts.
One more note: It takes a minimum of three (3) years for an organization to receive a full budget from the SOFC. The first year of existence, no budget will be given because the annual budget is approved in the Spring. Then, the DSG constitution stipulates that the SOFC may not give more than $500 to an organization in its first round of funding.
So, for instance, if a group began in Fall 2005, it would not receive a full budget (even if it required thousands of dollars to operate effectively) until the Fall of 2007.
Recognition
A Recognized group receives an fund code from the SOFC allowing them to run an account of their own, along with the right to reserve space on campus, request funds for on-campus events, and use the Duke logo and brand on their materials. Recognition for new groups is often denied to those who are duplicating the activities of a pre-existing organization, so one should be careful to make sure their organization is unique before beginning the recognition process.
What you need to have
To make successful application to the SOFC you must have:
- A constitution written with sections which account for how the club will: transition and empower its officers, run its meetings, handle its membership, and be amended.
- An advisor who will vouch for the group.
- At least 10 members who regularly attend meetings and are willing to sign a statement to that effect
Other Organizations
Duke also has other organizations which validate groups, granting them special rights and special opportunities for funding.
The Undergraduate Publications Board
The UPB loosely oversees the activites of Duke's student publications. Controlling access to the Bassett Fund along and the right to set policies for student publications around campus.
Making Application
New publications that want a reasonable chance of receiving money from the Bassett Fund should make an application to the UPB as they begin to pursue DSG Chartering.
The UPB will look at the application to insure the new publication does not substantially reproduce the work of other publications already in existence on campus, and give guidance to applications regarding how they might structure and organize their publication. The UPB also looks for experience on the leadership of new publications, and will prioritize those applications which it feels have the best chance of making a vigorous contribution to campus.
The Sports Club Council
The Sports Club Council primarily oversees and administers club sports organizations at Duke.
