The most successful MUN teams don’t cease all activity once the school year concludes. As club leaders, it is imperative to remain accountable and productive during the summer months in order to make the critical decisions that will determine the efficiency of the club for the upcoming year. Here are five facets of club logistics that must be prepped before the beginning of the academic year:

1.) Conference Planning

Planning your club’s conference schedule is a great way to get started. If your club hosts its own conference, the summer is the optimal time to address, at the very least, logistics. Conferences that take a long time to plan as well as clubs that host fall or winter conferences need to begin planning in the summer: this includes your secretariat, committees and background guides, and monitoring the registration process. Most committee-specific planning (i.e. crisis arcs or resolution prep) can be put on hold and addressed later in the year, but purely logistical planning needs to be done further in advance.

2.) Reports

Many clubs and club advisors may be required to submit reports to the school, student government, or funding organizations summarizing their activities. Depending on your school’s administrative style, you may be required to submit these documents before the end of the school year; occasionally, this reporting can continue into the summer. Even if this is not the case for your school, drafting at the very least a basic framework for your MUN club’s annual report in the summertime will greatly reduce workload during the school year and keep faculty advisors at ease that the report will be completed on time.

3.) Budgeting and Fundraising

As we all know, going to conferences and running a club costs money. In order to fund all of the conferences and activities, many clubs have to fundraise. Creating a set budget and calculating at least a rough estimate of how much you will need to fundraise allows you to begin fundraising as soon as the school year commences. Starting earlier in the year will give your MUN club an advantage in that other clubs will likely be behind you in terms of planning and you can complete your fundraising goal earlier in the year, and stop spending time on it then. Additionally, summer is a fantastic time to get a head start on planning the specifics of your fundraising events: consider, for example, which types of events your club would profit the most off of (i.e. bake sales, t-shirt sales, raffles, etc.) 

4.) Leadership Transitions

In most clubs, each year sees a new group of student leaders take over. These new leaders must learn how to keep the club running. In order to be ready for the next school year, the new leadership group needs to meet, or at the very least, keep in contact during the summertime in order to ensure a smooth transition of power. Additionally, when club advisors leave, a new advisor must be found and integrated into this planning process.

5.) Travel Conference Scheduling

Before summer even hits, your club should start discussing which conferences it plans to attend next year. Over the summer, most clubs have to register for fall conferences and create a formal schedule for the rest of their season. Completing the often lengthy registration process for multiple conferences on time will likely require some summer work.