Reed College
Reed College

Starting a Club or Organization

Steps

The expansive list of student clubs at Reed reflects the vast diversity of Reedie’s interests and passions. If you don’t see a group that speaks to your interests, feel free to start your own. 

Register Your Club/Organization

Here are initial steps to take to launch your new student club or organization.

  1. Register your club with the Office for Student Engagement by filling out this form.
    1. If you are registering an athletic based club–please also contact the Director of Athletics, Fitness, and Outdoor Programs (AFOP) and notify them of your club’s registration. After learning more about your proposed club, the AFOP team will determine if you will need to submit a safety plan.
  2. Assess the risk level of your club by reviewing the Protocols for High Risk Activities webpage and take the appropriate follow up steps with the Office for Student Engagement, Risk Management, and/or Athletics, Fitness, and Outdoor Programs.
  3. Meet with staff in the Office for Student Engagement to seek advice, learn about resources, discuss your plans for creating a successful group, and plan events and more.
  4. Advertise your new club at the next Student Clubs Fair.

Apply for Club Funding

  1. Register your club with the student body Treasury. The vast majority of club funding is administered by the student body Senate. Look for instructions in the biweekly SB (Student Body) Info email sent by the student body President. If you have questions, please contact Treasury at money@reed.edu.
  2. Attend the signator training. A signator is a student who has participated in Treasury’s training on how to request and use student body funding. If you would like to request and use student body funds, you must attend a signator training, which Treasury holds at the beginning of each semester. Training times and details are typically advertised through the SB Info email. If you missed the training, contact the student body treasurers at money@reed.edu.
  3. Attend Funding Circus. At the beginning of each semester, Treasury polls the student body on the clubs that students believe should receive priority funding. As a result of the poll, clubs are ranked by the number of votes they receive. The top 40 clubs (in fall) and the top 30 clubs (in spring) are invited to submit budget requests for the semester. They then attend Funding Circus to explain their budgets, answer questions, and make the case for their funding needs. Look for instructions in the biweekly SB Info email sent by the student body President.
  4. Apply for supplemental funding with Financial Committee (Fin Comm). During the semester, Treasury holds a weekly Financial Committee (Fin Comm) meeting at which clubs and students may request one-off funds for an event or other club needs if they didn’t receive Top 40/30 funding. The funds are allocated on a rolling basis and as funding is available.

Student Organization Resources

There are a number of ways that the Office for Student Engagement supports student organizations:

Advising

The Office for Student Engagement staff are available to meet with you about any organization-related issues including recruitment, keeping members engaged, running meetings, making decisions and more.

Event Planning

We can talk to you about events that are only a dream and help you figure out how to make them happen. We will walk you through all the details including contacting performers, negotiating contracts, budgeting and finding funding, event logistics, and more. Get started by looking through our Event planning webpage.

Funding

The Office for Student Engagement has a small amount of funding to support student clubs and events. Please note that funding requests must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  1. Student groups must have already applied for funding through Funding Poll/Circus with student body Treasury and/or requested funds at a  Financial Committee (Fin Comm meeting).
  2. The event must be open and accessible to all current Reed community members and focus on building community within Reed’s campus.
  3. Funding provided by Student Engagement must be utilized within the same academic semester that funds are applied for.

If your request meets this criteria, please fill out this funding request form and a Student Engagement staff member will follow up with you.