Starting an NCFR Student Affiliate

To start a new student affiliate, the student president and advisor needs to be an NCFR member to participate. 

(Learn more about NCFR membership levels and benefits here.)

In almost all cases, your NCFR student affiliate also will be a recognized student organization of your university or college. Be sure to work with the student life/activities office on your campus, since they'll often provide support for your group.

Once your advisor and president are NCFR members, you'll need to fill out:

  • an affiliate formation request form, where you'll list the president and advisor along with their NCFR ID numbers. Please email this form to NCFR when you've completed it so we know you're interested. 

Then, complete:

  • an officer roster form. You must list a student president (who must be an NCFR member), a president-elect, and a secretary/treasurer at minimum.
  • an affiliate activities plan
  • a set of proposed bylaws. We've provided a template, as well as a sample set of bylaws for your reference.

Once you have emailed these items to NCFR, the Affiliate Councils Board — the executive committee for all affiliates — will either approve your application or recommend changes. If you're approved, NCFR staff will assist you with forms needed for the IRS.

The key continuing requirement is that the advisor and the student affiliate president always are NCFR members.

As your student affiliate gets off the ground, NCFR staff can provide you with access to communication tools for member interaction and announcements of your events, elections, and accomplishments; federal tax exemption; and more.

Questions? Email NCFR membership staff.

An important note: Your council's name

NCFR prefers that the official format of student council's names are written as: [University name] Student Council on Family Relations — for example, University of Southern Mississippi Student Council on Family Relations.

Please check with your university about any requirements or limitations for naming your student group and let us know of conflicts. Some universities, for example, do not allow the full name of the university to be in the student affiliate's name.