How do I make my finance club fun?
Hello my fellow chimps!
I run the finance/investment club at my non target university, and am in need to think of ideas for this year. I need help with these and would appreciate good ideas,
-
How to make meetings fun?
-
How to get more people to join?
-
Various events throughout the year like a stock tournament, etc?
-Anything that makes meetings fun interesting and boosts membership?
Thank you guys for your thoughtful ideas, and to the trolls, EMA!
Throw benders
This is the way
You can do party stuff, like drinks and music
You could invite some professionals from big banks to talk about experiences and things like that
You can create some competitions for fun, like creating teams to dispute quiz related to finance
start placing folks at the goldman sachs and the calvary will come
Love this topic since I switched majors to business after seeing how much fun and opportunities my friends were having in the business clubs. I figure you’re a club officer, so I’ll give you some of my experiences.
The University of Hawaii’s business clubs back in the day for me (and maybe still now) I thought was fun and beneficial. If you need ideas, check out websites for BEST, Beta Alpha Psi, Accounting Club, and “Super Clubs Day” (for the sports competition), for ideas. The best clubs have consistency in quality year after year. The professional community takes notice.
Other Observations
I found the Finance Clubs in general, one thing is they sort of lacked some concentration if there isn’t really a investment banking, management consulting, asset management, or Fortune 500 recruiting pipeline/focus (or a student led investment fund - that takes money). The financial advisor/CFP and insurance tracks concentration, if that’s a heavy concentration of finance career opportunity at your school, I feel gets more suited for a more mixed major club (general business, including marketing folks). If that’s what you have at your school, then check out Hawaii’s BEST Club (the North Shore beach house was / is legendary). They do mixed business major club well.
The accounting focused clubs like Beta Alpha Psi had more of a focused base because the Big Four and regional/local firms hire a bunch of your members and there is more structure. You might see folks who are aiming for IB and consulting in BAP, like I saw with the undergrads at the MBA I attended.
So depends on your school. If your finance club is less focused on particular employers and more mixed interest students, then concentrate more on general professional development (resume workshops, mock interviews) and the bonding events (video scavenger hunt, retreat). If everyone is focused on a narrower list of employers (Big Four, etc) then the more nerdy pursuits (competitions, also we had an event where we invited the professionals and the student groups presented on topics relevant to industry, as well as the general prof dev stuff like mock interviews).
I’m many years post-graduation but had very fond memories and I made the most of the opportunities.
Anyways, set a great culture (make everyone feel included, less cliques) and unity and good relationships/experiences will happen.
We’re funded from our university already. we get a budget every year, so would charging fees make it worse?
Hard to say from the limited info about your club, goals and amount of funding (is it $500 or $10,000, big difference). I’d say, the amount say it’s $500 - $1,000 could go towards food at club meetings.
That does not leave much budget for say the Club Retreat. So some amount for that (would probably have to charge additional, with the folks who are in the club but don’t go helping to subsidize).
Other uses of funds:
- help pay for a team to go to a competition to represent the school (say you folks win your local/regionals)
- pay for that trophy for the flag football game
- annual banquet at a restaurant or hotel banquet hall (if there is shortfall, then charge additional for the event)
The business club I ran had over $20K annual budget, but I think that was higher than average because we also paid dues to the national organization. If you don’t have that overhead, then that’s good.
You would be the best person to gauge willingness to pay. If there is no traditional of paying annual dues and your the club officer for this year then consider finding other ways to build buy-in. One free way is being a club officer and the additional exposure to professionals and alumni, and also leadership. The members who are aiming for that college experience should be your “core.” Then just build upon the success and hope the next year builds upon that.
But say you are proposing this awesome club retreat starting this year and club dues will be collected but $100 a student, or whatever, then you are bringing something new to the table.
School funding is key to getting some pizzas for the students and a nice gift (university swag, or whatever) for guest speakers.
A lot of times, you are at the mercy of how popular the finance major/career track is at your school. No sense having a big club for the sake of having a big club. Get students who will be dedicated. Otherwise you are just running a Speaker Series.
Throw gay orgies
Straight up get everyone in a small group stock portfolio, offer banking technical preparation, have as many meetings as possible off campus (bars / places), and have house parties. We turned our fineco club into a frat pretty much.
Have a movie night with finance films to get people excited
I personally recommend expropriating or embezzling funds.
Cocaine and hookers.
Watch porn films to create a safe space for women
Party. Seriously, just party. You're in college, everyone wants to have fun.
Throw parties, off-sites, weekend retreats. Drink, dance, pass out, network, bond, build relationships.
Take it easy and don't stress too much. Life is all about relationships and good memories. How do you think these billion-dollar deals close? These guys are buddies who used to party together. Don't go into being a soulless hardo. Have fun and enjoy life!
Rank investment banks, that's what seems to work on this website
Networking trips, networking trips, and networking trips. For our school's group, we have found that trips to NYC, Chicago or LA benefit the cohesiveness of the group dramatically. We have an application process to go on the trip including a resume drop, a quick excerpt of why this trip pertains to you and general group involvement. The trips have corporate visits with alumni/known connections at certain firms, followed by free time to grab coffee with your own connections. At night, we do group dinners, grab drinks, comedy shows, etc. There is no better way to bolster your groups success and comradery than these networking trips. Excited that COVID restrictions are lifting so that we can resume these visits in the fall.
Stock market simulations within an hour or two
Vel autem omnis in ut. Vel impedit impedit voluptas vero soluta vel cumque.
Fugit inventore dolorem odio et commodi sint. Minima voluptatem deleniti blanditiis sed necessitatibus. Voluptatem voluptas dolorum vel dolore. Ut sunt facere corporis et vero consequatur nisi. Eum quas laborum hic deleniti vitae eos.
Ex enim neque sed voluptatem minima omnis est. Sint dolorem recusandae qui at eveniet. Aut delectus ea explicabo voluptas iusto earum. Possimus deleniti aut vel. Reiciendis hic nihil quo.
Tenetur saepe aspernatur qui labore nam enim. Et saepe quidem dignissimos aliquam quia perspiciatis in. Quia dolore sunt praesentium pariatur et quam eum hic. Doloremque ut quo cum sunt id dolore.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...