Form a BFW Chapter
Campus Chapter Action Guide
Form a Core Group
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The first goal when organizing a Bread for the World campus chapter is finding a few individuals to form a core group. These individuals must be energetic and committed to the foundation of the BFW chapter on their campus. This committed group of activists will do the lion’s share of the work, drive the organization, and ultimately determine the chapter’s success or failure. .
Trying to start a chapter by oneself can be very overwhelming. Creating a core group is a great way to distribute work; it also shares the rewards of organizing a new Bread for the World chapter.
Organize the chapter
Take initiative (as an individual or core group) and advertise to the student body your intention of starting a BFW chapter to see if there is any preliminary interest. Advertise through e-mail, flyers, the campus newspaper or any other media. Be persistent.
If there is interest, plan a meeting to discuss what you envision your chapter to do and see what others want the club to do. Use resources from Bread for the World at the meeting, such as BFW’s Campus Connection newsletter and Just Add Consciousness: A Guide to Social Activism.
Note: Usually the people who display initial interest in the formation of a club are people who would be good in the formation of a core group.
Once a core group has formed devise the purpose and goals for your chapter. One way to get started on this is to devise a mission statement. A mission statement expresses the purpose of the chapter and its guiding principles to help define how the group organizes and acts on campus and in the community. Next, discuss when you would like to meet, how much time you can realistically dedicate to this chapter, what events you would like to do, and how you will create enthusiasm for your cause on campus. These are not always easy things to do so start small, be flexible and be sure to utilize resources of Bread for the World staff as well as the past experiences of other Bread for the World campus chapters.
Acquire Funds and a Faculty Advisor
Depending on your campus student government, try to get your club approved for funding, which can aid in purchasing materials or in putting on events. In addition, you may be required to get a faculty advisor. Faculty advisors can be a good source of information and usually have great contacts, which can be used for events. The faculty advisor’s role can be as quite involved or moderately removed, depending on your chapter’s vision.
Plan Logistics
Now that the club has a basic framework (core group, membership, mission statement, goals, and funding) continue maintaining the goals of your club by meeting together as a club at a designated time and place that works for most of the membership. It would be advisable for the core group to meet before the actual meeting to plan out what will be discussed in the meeting and by whom.
Maintain the chapter
Lastly, chapters should plan how to maintain their chapters long-term. Chapters can fall apart due to the loss of a core leader to graduation or a study abroad program. Therefore, it is important to delegate responsibility among a core group of members and continually look for new members who possess leadership qualities that can maintain your chapter for years to come. One example to counter a gap in leadership is found at Villanova University. At Villanova there are various committees, all with a leader (campaign, local initiatives, special events and D.C counsel for lobby day). This format helps to delegate responsibility, makes chapter members feel more responsible and encourages participation. Lastly, the semester before a leader will step down, the next year’s leader is identified and works closely with the current leader in order to provide a smoother transition.
In the end, no set of instruction can provide an exact blueprint for organizing a chapter, but these time-tested steps may help you get started. Good luck, and keep in touch with us at campus@bread.org.
Download the Word or pdf versions of this guide for more resources and ideas.
