Founding an MC:�The First Six Months

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Founders should meet at least once per month for the first six months, and each of those meetings should focus on very specific units of the MC's structure.

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The First Six Months:

Day 1

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President, Vice President, Secretary, and any other riding positions voted upon.

Responsibilities delegated:

• one person sketches patch
• one person researches charities
• one person begins drafting bylaws

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The First Six Months:

Month 1

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• Club Name
• Email Address
• First Draft of Bylaws & Colors
• Club Policies

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The First Six Months:

Month 1

• Club Name voted upon �
• Email address created�
• All members of your executive board should have access to read messages and to send from this account, and should be encouraged to engage all official Club communications through this account. This will require “adding accounts” to the catch-all account, so it may require setting up independent accounts for each e-board member.�
• This email address should be attached to a Cloud Drive on which you will host documents like bylaws, rosters, codes of conduct and applications. Google offers these services for free through Gmail and Google Drive.

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First sketch of Colors critiqued and edited

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First draft of Bylaws critiqued and edited

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Decide upon the official wording of the Club's mission statement

Decide upon your Club's primary charity

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Decide upon a proper plan for dealing with OMCs

The First Six Months:

Month 1

• First sketch of Colors critiqued and edited�
• First draft of Bylaws critiqued and edited �
• Decide upon the official wording of the Club's mission statement�
• Decide upon your Club's primary charity �
• Decide upon a proper plan for dealing with OMCs

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The First Six Months:

Month 2

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• Second Draft of Bylaws & Colors
• More Club Policies
• Elections
• Codes of Conduct

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The First Six Months:

Month 2

• Second drafts of Colors & Bylaws critiqued and edited�
• Decide membership requirements & termination procedures�
• Decide the responsibilities of each riding position�
• Decide upon the procedure of Club elections�
• Delegate one person to begin drafting a Code of Conduct

The First Six Months:

Month 3

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• Third Draft of Bylaws & Colors
• Dues
• Codes of Conduct
• DBA

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The First Six Months:

Month 3

• Third draft of Bylaws critiqued and edited�
• Decide on a dues system�
• This is cannot be decided upon until the basic costs of the MC are calculated. Basic costs may include: cost of the DBA, the LLC, Copyright and Service Mark, the P.O. Box, website development and hosting, background checks, an annual advertising and charitable donation goal. �
• If you will have a clubhouse for the Mother Club, rent and utilities will have to be included in the calculations. If you intend to host an annual gathering of your Chapters, you’ll have to include the cost of that event in your yearly expenses as well. Some expenses will be one-time; some will be recurring. Prorate the costs of one-time expenses over a year or two, and devise a plan for reimbursing members who have gone out-of-pocket for the Club’s needs.

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The First Six Months:

Month 3

• Decide on an Application Fee.�
• First, you’ll have to decide whether Chapters will be responsible for purchasing their own patches, or whether all patches should be purchased through the Mother Chapter. �
• Then, you will have to determine how application fees (beyond the cost of the patches) will be divided amongst Chapters and the Mother Chapter. �
• Finally, you will have to decide whether an Application Fee is refundable or partially refundable, and how that might be handled should a Prospect not make it into the Club.

The First Six Months:

Month 3

• Code of Conduct critiqued and edited�
• Third sketch of Colors critiqued; if acceptable the Colors is sent to the patchmaker.�
• Sometime between the final critique and sending the Patch to the patch maker, Founders may want to seek feedback on the sketch from friendly Founders of other MCs�
• The patch maker will provide a quote for the digitization and production of the Patch. The more intricate the design, the more expensive the patch. (Custom patches generally cost $1.00 to $1.50 per 1,000 stitches, depending upon the size of the Patch and the number of color changes.)

The First Six Months:

Month 3

• Register for a “DBA” (“Doing Business As”) with your Secretary of State.�
• The “DBA” will have to be listed under the social security number of one of your Founders. The Founders should hold an official vote to decide whose SSN should be attached to the DBA. �
• That Founder will want to make sure that all Club funds are spent by the end of the year, so that he is not taxed on any surplus that might have been left in the account. (This shouldn’t be too difficult, as most Clubs spend more than three times as much as they bring in during their first riding year.)

The First Six Months:

Month 3

• Register for a “DBA” (“Doing Business As”) with your Secretary of State.�
• The “DBA” is temporary. By the time you have ridden together for a year, you will set up an LLC, and consider registering for a Service Mark. The first twelve months of a Club are tumultuous, however, and even the most tight-knit of groups may lose members, shift positions, or fold. To keep from boxing yourself into something that might not serve your members later, you will want to wait at least a year before you spend a ton of money and make definitive moves regarding the Club’s legal and financial structure. (You’d make a new Chapter prospect for six months; why wouldn’t you give your Originals the same testing ground?)

The First Six Months:

Month 4

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• Bylaws & Codes of Conduct Finalized
• Bank Account
• P.O. Box
• Website
• Application
• Marketing Materials
• Copyright
• Patches

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The First Six Months:

Month 4

• Fourth draft of Bylaws critiqued and edited. If acceptable, the Bylaws are published to the Cloud Drive.��
• Code of Conduct critiqued and edited. If acceptable, the CoC is published to the Cloud Drive.�

The First Six Months:

Month 4

• With the DBA, open a bank account in the Club’s name. �
• Make sure that all Executive Board members are listed as co-signers on the account. �
• Draft up a legally binding agreement signed by all co-signers regarding the proper handling of Club Funds. Clearly articulate:�
• Who can withdraw money, use a debit card, or sign checks on the account�
• How much money can be spent WITHOUT a Club/Chapter vote�
• What happens to the money left in the account should the Club or Chapter fold

The First Six Months:

Month 4

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• Open a P.O. Box under the Club’s name�
• Begin developing a website for the Club�
• Develop a Membership Application Form and process�
• Order business cards and/or brochures for the Club�
• Submit a copyright application for your Colors through the US Copyright Office�
• Order Patches

The First Six Months:

Month 5

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• Networking

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The First Six Months:

Month 5

• Initiate conversations with neighboring Motorcycle Clubs. Actively support those Clubs by attending or assisting their charity functions. �
• (Setting up these meetings will consume the majority of your Club Business this month.)�
• Join the Alliance of First Responder MCs�
• Begin planning your launch party!

The First Six Months:

Month 6

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• Launch Party
• Vote of Confidence

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The First Six Months:

Month 6

• Plan, prepare for, and enjoy your launch party!�
• Hold a Vote of Confidence for your Club's established riding positions, or make changes to riding positions where the Club feels it might be necessary.�
• Invite neighboring Clubs to your event in order to establish your Club in the community.�
• Hold a small 50/50 or other raffle for your Club's first charitable donation to its chosen charity.