Any advice on starting a fish club?

[TheSwissAquarist]

I want to get everything right first time so that it's a pleasant experience.

[AndreaW]

If I were starting a local fish club, I would gather a few other like-minded enthusiasts and work together to come up with an idea of what we would want it to be. I know some fish clubs have websites with basic information that you can browse to see what kinds of things they are doing. I would also talk to some local fish stores to see if they would help support your club.

Here's my local club: http://gslas.com/About.html Maybe others can share their local clubs so you can see the variety of clubs out there.

Ours has a bi-annual auction where members (and non-members) will bring fish, plants and aquarium supplies to auction off. They do monthly meetings where they will bring someone in to talk about a specific topic. (This is where most of our membership fees are used.)

When we join, we get a card that gives us 10% off a local fish store that supports the club.

You may also need to look into if there are any laws or rules for clubs to make sure you don't run into any problems there. Plan a time and place to meet and be consistent and realize that a majority of the membership will not be able to attend every meeting, and it will probably take time to build up the club.

 

[Tihshho]

First thing to do is know your local audience. Check to see if there are clubs in your area first, if there isn't then I would recommend starting something online to gather interest. I'm not a social media person, but you might be able to find fellow hobbyists in your area through various platforms. Once you do that it's all coordination. Clubs are easy when they are free, it's when dues get involved that you need to start getting serious about it. From there you're looking at establishing a non-profit (for tax reasons) and ideally getting a club bank account to house your dues and donations. From there you're also then talking about having a member based hiearchy of voted individuals maintaining certain roles within the clubs. Right now you're far from it. Best thing to do is scope out your local area to see what you tentatively have for a members base. Another way to start is asking your small brick and mortar stores about local clubs and about generating interest. 

[Flumpweesel]

You have found other Swiss fish keepers then, I was beginning to think you were alone😜