Fundraising is a great way to help your Chapter succeed. Through fundraising, you can send members to BEA’s On-Location fall conference, BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas, or bring speakers to your school. Fundraisers give you event planning and advocacy experience, enhance your Chapter’s legacy and unite members interested in media.

Every Chapter needs effective recruiting techniques to attract interested new members. If you’re at a small Chapter, your goal is to build membership; if you’re at a large Chapter, you’re probably seeking diversity and retention. Student interested in “media” can be studying so many different things: television/radio/film, advertising, PR, digital media, graphic design, law and policy, scriptwriting, interactive multimedia… the list goes on….

• Recruitment Materials – Create a brochure and poster that explains the benefits of Chapter membership. You can distribute it during class visits, student activity fairs and recruitment receptions as well as share it on social media and send it electronically.  If you don’t have graphic design experience, find another student who does or visit sites like www.canva.com. 
• Recruitment Reception – Invite prospective members to a reception where officers and advisers talk about Chapter benefits and how to get involved.
• Classroom Visits – Have officers visit classes and briefly talk about Chapter benefits, opportunities and events. They also should mention how to get involved and distribute the recruitment brochure.
• Student Activity Fairs – Set up a booth and have officers available to answer questions. Display publications and other materials as well as pictures from past events. Provide a signup sheet so you can get names and contact information from prospective members.
• Professor/Faculty Reminders – Put announcements in professor/faculty mailboxes. Ask them to remind students about meetings and activities. You may want to attend a faculty meeting at the beginning of the year to explain the organization and the role you would like them to play.
• Freshmen Mailing – Get a list of freshmen or prospective members from your department. Send an email or letter to the students about the chapter and invite them to your first meeting.
• Extra Credit – Talk to faculty members to see if they will offer their students extra credit for becoming a chapter member or for attending meetings and events.
• Newsletter – Use your first newsletter to entice prospective members. Write articles about membership benefits and upcoming Chapter activities. Send your newsletter to prospective members, especially first-year students interested in media.

An effective transition helps new leaders make good choices about programs to start, stop or continue; prevents leaders from repeating past mistakes; and helps maintain relationships with professionals and organizations.

Tips for a Successful Transition

• Emerging Leaders – Identify emerging leaders early in the year and encourage them to run for office by contacting them personally.
• Information on a USB or shared Google drive – Have each executive board member create a USB or shared drive that outlines everything the next officer will need to know about the position. Include contacts, materials from past events, and agendas.
• Shadowing – After elections are held, allow the incoming officers to shadow the outgoing executive board officer.
• Orientation or Retreat – Plan time for bonding and discussion between the incoming and outgoing board members through an event such as an orientation or officer retreat. Discuss programs that worked or didn’t work and goals for the following year, and review transition binders, lists of duties and other important information.
• Introductions – Introduce incoming officers to important campus contacts and resources such as the student activities coordinator or student accounts personnel.
• Chapter Brand – Make sure the time you invest in preparing the incoming executive board mirrors the amount of time you’ve invested in building your Chapter’s brand. Ask yourself whether the incoming leaders have the resources to maintain your Chapter’s legacy, and if not, brainstorm ways to make it happen.

Nominate the work of your club’s members through awards and competitions. From the 48-hour competitions, Festival of Media Arts or Chapter Awards (Chapter of the Year, Rookie Chapter of the Year, Member of the Year, etc.) – there are many ways to showcase your student’s hard work.