Build Your ACM-W Student Chapter: 5. Member Recruiting

Step 5 – Member Recruitment

The Ohio State University Student Chapter of the ACM-W was chartered on May 13, 2003 and is one of the oldest continuously operating ACM-W Student Chapters. This chapter annually hosts 40+ events that include trips to the Grace Hopper Celebration, the Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing, company visits, tech talks, socials, and workshops. They have around 50 active members, and they serve a total community of about 200 students. They often send more than 50 Ohio State students to the Grace Hopper Celebration, and can provide financial support for travel and registration costs to 35 of these through chapter fundraising efforts.

Learn how to build, maintain and grow a strong ACM-W chapter from The Ohio State’s ACM-W Chapter Leaders.

In this segment, ACM-W OSU Chapter Officer, Vicky talks about recruitment and advertising. She says that advertising your club is an ongoing effort that helps recruit members and creates a recognizable brand for your organization. While the ACM-W OSU chapter uses many traditional approaches, like posters, flyers and emails, they also make personal appearances in classrooms. Every semester, chapter officers visit incoming CSE majors in their classes to tell them about ACM-W and invite them to attend the first meeting. Vicky talks about the chapter’s weekly emails that advertise upcoming events, and she recommends using the Mailchimp app to manage these promotions. She also recommends using Canva to develop a consistent look for your posters and emails.

What have you done to encourage students to attend your meetings? What worked well for you and what didn’t? Does your club have a logo or mascot that you use consistently on your posters? Did you know that you can use ACM-W branded graphics for free? Check it out.

Let us know by interacting with us on Twitter, Mastodon or Facebook. Use #BuildYourACMWChapter and our handle @OfficialACMW Want to know more about how to start an ACM-W Student Chapter at your school? Here’s the quick-start guide.

This series continues. Please read the other tips in this series: