The SSA provides a considerable number of services to its affiliates. Indeed, providing these services is the primary work of our staff.  We encourage you to look over this list from time to time to make sure your group is taking advantage of everything we offer.

If your group is not yet affiliated with the SSA, feel free to use our joining form. If you need help starting a group, please request a group starting packet.

If you're interested in taking advantage of any of these services, send us an email at ssa@secularstudents.org, or call us at 1-518-632-4139 extension 1.

Services:

SPEAKERS
The SSA has a speakers bureau.

GRANTS
The SSA can give your group money! Every semester there is at least $1500 available to help students offset the costs of operation, projects, bringing in speakers, and more. Please take advantage of this! Need some ideas? Here are just a few examples of groups who received grants from the SSA last year:

1) The Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics (SOMA) received $250 from the SSA to bring in speaker Clark Adams to speak on the campus of the University of Kansas. Mr. Adams spoke on atheist and humanist ideas in mass media.

2) The SSA gave $105 to the Secular Student Alliance at the University of Delaware to produce T-shirts for members of the group. The T-shirts had the slogan "Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Religion" and were produced to help advertise the club, help them stand out at events, and unify members.

3) Student for Freethought at The Ohio State University received $200 from the SSA for a debate (between Peter Payne, Intervarsity staff worker at the University of Michigan, and Doug Krueger, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arkansas on) on "Does Ethics Need a Foundation in God?"

4) Students without Religious Dogma at Illinois University at Chicago received $200 in order to bring in pledge plaintiff Michael Newdow to speak to their campus at large.

Apply for an SSA project grant today!

MEDIA RELATIONS
The SSA has access to a frequently updated database of media contact information.  We are more than happy to send out press releases on your behalf to local media that might be interested in your events.  We're also happy to help you develop press releases.  Read more about how to work with the media.

WEB HOSTING
The SSA provides web hosting via the humanists.net web hosting project of the Institute for Humanist Studies. Just let us know if you're interested in this.  We can also help you install various software packages in your web space to make managing your site easier like WordPress or Drupal.  We will also point you in the right direction for learning how these tools work.  Be aware that while using WordPress and Drupal are easier than creating and managing a website in raw HTML, there is some learning involved. Some of our groups have found that tools like Blogger meet their needs and technical comfort level better than tools we can install for you on the Institute for Humanist Studies' web server.  If you're not sure what would be the best fit for you, talk with us.

GROUP RUNNING GUIDE & OTHER DOCUMENTATION
The SSA provides a copy of this 58-page, perfect bound booklet to individuals who are mobilizing a group and to existing affiliates. It contains information detailing how to start a group, find an advisor, raise funds, gain members, run meetings, participate in outreach services, and much more. If you give us your postal address, we will send you a copy. You can also view the electronic version.

In addition to our Group Running Guide, we also have documentation on several other topics:
Succession Planning
Organizing a Service Trip
Building Momentum for your Group
Welcoming Women
Sample Constitution

BUSINESS CARDS
We are happy to print and send business cards with your group's name and contact information on them. The SSA now is accepting requests online. If you're interested, please click here to submit a request.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The SSA holds an annual national conference to help inform and inspire secular students. The Campus Organizer will send out notices reminding students to register when the time comes. You can read more about the past SSA conferences.  You can also learn about the next SSA conference.

AUDIO ARCHIVES
The SSA archives speakers' lectures from our conferences on our website. All of the topics are of great interest and much can be learned from these veterans of Humanism. Check out the audio archives.

NEWSLETTER
The SSA produces an electronic newsletter.  It often has lots of ideas you can use to run your group better.  Check out the previous issues of our newsletter.

COMMUNITY
One of the most crucial aspects of our work is fostering a network for secular groups across the nation. We all know too well that like-minded people are often few and far between. This is probably one of the main reasons that you have come together and it is why we offer tools for existing groups to keep in touch and learn from one another. You can further develop a sense of kinship by becoming part of an on-line community by participating in our forum.

You can also develop relationships with other secular groups.Check out our listing, by state, of existing secular student groups across the world. Here you will find group contact information and their website link.

Let us know if there are other services you would like.  We're always looking to serve our affiliates better.