You Can Start a Stamp Club

Through stamp clubs, collectors buy, sell, and trade material, gain knowledge, and enjoy many other philatelic pursuits. A balance of social and philatelic activities makes for pleasant meetings and a flourishing hobby group.

The organization of stamp clubs varies greatly. Successful clubs have strong leadership and maximum participation by the members. Collectors join clubs for various reasons, so the programs and activities of the club should be planned only after the desires of the members are known.

The following tips will help you to form a local stamp club. These guidelines should be adapted to fit your situation

Club Programs

A very important position in any stamp club is that of program chairman. In many clubs, the vice president often handles this key job. A well-organized schedule of programs helps to keep meeting attendance high, and members interested and involved. 

Know your members’ interests and aim for a variety of programs that will interest as many people as possible. Use a questionnaire like the one provided on the Resources page to learn about your members and ask again every few years to note any changes. Most collectors are interested in areas outside their own special interests (you never know when you might find something new to collect!); so plan the occasional program that differs from anyone’s interests, just to expand their horizons.

You can get ideas for programs through visits to other clubs and by reading the national philatelic press. The Resources page lists several reference works that also may be helpful. Speaking of the national philatelic press, Linn’s Stamps News maintains a registry of local stamp clubs. Go to www.linns.com, click on Reference then Local Stamp Clubs.

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