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Worksheet for New Member Groups

This worksheet can serve as a guide for establishing your group.  It is assigned more for the benefit of you and your group and less for the selection process.  The coordinators of your group will discuss your responses to these questions with the New Membership Coordinator.  Some questions may not apply to the type of work your organization does; feel free to skip the questions marked if applicable.

Group Plan

I. Goals

What activities, specifically, will the group undertake?

If applicable, at what sites will you be working?  Please include a contact for each site if applicable.

What is your target population?

For service groups, what specific needs of the target population are addressed by your group?

In what ways does the community currently provide for these needs?

How would your group supplement/improve existing community support?

What are the largest potential problems for the program and participants? How might these be addressed?

How will the student program receive feedback and evaluate itself?

How will the effectiveness of students be monitored?

Is/will a Yale faculty/staff member or other professional oversee the project?

How will the participation of Yale students and participation of the target population be monitored?  Will this be primarily a student or agency responsibility?

If applicable, how can the group be prepared to evolve with the needs of its community sponsor?

II. Structure

How will the coordination structure of the group function (e.g. consensus run group, coordinators, sub-coordinators)?  Be specific.

If applicable, how often will the leaders of the student organization meet with their community sponsor? How often will these meetings occur?

How will the transition in student leadership be handled? When will the transition take place?

Who will be responsible for orienting new student leaders to the community sponsor, if applicable?

Who will be responsible for orienting new student leaders to Dwight Hall?

Do you have an advisory committee or board?

Are there other either Dwight Hall groups or non-Dwight Hall groups that have similar missions? How will you collaborate with these groups? How will your project collaborate and work with existing groups?

Do you envision involving Yale grad school(s)? If so, how?

III. Participants

What are the duties of participants?

Will participants require any sort of training before participating?

If so, what kind of training should Yale student members have before participating?

Should they be oriented to the agency that is served? To the target population?

Who will be responsible for this training?

When and how will it take place?

How will students be held accountable for this training?

IV. Community Sponsor Details (if applicable)

How and when will your groups contact with the community sponsor take place at the beginning and end of each term?

How will student leaders and community sponsors communicate over the summer?

By what date should the agency provide the students with hours available for their work (if applicable)?

When should the student participants begin work with the community sponsor?

How will student groups learn the schedules of their target population members?

What scheduling conflicts are there between the Yale calendar and the community sponsor?

How will the schedules of each (vacations, etc.) be made available?

What will be the procedure for notification if activities/times must be changed by either the students or the community sponsor?

Who will be responsible for following up in cases of non-attendance by student participants or poor reception of activities by the target population?

Are there any rules or regulations participants should be aware of before working at the community sponsor? Please pay special attention to this question if you will be working in a school.

Financial
Dwight Hall encourages groups to register as an undergraduate organization with the Yale College Deans Office to receive funding and a place at the YCDO Activities Bazaar.

Which Dwight Hall resources, if any, does your group intend to use? (i.e. cars, copy machine, funding, networking, training, and rooms)

Does your group have a bank account? If so, please provide the Bank and Account Number.

If applicable, what are the transportation needs of your student participants?

Please include a copy of your previous budget and any other relevant financial information.

Do any members of the group receive compensation through work-study, fellowship or other sources? (Please specify)

Is your program incorporated and/or registered as a 501(c) (3) non-profit? (Please note that this is not a requirement for membership and, in many cases, should not be sought.)