Interested in starting a Quest Club?
1. Familiarize yourself with the Quest program by reading through the FAQ page and familiarize yourself with our program.  Most of the information you will need is in the public areas of the website, but if you have any additional questions, just email Kerry at kerry@questclubs.com
2. Each Quest Club is independently owned and operated. Unlike other programs, Quest is not a 501(c)3 non-profit and is not an organization that you join. We simply sell membership subscriptions to our website, similar to purchasing curriculum, where you will find all of our programming materials and a license to use our name in your youth programming. Most clubs are owned and operated by a local non-profit such as a church, school, veteran’s organization, etc. as part of their youth programming. Having your club operated by a non-profit will provide you with liability insurance, financial oversight, a place to meet, and non-profit status which helps with fundraising. Brainstorm organizations in your community that you think would be a good fit with the Quest program. Examples might include:
- Churches
- Schools (both public and private)
- Veteran’s Organizations (American Legion, VFW posts, etc.)
- Moose Lodge, Elks Lodge, Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, etc.
- Homeschooling Co-ops
- YMCA
- 4H
A printable sample proposal for approaching charters is below and brochures and other materials are available upon request to help in making presentations to potential charter organizations.
CHARTER PROPOSAL SAMPLE – PDF
CHARTER PROPOSAL SAMPLE – WORD (EDITABLE)
Brochures are available upon request to help in making presentations to potential charter organizations. Â While finding a charter organization is preferable, independent clubs run out of private homes are also allowed, but be aware that you do so at your own risk. Talk to your insurance agent about what your homeowners policy will and won’t cover.
 3. Once you find a charter organization, or feel comfortable operating a club individually, purchase a Club Membership from the website. If you have already found an organization to run your club, have a legal representative of the organization purchase the membership and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
If you have not yet found an organization to charter you, you can purchase the Club Membership yourself and simply transfer it to an organization once you find one. If you are not yet ready to start a club, but want to get started as an individual, you can always transfer your individual membership into a club whenever you are ready.
4. Once a Club Membership has been purchased, you will have complete access to all levels of our website including the leader section. Here you will find our Leader Handbook, all necessary forms for running a club, record keeping instructions, financial instructions, and much more.
Once your membership is confirmed the steps below will help you get your club up and running quickly.
Step by Step Guide to Getting Your Club Up and Running
1. Read through the leader handbook and familiarize yourself with our website. Then create a list of kids that wish to join your club. While our program is designed to accommodate all ages in a single club, you are more than welcome to have a club with a limited age range if this suits your purpose better. Feel free to cap your club at a number that is comfortable for you.
 2. Join the following forums:
The Quest Clubs Facebook page – stay up to date on the most current Quest Clubs news.
The Quest Clubs Forum Facebook Group – Communicate with other leaders and parents to get ideas and support.
3. Find a leader, an assistant leader and enough volunteers to run your club. We recommend one adult present at each meeting for every eight kids up to age 12 and one adult for every ten kids ages 12 and over. Regardless of the size of your club, you must always have at least two adults in attendance at any activity and at least one should be a trained leader.
4. Have all leaders and volunteers read through the leader handbook and familiarize themselves with our website.
5. If you haven’t already, find a non-profit organization to own and take responsibility for your club if at all possible. This will not only help mitigate your liability risk, but will also give you non-profit status which helps when soliciting donations. Most clubs are owned by churches, schools, homeschooling co-ops, or veterans organizations. You are more than welcome to run your club on your own, but there is more risk and responsibility involved. Liability releases, permission slips, and other forms to help reduce your liability are included in the Forms section. Once you find a non-profit to take over your club (if they were not the original purchasing authority) you may transfer ownership of the club to them in writing.
6. Locate an adequate meeting place, if one is not being provided by your charter organization, and schedule meeting dates and times. A meeting place should be easily and safely accessible to the kids, and acceptable to the parents. It should not be a place where lively games or songs will disturb anyone, nor where the legitimate noise of other groups could ruin a club meeting. Meeting places should be safe, sanitary, with adequate lighting, ventilation, heating, and cooling. A yard, park, or outdoor play area nearby is very desirable, but not necessary. Meeting locations should be large enough for team games and allow for separations into smaller groups when necessary. Churches, schools, community centers, and personal homes can all be potential meeting locations. You may also wish to try groups like the Moose Lodge, Elks Lodge, VFW Post, or American Legion as they usually have good sized halls that they will let youth groups use at no cost.
7. Make sure all kids have registered either through purchasing a membership online or by filling out the paper registration form and mailing it in with their fee. For record keeping purposes, have the parents give you a copy of their PayPal receipt or a copy of the registration form with their check number on it. Â Kids only need personal membeships if they plan to earn badges and awards from home and not just at club meetings.
8. Have a planning meeting with the parents to go over costs, registration, badges earned at home, uniforms, etc.
9. Get the kids together for a planning meeting to find out what their interests are and what they want to get out of Quest. Assign or vote in leadership positions for your club if you have older kids (treasurer, scribe, photographer, snack coordinator, etc.)
10. Plan the first four to eight meetings. If you have older kids, let them help plan and implement the meetings. Regular meetings (not field trip or activity days) should include:
- Pre-meeting activities to keep kids busy until the meeting starts (making cards for our soldiers is quick and simple)
- Songs or Games
- Club Business
- Badge Work (skills, knowledge, crafts, etc.)
- Snack time (optional)
- Announcements and closing
11. Have a planning meeting with your volunteers and leadership team to discuss each person’s involvement and responsibilities.
12. Gather supplies for your club. Make sure to include the following items:
- Financial Binder
- Record Keeping Binder
- Calculator
- 3 hole punch
- Stapler
- Scissors
- Scotch tape
- Ball Point Pens or pencils
- Â Award Bag (a fancy bag to hold awards until they are given out)
- Â Craft Supplies
- Â First Aid Kit