A Bristol SU webpage is your first chance to make an impression on potential new members. This is where people come to look for officially affiliated student groups they can get involved with and become part of a community.  

To meet this criterion your Bristol SU Webpage must contain the following information: 

• A description of your group and its activities 
• A method to contact your group with questions. This can be an email address or contact form 
• Details of how to become a member including your membership types and prices 
• A 'Join This Group’ button directing students to gain membership via the Bristol SU Website 
• A logo 
• Links to other pages, social media, or websites (optional)  
• Photos or videos (optional but recommended) 

Guidance on editing your webpage can be found here. Guidance on branding your group can be found here. 

New for 2024, we have created a webpage template that student groups can opt-in to use. You can find more information on this here.

The deadline for this criterion is 20 December 2024 or 1 month after affiliation for new groups.  

Demonstrating your affiliation to Bristol SU helps to reassure both potential and returning members that your activities are supported by a larger organisation who can provide resources and guidance within a university setting.  

To meet this criterion, you must: 

• Have the Bristol SU logo or ‘supported by’ logo displayed correctly on any external websites you own
• Use the 'Supported by Bristol SU' logo in at least three campaigns, events, or promotions  
• Use language like ‘supported by Bristol SU’ or ‘part of Bristol SU’ in your group bios on social media 

Access to Bristol SU logos and brand guidelines can be found here. 

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025. 

Give it a Go! provides a fun and friendly way for new students to get involved with Clubs, Societies and Volunteering Projects, allowing them to ‘road test’ groups before committing to membership. 
We encourage all groups to get involved in this scheme, regardless of your core activities. 

To meet this criterion your Give it a Go! Session(s) must: 

• Be a taster session suitable for beginners and aimed at new members 
• Be submitted via our Give it a Go! form
• Be branded using the Bristol SU Give it a Go! and bookable via the Bristol SU Website 
• Include the number of attendees (not including current members present) in your evidence submission 

We encourage running sessions during both Terms 1 and 2 but understand this is not appropriate for all groups. For more information on Give it a Go! visit our webpage. 

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025. 

Developing your committees' skills is at the core of making sure your group runs smoothly and continues to help build memorable experiences for your members. We provide training and support throughout the year on a variety of topics to help student group leaders develop new skills and build memorable experiences, but it’s not just Bristol SU training that counts!

The sessions can be:

• Attended by any members of your committee
• Run by Bristol SU, Careers Services, Sports, Exercise & Health (SEH), a National Governing body or other organisations related to your activities. Sessions should not be led by members of your committee
• A workshop, seminar, course, training session
• From Committee Fest 2024 - each training session within the event can be counted 

To meet this criterion your 5 training sessions should: 

• All be different
• Be related to the development of your group
• Be live; these sessions can be face-to-face or virtual. Watching a recording of a session will not count as the ability to interact and ask questions is key to personal development
• Take place between 1 May 2024 – 30 April 2025
• Be evidenced by a confirmation email / ticket for the event or screenshot of the session
• Please try to submit evidence for this criterion in one go (i.e. when you have attended all 5 sessions) 

All Bristol SU Training will be advertised on our webpages and in regular communications to committee from the Development Team.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

As student group leaders you have a responsibility to represent your members and their opinions at democratic events throughout the year. Make sure your members voices are heard and help shape Bristol SU and the wider University. 

Here are some of the democratic events that you can attend:

• Student Council (only Presidents, Club Captains, Volunteering Project Coordinators can vote at these meetings, if you cannot attend then voting rights can be passed to other committee members with prior approval)
• Bristol SU Annual Members Meeting (AMM) 
• Bristol SU Public Forums
• Network Forums (e.g., Societies Forum)
• Club Captains Meetings
• Academic forums where you are representing the interests of your members
• Focus groups led by Bristol SU or University of Bristol where you are representing the interests of your members

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Attend the session either in person or online
• Provide evidence of your attendance in the form of booking confirmation, attendance confirmation from the event organiser or a photo
• Please try to submit for this criteria in one go (i.e. when you have attended all 3 events) 

Dates of upcoming democratic events:

• Student Council - 14/11/2024 
• Annual Members Meeting - 04/02/2025

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

A strategic plan helps to focus the energy, time, and resources of everyone in your committee, enabling you to run a sustainable group that will provide relevant opportunities to your members for years to come. 

