► Running A Society

Booking and running your AGM

A society must hold an Annual General Meeting each year with the purpose of electing new committee members and informing your society members of the previous years achievements.

Your Annual General Meeting is a constitutional requirement from both DUSA’s and the society’s constitution.

10 steps to a stress free AGM

Once the committee has decided a date, location you must publicise it for seven days. The VPC and VPSA of DUSA will be more than happy to help with printing, please give notice of two - three weeks.
The AGM be publicised openly in the DUSA building to all members - get everyone involved in postering campus - if you're not sure where you can/can't flyer, pop by and ask!
Create your agenda. We've provided a sample agenda below as a guide.
The AGM requires an attendance of 10% - this is known as "quorum" - in order for decisions to stand.
The president of your society will chair the AGM.
The Secretary and Treasurer will give an oral or written report summarising the society's achievements and any other relevant news. They will also submit an Annual Report of the society's accounts. is doing, accompanied with the Annual Report.
Elections will be held for all Committee positions, regardless of anyone re-standing - unless there are no other candidates.
Elections can be decided either via a show of hands or a secret ballot, is it advised that you discuss the method with your committee members prior to the AGM.
If the role for president is contested by the current president then the chair must temporarily be handed to the secretary or vice chair.
The secretary shall write up the minutes and submit them to the next committee meeting for approval before sending them to the VPSA.

In some cases an Extraordinary General Meeting may be called, the roles are mostly identical to that of the AGM with the exception being the VPSA should be present if the EGM is for re-election to act as returning officer for a secret ballot.

Collecting mail

The postal mail your society receives should be directed and delivered to DUSA.

This is so that any member of your society committee is able to collect the mail at any time throughout the week and so when you move house you don’t have to worry about changing the address.

The pigeon holes are located on Level 4 of DUSA in the VPSA office.

Mail from the bank should be addressed to your society, not a named person, as it is difficult to know what society it belongs to.
Example:
‘The Treasurer of ----- Society’

Packages can be delivered here also, and will be stored in the VPSA office unless they are too big. If you are expecting a package please notify the VPSA, so Exec members are aware of any incoming packages which they may have to sign for.

The address is:

Dundee University Students' Association
Airlie Place
Dundee
DD1 4HP

Society funding

Complete a society funding form. Email vpsa@dusa.co.uk

Restrictions on how awarded funds may be spent:

Excursions

If awarded funds are to be spent on an excursion, this excursion must be open for all members of the society. If there are a limited number of places on the excursion, the places must be awarded on a first come first serve basis.

Social Events

If a social event is to be supported by awarded funds, then The Union must be first choice of venue. However, if The Union is unsuitable as venue, an alternative venue can be used. Society funds may not be spent on alcohol.

Equipment

If awarded funds are to be spent on equipment that cost more than £ 150, the VPSA must approve the purchase and the object must be properly tagged as belonging to the society. Additionally the society must have an equipment list that is to be submitted to DUSA when the accounts are handed in.

The above mentioned restrictions are guidelines. The VPSA can give dispensation from any of these.

Running and promoting your events

Not only should you be looking to promoting events, but promoting your society in general. At DUSA, we encourage you to partake in some "Blue Sky" thinking. We can print posters and help organise a media campaign utilizing our magazine The Magdalen; radio station Discover Radio; TV channel DUSA TV and our website dusa.co.uk.

To find out information on how to write press releases and download a sample press release, click here.

We've provided a guide below with some basic tips on how to promote your society.

Come to Freshers' Fayre

The Freshers' Fayre will be held on Saturday the 1th of September and is the best place for societies to recruit new members. The Fayre attracts thousands of new students every year and is an excellent place for societies to kick-start their year. So why not book-up your first event/ social and then advertise it to new students at the Fayre? If you would like to book a stall for Fresher’s Fayre then email your Vice President of Student Activities (VPSA).Stalls are free for all affiliated societies.

