There are around 200 associations operating within AYY, from large subject organisations to clubs focusing on various hobbies. If you cannot find a suitable association from the existing ones, you can always establish a new one! In the early stages of founding an association, it’s worth getting in touch with the association sector.

An association must operate in accordance with its rules and take good care of its finances. An association must naturally adhere to the law of Finland as well as to AYY’s Association Regulation.

Put simply, this is how to establish an association:

1. Write a proposal for the association rules and convene a founding meeting.
2. Hold the first founding meeting and draft a charter, in connection with which the rules are approved.
3. If necessary, hold a second founding meeting in which the rules are approved again.

If it wants, the association can now register and/or apply for inclusion in AYY’s association register and, if applying to the first list, also apply for a start-up grant. Only associations included in AYY’s association register are eligible for AYY services and support.

 

 

Rules

The association rules must be prepared carefully and preferably based on AYY’s model rules. If the association wants to join AYY’s association register, the rules must comply with the requirements of the Association Regulation, either those for the first or the second list.

The association rules must be clear, easy to read and as supportive of the association’s operations as possible. It is worth having the AYY Organisation Specialist take a look at the established rules as soon as your draft is complete, i.e. already before the first founding meeting or, at the latest, before applying to operate within AYY. The Organisation Specialist will make sure that no gaps or inconsistencies are left in the rules and that they comply with the requirements of the Association Regulation, so that the association can smoothly be accepted into AYY’s association register after its founding. Amending the rules always requires at least one association meeting, so it is good to get them right in one go.

 

Founding meeting

The founding meeting is a general meeting for which all individuals interested in the topic are generally gathered together. As an event, however, it is a private one, so the organiser can decide upon the participants. The association must have at least three individuals over the age of 15 as its members. Founding an association will only be prevented by there not being three individuals who are prepared to sign the charter and approve the association rules.

The AYY Association Regulation requires that an association in AYY’s association register has at least seven members who are members of the Student Union. However, there need not be seven AYY members present in the founding meeting; this quota only needs to be filled by the time you apply to AYY’s register. If the invitation to the founding meeting is public, it must state at least the time, place and items on the agenda for the meeting. The invitation can be distributed in a freely chosen manner.

The founding meeting must address at least the following items:

• decision to establish the association, i.e. signing the charter
• approval of the rules as an appendix to the charter (the rules can be amended in the meeting)

Additionally, it is recommended that the following items are addressed, or that it is at least decided when the next meeting will be held in which to address the items:

• appointment of the Board (can be supplemented later if allowed by the rules)
• appointment of auditors
• appointment of possible officials
• approval of the operating plan and budget
• timing of the second founding meeting (if necessary)

The charter is a freely-formatted document certifying that the association is truly being established. The charter is prepared in the association’s founding meeting and signed by all individuals involved with the association’s founding. The charter must document the following items:

• the association that has been founded,
• when it was founded,
• who have become its members (at least three individuals over 15 years of age)
• and that the members have approved the rules to be attached to it.

Typically, the charter is in the following form: “We, the undersigned, have today established the association XYZ, we have become members of the association and approved rules for the association in accordance with appendix X.” After this, add the time, place and signatures with printed names (  charter model, in Finnish).