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District 71 
District 91 
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Author NickBenning  Date 27 Oct 11, 22:38  Views 5192
Description Steps to be undertaken by the initiator of a club, usually the founding President
Category Starting a New Club  Type

Process for starting a new club

1. Inform the District Governor

This enables the resources of the District to be applied to help you.


2. Get the 'New Club Information Kit'

This kit is obtainable without charge, even for postage, from the Toastmasters International (TI) store as item 123.

The components are also available online:
- 10 x Confidence. The Voice of Leadership.
- 10 x Find Your Voice.
- Clear Communication. Your Organization Needs It.
- How to Build a Toastmasters Club.
- All About Toastmasters.


3. Submit the 'Application to Organize' form and pay $125.00

This gives the group the right to use the name, procedures and materials of TI as a Provisional Club.

The completed Application to Organize form may be scanned and emailed to newclubs@toastmasters.org and the $125 may be paid by Credit Card.

Care should taken about choosing the Sponsors. Individual Sponsors should be experienced Toastmasters prepared to take an active role in your team.

It is advisable to discuss Sponsors, Mentors and Area Alignment entries with the District Governor who is entitled to change these details after submission. It is accepted that you may not know all the details at this stage, so you can leave any of these entries blank and inform TI about them at a later date.

The $125 should be raised from prospective charter members or your 'sponsoring organization' (which is usually your company if it is a Company Club) or Sponsoring Clubs, but cannot be paid from District funds. This is a good time to decide upon who will be your club officers and set up a bank account.


4. Receive the 'Charter Kit'

Following receipt of the 'Application to Organize' and $125, World Headquarters (WHQ) will send a 'Charter Kit' comprising:
- 20 x New Member Kits
- Distinguished Club Programme/Club Success Plan (1111)
- Distinguished Club Programme Wall Chart (1111C)
- Let the World Know (1140)
- Membership Building Kit (1160)
- New Member Orientation Kit for Clubs (1162)
- Speech Contest Rules (1171)
- Speech Contest Manual (1173)
- Supply Catalogue and Supplement (1205)
- Club Officer Manual Set (1310H)
- Master Your Meetings (1312)
- Think Fast! Table Topics Handbook (1315)
- 250 x Ballots & Brief Evaluations (1631NDV)
- Club Constitution and Standard Bylaws (210C)
- Competent Communication Achievement Chart (307)
- Competent Leadership Achievement Chart (308)
- Club Dues Receipt Pad (37)
- Application/Clubs Assigned To A District (400)
- 50 x Membership Cards (401A)
- 25 x Member Interest Surveys (403)
- 10 x New Member Profile Sheets (405)
- Timing Cards (901)
- Gavel (375)
- 'Welcome to Toastmasters!' DVD (244DVD)
- 20 x Toastmaster magazines

These items enable the Provisional Club to hold meetings. The first one should be widely promoted and carefully planned as a Toastmasters demonstration. An example Demonstration Meeting agenda is at the bottom of the page.

The goal is to achieve the minimum 20 members needed to enable the club to charter. Ideally this should be achieved at the Demonstration Meeting or a meeting soon after, so that the club does not lose momentum.


5. Submit charter documents and pay membership fees

When the Club has reached 20 members, submit the completed charter documents and pay the membership fees.

At least 17 members must be non-dual - i.e. new, reinstated or transfer (unless it is an Advanced Club).

If you had submitted the 'Application to Organize' form previously, you can either send it again or submit any additional or updated information separately. Ensure you strike out the $125 payment on the 'Charter Payments' form to avoid paying it again.

The forms may be scanned and emailed to newclubs@toastmasters.org and the membership fees may be paid by Credit Card.

Ensure that the club is charging members enough to cover not only the international fees to WHQ but also the room hire charges for several months and equipment purchases such as:
- Club banner
- Timing lights
- Lectern
Equipment may be purchased by Sponsoring Clubs or your sponsoring organization.

Fees are levied from the Charter Date, which is when WHQ receive the correctly completed forms and payment. A whole month's payment is due for whatever remains of the current calendar month. So if the Charter Date is the last day of a month, you pay a full month of fees for that one day. Therefore the most cost effective time to submit the forms and payment is at the beginning of a month.


The minimum 6 months fee

A minimum 6 months fee of $27 ($36 from October 1st 2011) is required for each new, dual or reinstated member.

If a club charters in April or October this 6 months fee will take the charter members neatly up to the next semi annual renewal point of October 1st or April 1st. If chartering in any month other than April or October the following pro-rata fee will be due at the next semi annual renewal point:

Month of charter ............. Pro-rata fee
MARCH or SEPTEMBER ..... $6.00 (1 month)
FEBRUARY or AUGUST ...... $12.00 (2 months)
JANUARY or JULY .............. $18.00 (3 months)
JUNE or DECEMBER ......... $24.00 (4 months)
MAY or NOVEMBER .......... $30.00 (5 months)

Note that the pro-rata fee is due at the April 1st or October 1st immediately following the Charter - not 7 months after the charter.

This is illustrated in more detail in the 'What happens after making the Charter Payments' section of the Charter Payments Calculator.


6. Charter!

WHQ send an email to the Club President and District Governor confirming that the club has been chartered. Note that because the Charter Date is when WHQ receive a correct set of forms and payment, the email confirmation is usually a few days later after they have finished processing the application.

WHQ send the official Club Charter Certificate and Charter Member Certificates to the District Governor. Bearing in mind that these take some weeks to arrive, the Club should liaise with the District Governor for a suitable date to celebrate the official chartering of the Club – at a dinner or special meeting. At this celebration the District Governor, or another District representative, will present charter members with their certificates.


An example template Agenda for your first meeting:
(print on both sides then fold)
Demonstration Meeting - Agenda

    
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