I’m thinking about trying to start a model railroad club in this area since the nearest one is some distance away. I would like some input on the best way to organize it legally. Most others seem to be 501(c)3 tax exempt corporations. (That’s charitable organization, presumably based on the educational aspect of the club). I’m not sure where to start and would appreciate suggestions.
Thanks
Come up with a mission statement which will help direct the purpose of the club. I’m assuming that you have a few modeler friends in mind so as your first meeting, come up with a mission statement.
Simple Examples: We will model the Rio Grande Narrow Gauge; We will model Cajon Pass during the 1950s, etc.
How far from huntingdon are you?
I have just started a club, about a year ago, I started by putting a flyer in our LHS. It stated Modeling EBT and PRR Pittsburgh line in HO members wanted! A week later we had 10 members!
Think about things like who gets to do what? Space and a home for the layout? Who has the ability to organize the club? There are many good things to come from founding a club devoted to railroads.
You do not have to get into the 501(c)(3) right away. Just get some interested people together and meet in each others homes for a while (round robin).
Then if the group wants to get serious and have a club layout the next thing is to find a place to build a layout. This is going to be the biggest expense is Rent and Utilities. Building of the layout will take a lot of time and it may have an effect on the membership as some may not want to work and others find it not moving fast enough.
I have been a member of the Clarion Model Railroad Club for 20 years and I have been able to get it incorporated and its 501(c)(3) status. We also endured a $50,000 fire in 1990. This not only lost all of the club’s library and layouts but quite a number of members as they did not want to start again.
The main thing is go slow and have FUN! This is the whole purpose of a club is fun, but it is sometimes lost by some members.
If you want more info e-mail me.
BOB H Clarion, PA
Great advice! Get together socially and see what the group is interested in. No need for any formal/legal stuff at first. See what level of interest and experience those present have so future projects (if any) can be carried out. Not all clubs have the requirement or ability to have a club layout and/ or a permanent costly space to meet.
Some clubs are as suggested, round robin types where members just get together to socialize about the hobby or work on each others’ layouts in their homes. One club in our area has been doing this for about 20 years now, meeting every third week at members’ homes.
Our local club started over 20 years ago with the intent of making a modular layout. Each person would be free to work on their own modules in their own homes at their own pace, whenever they wanted.
We’ve seen quite a few clubs in our area start out with grandiose ideas about huge club layouts, only to be forced to move many times when their rented space was no longer viable. Either the landlord had higher paying tenants or many club members dropped out, forcing the costs to be paid by fewer members. Our club has never wanted to have a permanent building or club space as we did not want to be property managers and fund raisers. Keep it simple until you can be assured there are enough serious members who are in the club for the long haul.
Most of all, have a
Thanks for the advice. Best thing will probably be to get the word out and see how many might be interested, then go from there.
csxmu, I’m about one and half hour drive from Huntingdon. I used to be in the Mifflin County Model Railroad Club but even that it an hour away since I moved. The nearest clubs I am aware of are in Palmyra and Mechanicsburg, both at least a half hour drive for the nearest people in Perry County. I’m not even sure the Mechanicsburg club is still active, their web site is no longer accessable.
The National Railroad Historical Society has a group in Harrisburg but modeling is a secondary activity for them.
The great thing about our club is we have an indefinte lease with the area school board.
They GAVE us a 21 x 20 first floor classroom in our old elementary school. Free heat, electricity! We pay only dues and insurance! [8D][tup]
Wow! [^]
Now I understand why too many children are being crammed into classrooms. [:o)]
Seriously that I think is the best way to start off.
If you decide to go into somesort of corporate structure - you must be very careful that someone keeps accurate financial books. Also you need to make sure you don’t forget to take care of the administrative things such as electing directors, having director meetings etc. Document everything - even something as simple as buying coffee. You don’t want members to think that someone is pocketing dues or whatever.
Insurance is also a necessary evil. While the premium’s may be a pain, a fire, or break-in or something like that could ruin the club and perhaps bring up some surprising liability issues.
I would think the best thing to do is to go visit or write existing clubs to get some ideas on how they are set up administratively. They’ve been there - there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.
Or local club, the LaSalle & Bureau County Model RR Club, was started back in 1987 by two local guys. One of them left a flyer looking for other model rails at the LHS, the other guy read it and called. The rest is, as they say, history, and we now have over 30 members in our informal, round robin style club.
I could be wrong, but as I seem to recall, another reason for incorporating any sort of club besides the tax implications, is that it shields the members from liability should you ever get sued. All anyone could sue would be the club and it’s assets, and not the individual people in it. In this over-lawyered, overly litigious society that we live in now, that’s something to think about.[:0]
Check with a lawyer, but I’m not sure that covers your board of directors. You might want to consider an insurance policy if you’re going to have property, shows, etc.
Enjoy
Paul
This is a big help as a freind and I were discusing this the other day what it would take hes trying to open a hobey shop in Deltaville, VA.