Rules
First founding meeting
Second meeting
Start-up grant
Approximately 200 associations operate within AYY, ranging from large subject organisations to strictly specified clubs focusing on recreational activities. If current associations do not offer anything suitable for you, you can always establish a new association! When founding an association, you should contact the organisational sector right at the beginning of the process.
The association must operate in accordance with its rules and manage its finances carefully. The association must also comply with the Finnish law and good manners.
The founding of an association in brief:
- Write the presentation of association rules and convene a founding meeting
- Arrange the first founding meeting and draft the charter, and approve the rules
- Arrange the second founding meeting if needed, where the rules are approved again
After this, the association is officially established. If the association so wishes, it can now register or apply for AYY’s association register and, when applying for the first list, the allocation of a Start-up grant. Only associations in AYY’s association register are entitled to AYY’s services and support.
Rules
The association rules should be prepared carefully and preferably be based on AYY’s model rules. If the association wishes to join AYY’s association register, rules must comply with the requirements of the Association Regulation (pdf), either the requirements for the first or the second list.
The association rules must be clear, legible and support association activities as well as possible. Prepared rules should be presented to AYY’s organisation specialist and the rule committee as soon as the draft is ready, already before the first founding meeting or at the latest before applying into AYY’s sphere of influence. The rule committee reviews that there is no missing information or inconsistencies in the rules and they comply with the requirements set by the Association Regulation in order to approve the association to AYY’s association register after its establishment. Rule amendments require an association meeting so you should make sure that all amendments are in order right away.
The first founding meeting
The first founding meeting is a general meeting where all who are interested gather together. The association must have at least three members who are 15 years of age or over. AYY’s Association Regulation requires that associations in the first register include at least seven student union members. A meeting invitation must indicate at least the time, place and the meeting agenda.
A founding meeting must address at least the following:
- founding decision of the association, i.e. drafting the charter
- approval of rules (rules may be amended in the meeting)
- election of the Board (may be completed later)
- election of auditors
- election of possible officials
- date of the second founding meeting (if required)
The charter is a free-form document which certifies that the association has actually been established. The charter is prepared in the association’s founding meeting and signed by all the founders of the association. The charter must include the following issues:
- association that is founded
- date when the association is founded
- members (at least three people aged 15 or over)
- members have accepted rules provided in the appendix
The charter is usually in the form ”We, the undersigned, have today established the association called XYZ, we have become members of the association and approved rules for the association in accordance with the appendix X.” Please also include the time, place and signatures at the end of the document.
Second meeting
The second founding meeting is convened in accordance with the association’s own rules. In the second meeting, rules are approved for the second time. It is advisable for the Board to prepare an action plan and budget for the association before the second meeting, which are then accepted at the meeting. In addition, the association may complete the Board and address the same issues as in the previous meeting.
If the association rules decree that amendments need to be approved in two consecutive meetings, and that the rules will be amended in the second founding meeting, a third founding meeting must be held.
Start-up grant
The start-up grant is intended to support the beginning of association activities and cover the registration costs. The start-up grant may be allocated to associations which are in either list of AYY’s association register and begin their registration process at PRH. Associations may apply for the grant throughout the year by submitting an informal application to the organisation specialist. AYY Board makes the allocation decisions.
Associations that are listed into the first list of the AYY association registry can be granted a start-up grant with the following terms. The start-up grant totals at185 euros and it is meant for the fee for the patent and registration office (PRH) when submitting an association founding form and starting up the association in its activities. The association should be at most one year old when the application to join the first list of AYYs association registry is submitted. The association must be registered or its registration must be underway at the PRH. The grant can be applied for when applying into AYY’s association registry, or later as the requirements are fulfilled by contacting the association sector.