We recommend that committees book a Development Meeting here to discuss their strategic plan with one of the team. 

To meet this criterion, you must: 

• Develop a strategic plan with your committee using our template plan. Look to include an analysis of your group, clear measurable long-term goals, and an action plan to achieve your goals. If you have inherited a strategic plan from last year's committee, please review this plan extending it into 26/27. Please include a review of how 23/24’s objectives were met or not met.

Our template strategic plan and guidance can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 20 December 2024.

A robust budget is an essential document that all groups should have and use throughout the year. Without a budget to guide you, putting on events and activities can become financially unachievable. 

To meet this criterion, you must: 

• Develop a budget for 24/25 using our template budget plan. If you submitted a budget at reaffiliation, you can resubmit this for this criterion
• Provide context as to how the budget is being used this year to achieve your goals 

Our template budget can be found here.
Guidance on managing your finances can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 20 December 2024.

Through donations of goods, facilities and / or funding, external organisations can help with your group's development, allowing you to improve your offer to members through discounts, training opportunities and more. 

To meet this criterion, you must either:

• Secure a sponsor or renew an existing sponsorship contract for your group.
  • Sponsorship is an agreement between your group and an external company where they offer cash, goods or in-kind support in return for a reward or service from your group 
  • Don't forget to submit your sponsorship contract to Student Services – bristol-su@bristol.ac.uk - for checking before accepting it 
• Secure a grant from an external provider
  • Grants are non-repayable funds given by one party to another for a particular purpose
  • Grants funded by Bristol SU do not count (Group Grants, Volunteering Grants)
  • Grants funded by the University do not count (Alumni Foundation, Departmental Grants) 

Guidance on sponsorship can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Getting regular feedback is an important part of running a successful group. Your members can tell you what events are working, what they want to see more of, and how you can improve the member experience.  How you collect feedback and what you choose to collect feedback on is up to you. 

In the past we have had submissions that included:

• An equality and diversity survey
• Event feedback via a members' meeting
• Sourcing ideas for future events and meetings via membership forum
• A member satisfaction survey

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Evidence how you encouraged your members to feedback
• Evidence how you collected your feedback
• Provide a summary of your findings 
• Provide an action plan on how you will act on the feedback you have received 

Submissions for the Bristol SU Rate My Group Survey do not count towards this criterion. 

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Collaborating with another student group can be hugely beneficial to both the committee involved and the wider membership. You get to practise teamwork and negotiating skills, enhance your groups exposure and (hopefully) gain some new members! In the past, groups have collaborated on awareness campaigns and skills sharing activities.

To meet this criterion your collaboration must :

• Not be a joint social 
• Be with at least one affiliated Bristol SU student group or Network
• Evidence that planning and delivery of the activity was equally shared between all collaborative partners. We would suggest uploading a project plan or meeting notes where responsibilities are clearly defined between all partners

Guidance on running a sustainable event can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

External partners are any groups, charities, businesses, or organisations outside of Bristol SU and the University of Bristol. Working with people outside of the university bubble is a great way to get your group exposure in the wider community and can provide excellent opportunities for development of your committee and members. In the past, collaborations have included charity events, sporting events, collaborations with other universities, and training workshops.

To meet this criterion, your collaboration must: 

• Be with at least one external partner
• Not be a joint social
• Evidence that planning and delivery of the activity was equally shared between all collaborative partners. We would suggest uploading a project plan or meeting notes where responsibilities are clearly defined.