Book a stall at the Union

Holding a stall at DUSA provides your society with the best opportunity to publicise itself/any events to the student body. We can facilitate a stall on Floor 4 outside our offices, outside level 2 reception or even outside the association building. All we ask if that you come and see us well in advance to ensure you have a well equipped and well attended stall. For further information, contact the VPSA.

Posters around campus

Postering around campus is a tried and tested method of promoting your event. It is important to have an eye catching design which contains all the necessary and relevant information about your event. More importantly; please ensure you receive permission from either DUSA or the University before you plague campus with your posters! If you would like help or advice about designing or printing your materials, ask your VPSA for more info.

Flyering on campus

Simple and tedious but also very effective. If you want to order large quantities of
flyers or if you want to be put in touch with the best printers in town then come to DUSA and we can get you the best deals and cheapest prices.

Contact the press

If you have planned a major or unique event then why not contact the press and give them the details. A well placed press release can do the same work as hundreds of posters. We have provided a guide to writing a good press release here. Once you have written a press release, get in touch with the VPC here, who will be more than happy to put you in touch with the right people.

Put an advert on Hermes

Each week an email is sent to all registered students and staff at the University advertising forthcoming events and services (entitled Hermes). If you would like to have your events advertised on these emails then send the time, place and details to your VPSA.

Use your website

Every DUSA affiliated society will have access to their own unique mini-site which can be directly accessed via our homepage. It is the sole responsibility of each society to maintain their own minisite. If you have any problems or issues with your site, please get in touch with the Vice President of Communications.

Social Networking

Social networking is an absolutely invaluable tool considering that a high percentage of our student population use Facebook and Twitter alone. However - it is important that you get it right. Filling up inboxes with spam mail is a quick route to deletion and even worse, complete ignorance of any future events.

Handy Hints and Things to Remember:

Time your campaigning properly

We would recommend you reserve at least a couple of weeks to promote your events; when organizing an event ensure you have given yourself enough time to advertise it! A well publicised event should become a well attended one.

Know your market

As you only have finite resources available then it’s important to ensure that you use them efficiently. Think about the students you want to target with your event and then advertise it accordingly.

The concept

With hundreds of society/ club events every semester you need to make sure that yours is unique. The posters should be eye- catching and the concept should be original for maximum impact.

The Image

Remember that a picture can say 1000 words, a striking image or a sharp logo can make sure your posters stand-out and stay in peoples minds.

Work with DUSA

DUSA is here for students and we want to help you in facilitating and promoting your events. In the past we have co- hosted large-scale club nights in Mono which have raised societies up to £2700 for only one nights work! We have more spaces and more resources than any other venue in Dundee and we have all the expertise to help you in ensuring that your event is a success.

Things to make sure you include on your publicity
1. The full name of your club or society.
2. What the event is.
3. Where the event is.
4. When the event is.
5. How much it will cost.
6. Where you can get tickets (if appropriate).
7. A contact phone number or email address (if appropriate).

Handover

As sad as it is, there will come a time when you're no longer at University and have to leave your society in the hands of the young upstarts we’ve nurtured from Freshers into fully-fledged students. It’s important that they receive all the help (and paperwork!) necessary to ensure that handover is smooth and that the society doesn’t have to be rebuilt from scratch.

First off, make sure that the new Committee is given all the banking details and that the signatures on the account are changed to the new President & Treasurer as soon as possible. This way, any early-semester plans can not only be funded but are also realistic; there’s nothing worse than having big ideas only to discover that the cupboard is bare.

Secondly, make sure that any society mailing list and/or society e-mail account is safely in the hands of the new Committee. This will ensure some level of continuation, allow consultation over the Summer and allow the new Committee to get as many people as possible to help during the hectic Saturday that is Freshers’ Fair.

Finally, but most importantly, take some time out to go for a coffee or a pint with next year’s Committee and answer any questions or concerns they may have. Give them the low-down on Society Funding Council, how to best promote events, share anecdotes, give friendly warnings, and generally impart your worldly wisdom. If you follow these steps, you can walk into the sunset safe in the knowledge that your cherished Society will fight to see another year!