The administration app for clubs, groups, teams and clubs.
Get started now
You can learn how to manage a club successfully — we have put together 6 simple tips for you in a guide. This article is for club officials who want to successfully manage their club.
Leadership success starts well before two groups of people come together. It is important to be clear from the outset what the objectives of the club and the people behind it are. When drafting the club's statutes, you or your predecessors on the board gave careful consideration to how the club should present itself to the outside world. To help you find a sense of purpose in the club, we have a few suggestions for you below:
This will be deeply rooted in the ideas of every club anyway. Just the goal of meeting regularly with like-minded people and taking part in joint activities can make sense. However, this point is usually linked to other goals.
There is this saying: “When young people are bored, they do nonsense.” That is also true to a certain extent. Youth work is therefore not only important in order to attract new members, but also to give young adults valuable character traits for their future lives. Every club should be committed to this point.
Measuring yourself against other clubs at national or even international level can be an extreme incentive for your own members. Clubs that have the opportunity to use this point should also do so — if only out of the idea of getting together with other clubs and learning from each other.
Traditions are deeply rooted in clubs. It is therefore the more important to protect and promote clubs with these regional values. Whether traditional clubs, gold bonnets or music bands — show society the importance of your existence. Also because you are one of the major drivers of tourism in many regions of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Whether rescue, water rescue, fire department or environmental club (and many others too, of course) — what you do is exceptional. Every person who is part of your club can rightly be proud of it.
It is largely up to the board of management to motivate its members and to show them how important it is to work together towards a goal. Teach them a sense of duty and representing the club outwards. We have summarised how to attract new members in a blog article.
It is important that everyone can positively identify with their own club and is there for the club when it matters (even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone yourself). A club thrives on active “work”.
Member trips and joint “projects” bring your group or team together and if you don't know what your members would like to implement, just ask them. Regular surveys help while understanding what's going on in the club.
When did you last conduct the survey in your club? If it was too long ago for you, then you are also welcome to use Vereinsplaner for it. You can find more information at Make optimal use of surveys in clubs.
Together with a legal expert (lawyer), we have created a download area with 35 documents as Word samples. In addition to board proposals, in our legal area, many relevant legal documents relating to the most important club agendas can be purchased for small money.
It is important that the board and also all officials (organs of the club) have a similar view of success. A member of the board who places unrealistic ideas and expectations on his members will bring extreme division and dissatisfaction to the club. More information about the organs and their tasks in a club can be found in the blog post Club bodies at a glance.
When was a successful club year? Which small and big steps bring you closer to your mean/goal/purpose of the club? Be happy when you've achieved your “success” — next year you'll still have the chance to set your goals bigger. Step by Step — in 99% of cases, success does not come overnight, but after years of use.
As mentioned — success doesn't come by itself. Being a pioneer in the club means putting in a lot of commitment and passion. That means taking time for the club and the work of the club. Anyone who only finds time for the club and its members between door and door should consider how they can change this or otherwise make room for new people. Otherwise, sooner or later, the entire club will suffer as a result.
Be part of over 15,000 clubs
This point is partly the same as point 2, but it is more extensive than just going on a joint trip twice a year. It starts with whether everyone in the club feels valued for their performance. Respect and friendly interaction is a basic requirement. It is also often about the little things, such as welcoming new members to the club with a small “welcome package”. Or to highlight members once a year for their exceptional achievements and ideas.
Make sure with your regional newspaper that you can present special services with pictures and text from time to time. You wouldn't believe how often you get to the newspaper if you have a good connection to someone from the editorial office. P.S. It is the best feeling for members to be in the newspaper with the club.
Practical tip
Vouchers from regional company partners are just as much a great way to reward special achievements in the club as a joint trip suitable for the type of club. Whether it's an adventure park, a museum or a sports experience — be creative. Otherwise, you can find on the Vereinskaufhaus the best destinations in your area — be inspired.
Another incentive can of course also be financial compensation. In clubs in both Austria and Germany, you have the opportunity to reward your services through so-called volunteer packages and trainer allowances. For Germany, we have already written two contributions on these topics. One is to follow for Austria soon. In general, it is advisable to contact your trusted tax advisor here.
Get your first 6 months free with the code VP50DACH.
Save not only time, but also money!
*Valid when you purchase the first package with a duration of 12 months.
It is great when your club does part of its work for a positive environment. You are an organization with extremely good solidarity and role models for other people. Not only from a performance perspective, there is much more to it than that. Children will imitate your actions. Be aware of this responsibility. Here are a few ideas on how you can give something back to your environment:
For example, meet once a year on a free morning and clean the roadsides of trash. You become the “heroes” of your community and if every club does that, then you also have the cleanest community in the country.
Plan not only internal events (such as Christmas parties or wine tavern visits), but also something for your environment, where they can get to know your club and have fun/entertainment on top of that. For example, a public concert for the community at a Sunday morning pint.
You won't believe how many people are interested in what's happening at your club. Plan a cozy evening and show what your club is all about. With information content, you have created a double benefit for people.
For some people, the little things are the best gift you can give. Walking through the retirement home as a club can be the highlight of the entire month for some people.
Free ePaper for digitization
We have prepared the most important areas relating to digitization for clubs and summarized them compactly in an ePaper. Get your club on track digitally too — Go to the free e-paper.
On this point, we would like to tell you a short story from our (club) ranks. As founders of Vereinsplaner, we were active in four clubs in 2015, some of them on the board, and had a problem with this. The work that was done was so tied to old structures that it was difficult to make progress in the club.
Appointments were sent out individually via SMS; event planning had to be restarted every year because documents were not stored cleanly; members were barely involved in decisions; and much more. That was also the trigger why we decided to do something about it and fight against the increasing frustration in the club. Vereinsplaner was launched.
In doing so, we want to show that every club has a lot of potential for yourself and your Make the most optimal use of time. Because in the end, it is important that the time spent together reaches the members and does not fizzle out due to outdated processes.
Brand NEW — Advanced member management
With our new member administration, you can create unlimited members and manage their master data free of charge, just like with Excel. Only that you also have the option to automate processes and use this member data intelligently via our software. Officials and active members can actively participate in events and provide feedback via the app on appointments, news, surveys, etc. Read this article to find out what makes good member management — Vereinsplaner member administration.
We are of course happy about every new club that would liket to test Vereinsplaner and therefore, we would like to give you the opportunity to test Vereinsplaner free of charge for a month (with all functions, such as Appointment-, Finance-, Inventory- and Member administration). Try it out — we're happy.
You would like to know what advantages our club software has, especially for medium-sized and large clubs, and how you can use it in your own club? This video answers your questions.
There is a lot of information on the web or as literature on how to successfully set up and manage clubs. We do not have sample information that works for all clubs, but we try to pass on our knowledge from the world of clubs well prepared with the knowledge from the working world to our clubs and would of course like our content to help you. Be willing to learn and strive to make your club and environment a little better. But now comes the tip itself: Stop just talking about better club management and start with “DO” by taking action right away.
Together with nine experts from practice, we have written a 98-page ePaper on current topics relating to clubs. The ePaper contains 5 chapters and 15 topics on important areas relating to the organization, members, funding, sponsors, taxes and more. You can download the handbook as a free download from the club handbook website.