Student groups that are linked to an external charity or organisation cannot use activities with these partners for this criterion. 
Working with an external speaker to host a talk does not count as a collaborative event or activity.

Guidance on running a sustainable event can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.
 

A successful group is a fully inclusive group. Making sure your programme of socials reflects the diversity of your membership will help you maintain members year on year. One way to do this is to make sure that you offer 100% alcohol-free socials as part of your social offer.

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Hold 6 separate alcohol-free social events
• Advertise each event to members as alcohol-free and provide evidence of doing this
• Ensure your socials take place in a venue where alcohol is not served 
• Ensure socials are not part of the core activity of your group
• Please try to submit evidence for this criterion in one go (i.e. when you have held all 6 alcohol-free socials)

A social should be an event that is not related to your core aims and be focused on helping people have fun, get to know each other, and build a strong community. For example, networking after a careers event would not count as a social but running a mixer to help people find potential house mates would. To help inspire you, we have developed a tool for generating alcohol-free event ideas.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

All affiliated Bristol SU groups have an Equality Officer as part of the core committee structure. This role enables capacity for EDI to be at the heart of all group activities, so progress can continue to be made year on year. This does not mean that sole responsibility of your group's EDI falls to just one person, this should be championed by all committee and members.

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Submit an Equalities Action Plan and review. If you have inherited an Equalities Action Plan from last year's committee, please include a review of how 23/24 objectives were met or not met as part of your 24/25 plan

Our template Equalities Action Plan and guidance can be found here. Your submission should clearly show how the actions you have taken have a real impact on EDI within your group.

Guidance on improving EDI within your group can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

The Climate Emergency impacts student groups and their members in a number of ways. This criterion recognises those groups who go out of their way to limit their impact on the planet and enable their members to do something positive to combat the Climate Emergency. 

As a group, you could:

• Campaign on a sustainability issue which matters to your group e.g. Surfers Against Sewage 
• Volunteer in the local community to increase green space, improve biodiversity, or work on food security
• Collaborate on an event with a student group linked to sustainability e.g. Sustainability Network
• Pledge to one of the six Be the Change challenges, and commit to increasing the sustainability of your groups travel, fashion, energy, electricals, water usage, or food consumption
• Develop a bespoke Climate Action Plan for your group 

Groups can apply for a Sustainability Grant of up to £500 for activities focused on sustainability and/or combatting the Climate Emergency. For advice and support on running your group sustainably, contact bristolsu-sustainability@bristol.ac.uk. Also check out the new sustainability webpages for more inspiration. 

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Demonstrate a sustained, long-term effort
• Demonstrate that action was taken as a group
• Clearly show the impact your group has made on the environment through these actions

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Fundraising initiatives help to raise money and promote the message and goals of your group or chosen charity. This criterion recognises groups who go out of their way to raise essential funds for their group or a registered charity.  
 
Your fundraising can be for your group, the Sanctuary Scholars Fund or a local, national, or international charity (registered in the UK).  

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Host 2 fundraising initiatives
• Fundraise for your group, Sanctuary Scholars Legal Fund, Bristol RAG or a Charity registered in the UK
• Make your donations by:
  • Setting up a campaign on the Bristol SU Just Giving Page (when fundraising for your group)
  • Fundraise directly for a registered charity via Just Giving or a similar platform
  • Collect donations via your Bristol SU account and donate via RAG to external charities 
  • Keep for your group if fundraising was for that purpose

Information and advice on how to donate to charities whilst keeping in line with charity law can be found here. 

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Being part of a student group is a great way to connect to others, build community and foster a sense of belonging, all of which can contribute towards better wellbeing for both committees and members. This criterion recognises groups who go out of their way to support their members to have positive wellbeing and mental health.

