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There are many reasons why you should consider becoming a UWSA ratified club. Whether you're starting a new club or thinking of taking your existing club to the next level, becoming UWSA ratified may be incredibly useful!
Being a UWSA club means your group is officially recognized, and as such, your club gains legitimacy. Knowing that your club has as organization behind it helps move things forward with administration and helps to show your members that your club is "real".
Managing a club is hard, but managing a club without someone to go to is even harder. One of the great things about being a part of UWSA is the advice and support they can provide. Whenever you aren't sure about something or need administrative advice on how to run your club, UWSA is able to provide support.
A common problem with clubs is finding a safe and reliable place to store club funds. UWSA allows all student groups to store their funds in the UWSA account, which eliminates this problem. You can deposit cash and cheques with UWSA to store the funds safely, and ensure they carry over year after year. There are two main ways to use the funds in your UWSA account: reimbursement and purchase orders.
The main way you'll be able to make use of your club funds is via reimbursement. This means you pay for something out of your own money, send a cheque request, and UWSA will send you the money. Cheque requests need to be approved by at least two of the three executives (President, Vice President, Treasurer).
Sometimes, UWSA can make purchases on your behalf to avoid club members needing to pay out of pocket. This typically only happens for larger purchases. For example, if your group wants to spend $500 to get t-shirts for group members, UWSA can purchase the shirts on your group's behalf (so long as your group has sufficient funds).
If you ever have any questions about UWSA group financials, send an email to vpfuwsa@uwindsor.ca
- Have three people to serve as the President, Vice President, and Treasurer of the group.
- Have these three executives sign the UWSA signature form.
- Collect the contact information of at least 10 additional members to be part of the club. This means at least 13 members total, 3 executives and 10 general members.
- You may want to use something like Microsoft Forms or Google Forms to collect this info.
- You should collect their name and UWindsor email.
- Send an email to studentgroups@uwindsor.ca and uwsa@uwindsor.ca with the member contact information list, the signature form, and a short description of your club.
- Allow up to a week to hear a response, if you don't hear anything then send a follow up email.
- UWSA Signature Form
- Student Groups Resources Page
- Student Groups Policy and Handbook
- Cheque Requesition Form
- Have a digital platform for members to chat with each other. Discord is a great option that many clubs use.
- Get a club email address. Even if this is a shared Gmail account, having a place to store club files and email communications online really helps keep the club organized.
- Want an official @uwindsor.ca email address? You can request one here once you become a ratified group.
- Consider creating a website. Websites are a great way for clubs to showcase what they're all about to prospective members. If you don't have much technical experience, you can use Google Sites to easily make a website for free
- Consider creating a logo for the group. A logo helps put an identity behind your club and is especially useful for promotional purposes.