On Campus


Contact the YDNV GLBT Caucus to join!

Don't have a GLBT caucus on your campus? Start one! We'll help you get started and keep things going.

Before You Start
Before you start you should contact your campus' Young Democrats leaders. Let them know you want to start a GLBT caucus and present them with your plan.

The Plan
As with any organization, you should start with objectives. At this stage you should begin thinking about whether you want to go at this alone or find a co-founder. Having someone found the caucus with you can be invaluable not only in the brainstorming stages, but throughout the year when you get bogged down with papers and finals. And no matter what your objectives for the caucus, you should keep them recorded some place other than your head. Create a calendar and begin planning events. This will help you in determining how much money you are going to need and creating a budget for the caucus. Here are some things to consider when planning events:

- Are there any GLBT legislators in your state? Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah are among the states that currently have GLBT officeholders. Legislators speak for free and are often willing to do so in hope of recruiting student volunteers for their campaigns.

- Do you have students in bands on campus? Up-and-coming bands are often eager for the chance to perform on campuses (and willing to do it for free or for a small fee). Bands usually work to promote their events, making publicity for events easier on you.

Many schools provide funding to student organizations on campus. Find out if your Young Democrats chapter receives funding and if any of that funding could be channelled to the GLBT Caucus. If not, you may consider establishing the caucus as a separate campus organization to receive your own funding. If school funding is not available, you may consider other fundraising options, such as:

- Membership fees Just remember that students are often strapped for cash. Don't make the fees too much of a deterrence to membership.

- T-Shirt Sales Search online for t-shirt printers, figure out the exact cost of the t-shirt, and design a fabulous t-shirt that people will want to wear. A campus organization's t-shirts should sell for around $10 and not more than $15. Consider going to community businesses or officeholders for sponsorship (in exchange for, say, their company or name listed on the back of the shirt). This can greatly reduce your cost for the t-shirts and increase profits! Finally, don't over-order!

Ready for Action
Once you have a few events planned for the year, be sure to start developing a mailing list (email is sufficient) of members and potential members. Booths at orientation and campus activity fairs are great for publicity and reaching out to students that may not attend other events on campus. Also, ask your Young Democrats leaders on campus if you could have a few minutes to speak to the organization about the caucus at a meeting. If you need any help along the way with anything, just send one of the GLBT Caucus officers an email.