Examples of how you can achieve this include:

• Organise regular and varied social events where members can connect and bond 
• Establish peer support networks or ‘family schemes’ to provide emotional support and guidance to your membership 
• Promote positive wellbeing and mental health awareness via workshops, training, and campaigns. This can help reduce stigma and encourage open discussions about wellbeing within your group

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Create and circulate your Wellbeing Action Toolkit for members
  • Provide information on University Wellbeing Services, local support hotlines, and organisations that are relevant to your group’s specific needs
• Appoint a ‘Wellbeing Champion’ onto committee. This can be an existing committee member in any role and does not have to be the same role each year. To sign up as a Wellbeing Champion for your group, please complete this form.
• Ensure core committee members attend at least one mental health and wellbeing orientated training event
  • E.g. The University's 'Becoming Mentally Stronger' webinars 
• Participate in and promote at least two national awareness days/weeks/months within the academic year
  • E.g. ‘Black History Month’, ‘World Mental Health Day’ or raise money for ‘Movember’

The Wellbeing Champion role and duties can be found here and the Wellbeing Action Toolkit template can be found here.

Guidance on improving wellbeing in your group can be found here.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Giving back to the local community is a great way to feel closer to Bristol and strengthen bonds between your members. Volunteering provides a great opportunity to host an inclusive social event, whilst contributing towards meaningful change. This criterion recognises groups who are making a positive difference to the Bristol community.

In the past groups have supported Bristol SU Volunteering Projects or worked with local charities, schools and community groups by running workshops and events. 

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Volunteer as a group
• Evidence the impact your volunteering efforts have made on the local community 
• Volunteering projects cannot use their core activities/aims to meet this criterion

Evidence submitted for this criterion cannot also be used for Criteria 11.
For advice and support when volunteering please contact bristolsu-volunteering@bristol.ac.uk. 

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Each spring, Bristol SU runs the Rate My Group (RMG) survey. This is an anonymous survey that helps groups measure member satisfaction year on year, to see if the offer they are providing is right for their membership. The survey also helps Bristol SU learn more about what we can do to support committee members. 

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Promote the RMG survey to all members, this includes committee 
• Receive a 30% of membership response rate OR 30 total responses, whichever is lower 

We will contact you after RMG has closed with the number of responses received. 
Member response number should include committee members.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

A successful handover is essential to the running of every group. Without the passing of knowledge, new committee members will feel disempowered and unequipped to run the group you have worked hard to develop and may choose to close the group before the new academic year has even started. 

We recommend that handovers start in March/April, soon after your elections take place, and are completed prior to the exam period. This gives you plenty of time for shadowing, sharing essential information, and passing on useful hints and tips with the incoming committee. 
Remember that incoming committee cannot take over the running of your group until reaffiliation has been completed.

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Submit a detailed handover plan for all four core committee roles (Volunteering Projects only need to submit for their 2 core roles)
  • Club Captain / President / Volunteer Project Coordinator
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Equality Officer 

You may want to consider including the following in your plans: 1-1 role handover time, group handover time, shadowing, introductions to key people, explanation of equipment/software, and handover documents.

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.

Each year, groups are required to hold AGMs where they can discuss the group's key achievements for the year and financial status with their members. It is also traditionally where either the election process is started, or results are announced. Contested elections are a sign of an engaged membership who care about the future of the group.

Guidance on how your AGM and elections should be run can be found in your group's constitution and handover notes. We are also on hand to support you and meetings can be booked with a member of the Development Team here. Further resources on AGMs can be viewed here. 

To meet this criterion, you must:

• Provide evidence of contested elections* for the 4 core committee roles (Club Captain/President, Treasurer, Secretary, Equality Officer)
• Volunteering Projects must provide evidence of contested elections for their 2 core committee roles ( Project Coordinator and Treasurer) 
• Provide minutes from the AGM which clearly outline the voting process used at elections, election results, and topics discussed and voted on.

*A contested election is an election in which more than one candidate stands for the position and voters have a choice about whom to elect. This includes an option to RON (Re-Open Nominations).

The deadline for this criterion is 30 April 2025.