Planning and Preparation – the Secret to a Successful Club
The start of Term One has arrived and those relaxing sunny (if you were really lucky) holidays are already starting to feel like a distant memory. With a busy year stretching out in front of you, how do you make sure that this year is a year that you get things done, hit deadlines, have enough volunteers and avoid that mad scramble to stay on top of things?
This applies to everyone within Clubs regardless of your role – Committees, Centre Managers and Administrators, Coaches and Athletes – your year will run so much more smoothly and you will achieve so much more if you plan and prepare.
- What are you hoping to achieve this year?
- What resources do you need to achieve this?
- Where will those resources come from and what do you need to do with them?
Over the past year GymSports NZ Relationship Managers have been listening to what Clubs need and what challenges they face and have been developing a range of resources to provide guidance and support. As these resources become available, a Member Only section of the website will be created as a place where Clubs can access these resources as a benefit of being an Affiliated Member Club.
GymSports NZ Guide to Grant Funding
At the end of last year we released a Guide to Grant Funding to help Clubs maximise their chances of obtaining grant funding as demand for grants increase and pots of funding shrink. Now is an excellent time to take a look at this guide and make sure you know exactly what you need to apply for this year. Grants put together in advance, with letters of support attached are far more likely to be successful than something thrown together at the last minute.
Inside the Grant Funding Guide you’ll find:
- A step by step process for applying for funding from planning through to putting an application together and thanking funders once you are successful.
- Frequently Asked Questions.
- Tips from key grant providers.
- Regional grant provider lists.
- Templates including cover letter, project plan and funding calendar.
If you are an affiliated member club and have did not receive access to the Grant Funding Guide in December, please contact your Relationship Manager.
Staff and Volunteer Induction Handbook template
With the start of a new year, you are bound to have new people on board in both paid and volunteer positions. A key part of ensuring that they understand not only their role but how the Club operates is having a proper induction. As well as making them feel welcome and ensuring that they know how things work, it is an essential part of ensuring that they understand Health and Safety in your Club, how it impacts on them, and their rights and responsibilities.
We have put together a Staff and Volunteer Induction Handbook template that can be adapted to be used by any Club. The key information is all there, all you need to do is fill in the gaps with your Club specific information and remove what doesn’t apply. Once you have it finished, it can then form part of the induction process for every new person.
Club Succession Planning Guide and Worksheets
Many Clubs have AGMS over the next few months. Finding enough people to make up a Committee and ensuring that they have the right skills for the job is a challenge. Many Clubs rely on the same few people year after year. If this sounds like your Club, you should be thinking about Club succession planning (both for Committee and paid staff and volunteers). Don’t wait until you have no one left to do anything, start your planning now to ensure you have the right people to step into your key roles. The Club Succession Planning Guide and worksheets will take you through the process step by step generating a succession plan at the end. This will be available as a Members Only resource in the coming weeks.
Committee Induction Handbook Template
Once new Committees are up and running, time is often lost with new members not sure of their roles, not understanding the functions of the committee etc. Taking some time to put together a Committee Induction Handbook gives everyone on the Committee all the information they need to understand their individual roles as well as the wider roles of the Committee. To save you time we have created a Committee Induction Handbook which includes all the essential information. All it requires is some editing to make it specific to your Club.
We will be adding to these resources all the time and welcome any suggestions as to what you would like to see here.
Access is the same as the Grant Funding Guide, so if you did not receive this last year please contact your Regional Relationship Manager. They can also help you to apply these resources to your Club if you need.