Clubs

The purpose of an MSS Club is to provide cub members with the opportunity to pursue curricular or extra-curricular interests or activities. Your club should be targetted mainly for club members (i.e. MSS members) and the funding received should be mainly to provide activities for them.

The club must be open to all MSS members and can enjoy the rights and responsibilities as described in the MSS Constitution. In short the rights and responsibilities can be divided into the following aspects:

• Events and participation: you are required to provide activities or events to club members and are under the obligation to keep track of events and participation to those events.
• Application: you are under the right to be recognize as an official club and are under the responsibility to fill a club status application (and club funding application, if desired) at the beginning of every fall and winter semester with all the required documentation. You are also required to sign a binding contract with the MSS.
• Funding: you have the right to obtain funding from the MSS, as detailed in the Constitution. In order to receive funding you must open an bank account with the assistance of the MSS VP Finance . You are also required to keep track of financial expenses.
• Clubs’ Day and Club Exec Meet and Greet: you are required to at least have one executive member to attend Club Day and the Club Execs Meet and Greet.
• Online presence: you are required to maintain a working website of the club from the Med-Dent Gateway and have events available through the Gateway Calendar.

To create a club you will simply have to submit an application using the online form.

It is highly recommended that you consult the list of current clubs before submitting an application to avoid redundancy and to keep funding distribution to clubs at reasonable amount. Your club should have at least 15 potential members and enough ideas for events to provide at least two every semester that targets certain interests within the members of the Society.

When choosing the name of your club, make sure that you follow the Memoradum of Agreement’s restrictions

Your application will be reviewed by the General Council and official club status will be awarded based on the following criteria:

• The submission of all requested documents.
• The concordance of the club’s objectives with those of the Society.
• The pertinence of the club for Society members.
• The sustainability or possibility for continuity of the club.
• The observance of the club’s responsibilities towards the Society (for returning clubs).

Criteria for funding

To obtain funding from the MSS for your club, you must meet the following criteria:

• Be recognized as an Official Club status by the MSS
• Provide a budget with the projected incomes and expenses for the semester
• Have a bank account held by the club under MSS authority
• (For returning clubs) Provide a budget of the past semester of incomes, expenses, and a current account balance
• (For returning clubs) Provide all relevant information such as attendance lists to calculate club activity

New clubs funding

Every semester, a minimum of five percents of the clubs allocated budget is reserved for new clubs who are applying for funding. The allocated amount will be distributed equally among new clubs

The exact amount of allocated for new clubs is adopted by the VP Student Affairs at the beginning of every semester and approved by the general council. This amount depends on the following criteria:

• Financial needs of returning clubs
• Submitted budgets of new clubs
• Number of new clubs
• Budgeted amount of the MSS allocated for clubs

Returning clubs funding

The funding allocated to each club is based on club activity and measured by units of event-attendance, one person attending to one event being equal to 1 event-attendance. Every semester the funding is prorated to the amount of event-attendances a club has accumulated during the previous semester.

The number of event-attendances of a club is determined by the total number of attendances to all the club’s events during the semester. For example, if a club had 10 events where there was 10 members attending at each event, this would be equal to 100 event-attendances. Alternatively, if a club had 2 events with 50 members attending at each events, they would also have 100 event-attendances for the semester.

Funding for club A = ( [total funding for returning clubs]/[total event-attendances of all clubs] ) x [event-attendances of club A]

Special projects

Every semester, at least five percents of the clubs allocated budget is reserved for special projects. A special project can be defined as an event or an activity organized by one or several clubs that requires special financial needs and that provides club members with an exceptional opportunity in accordance to the club’s mission statement. The nature of the special project should be exceptional in the sense that the opportunity is unique for the club: it should not happen every year.

The purpose of this fund is to provide additional financial  income if they want to organize a special event or activity. The exact amount allocated for this fund will be determined by the VP Student Affairs every semester, at the same time that funding will be distributed. Clubs who wish to apply for this fund can do so in their funding application. The amount allocated for each club will be determined by the following criteria:

• Financial needs of the club
• Nature of the special project
• Benefits for club members and value of opportunity for all MSS members
• Importance and the unique character of the project
• Concreteness of your project and steps already undertaken for its organization

For initiatives or events that might benefit more than MSS members, club executives are invited to apply for the SPCI fund.

The Memoradum of Agreement (MoA) is an binding contract between the Medical Students’ Association of McGill University (MSS) and McGill University. As part of this agreement, the University is the sole owner of the word “McGill” and its associated emblems. Consequently, you must make sure that your club’s name is distinct from the University’s trademarks.

New groups must follow the following template when choosing their name:

Category I:  For Groups other than those affiliated or affiliating with external organizations

• MSS or McGill (Medical) Students [insert e.g. Investment Club], or
• MSS or McGill [insert e.g. Marketing; Pakistani] Students’ Association, or
• [insert e.g. Pakistani] Students’ Society, or
• MSS [insert], or
• [insert e.g. Korean Martial Arts Club] – MSS

Category II:   For Groups affiliated or affiliating with an external organization including political parties

• McGill (Medical) Students for [e.g. Make a Wish], or
• McGill (Medical) Students Supporting [e.g. Make a Wish], or
• McGill Students’ Chapter of  [e.g. Make a Wish, or
• MSS – [e.g. Make a Wish, Cystic Fibrosis etc.] or
• [e.g. Make a Wish, Cystic Fibrosis etc.] – MSS

Category III  For Sports Clubs or Teams

The Department of Athletics and Recreations shall have exclusive use of the name “McGill” in relation to any sport or team, except where permission is granted in writing by the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning). Please choose an alternative name that does not contain the word “McGill”

Category IV:    For Association Services and Media

• McGill (Medical) Students [insert e.g. Marketing Club], or
• MSS [insert e.g. General Store], or
• [insert e.g. Copi] – MSS