Things To Know Before Starting My 4-H Club

Club Requirements

Clubs must have at least eight members and at least one volunteer leader who is 18 or older. In addition, a club must offer at least one 4-H-approved project. The 4-H Alberta club year is from October 1st to September 30th. Clubs may register before October 1st but not earlier than September 1^st.

For all 4-H Alberta clubs’ policies, please click here: https://www.4hab.com/policies/

Member Expectations

Membership in the 4-H Alberta program is open to youth who have reached their ninth (9th) birthday and have not reached their twenty-first (21st) birthday on or before December 31st of the current club year.

4-H club members are required to:

• Complete project records and have them signed by the club or project leader.
• Attend a minimum of 70% of club activities.
• Complete a communication activity that is:
  • prepared by the member
  • presented by the member in front of a group
  • at least three minutes in length
• Be involved in a club activity that is a benefit to your community.
• Participate in the club’s achievement event. If the member’s project is unavailable (for example, a calf dies), the member is still expected to have some part in the achievement event.

For all 4-H Alberta member requirements, please click here.

Volunteer Leader Expectations

Volunteers are the heart of 4-H and act as mentors, making an example out of their life, conduct, and interactions with others. In this, Leaders not only see the development and change taking root in the lives of the members, but they have the affirmation of knowing that they encouraged the change to happen, willed the confidence to ignite and imparted the tools necessary to make a difference.

Typically a 4-H club has a general club leader who supports and leads the club through its annual work and a project leader who teaches 4-H members technical knowledge and skills related to specific project areas.

All volunteer leaders must go through a screening process.

For all 4-H Alberta volunteer leader requirements, please click here.

Family Expectations

When everyone is busy, it just makes sense to belong to an organization that brings the whole family together. 4-H clubs rely on family support and volunteer leadership from each adult and 4-H member – that’s how we make things happen. Youth and adults are all part of the 4-H family.

Meetings

Each club must hold a minimum of six business meetings during the club year. A business meeting is any meeting where the club members conduct business using parliamentary procedures.  A meeting should consist of four components: recreation, business, social, and education.

Choosing Our Clubs Project

At the beginning of each club year, members choose one or more projects to work on throughout the year. 4-H Alberta has over 30 different projects members can take part in, including but not limited to taking photos, building remote control airplanes, training pets, raising livestock etc.

How to recruit members

First of all, how many members? As stated above, 4-H clubs need at least eight members and one volunteer leader taking on at least one project. Recruiting members is seldom hard to do, but if you require some helpful marketing ideas and resources, we are happy to provide those for you. Simply contact your 4-H Alberta Area Coordinator.

Registering Our Club

Ok, so now that you have read about the basic requirements needed to start a 4-H club, you will want to take that one step further and begin the registration process. You will be happy to know that registration is quick, easy and done completely online. Contact your 4-H Alberta Area Coordinator to get your user name and password to begin the registration process.

For Further Information

Have more questions? No problem. Your 4-H Alberta Area Coordinator is just a phone call away and is eager to provide support in the following areas…

• Assisting you in starting and managing your club
• Volunteer/leader training opportunities
• Curricula and resources
• Information about 4-H events and camps in your area as well as information on scholarships and grants, just to name a few.