• Set up a web site or chat/forum and get locals interested in participating.
• Put on “Educational Displays” at your local pet shops/veterinarian offices/feed stores until you get enough people interested to form a club. At these displays you set up a table with literature and a few animals to draw interest and spend a few hours on a weekend telling people about rats/mice and getting together like-minded individuals.
• Put up notices in your local pet shops/veterinarian offices/feed stores/etc. Also, post notices on your local forums and web sites to get interested fanciers.

You will need to decide what kind of club you will be:

• Internet Club: this would be where you have a chat group/forum and maybe have social get-togethers on occasion.
• Social Club: this is where you would usually meet monthly or bi-monthly and have maybe a guest speaker to talk about various topics on rats/mice, have fun get-togethers (BBQs, potlucks, social days, group outings, etc.), etc.
• Pet Club: these clubs are where you would have pet-only shows and have lots of fun classes for everyone to participate in, have fun get-togethers and social events, etc.
• Show Club: show clubs will have the conformation classes and use the written standards to judge the animals to their particular type/feature. You can also offer fun Pet Classes to draw in more exhibitors. Show clubs can also put on seminars, have training days, social get-togethers, club outings, etc.

To spread the word about your upcoming events you should notify newspapers, radio stations, cable TV bulletin boards, computer bulletin boards, list on your web site, send out e-mail announcements, notify through rat and mouse chat groups/forums, social sites, etc., put up flyers and posters in pet shops, vet offices, feed stores, etc.; put on displays at pet shops, fairs, pet expos, etc.

• Pet Shows: these are fun shows where you have various fun animal classes, agility competitions, artwork classes, photo classes, craft-making competitions/classes, or other activities.
• Matches: these are shows with the regular classes, but no Grand/Champions are awarded; the club chooses the judge and follows the club’s show procedures and standards for judging. These could be held for judges in training to give them basic experience, or have a variety of judges for the many classes.
• Sanctioned Match: these would be shows that have a judge that has met the basic qualifications for an affiliate/chapter judge with the parent organization you are aligned with. You normally would give titles but as “Affiliate/Chapter” winner.
• Limit Shows: these would be shows where you limit the number of entries per exhibitor (usually if you are having another event on the same day such as a seminar, members’ meeting, etc.).
• Full Show: these are shows with all classes and a fully qualified judge. Complete titles are given such as Grand Champion, Champion, etc.

If you would like to bring in a fully-qualified judge to judge one of your shows, give your club assistance in running a show or your club, or to give your members and future judges training, you should be prepared to pay most of the expenses for the judge to attend your show, especially if they are a long distance from you.

Your club could also put on fund raising events such as car washes or pet washes, or get various items at a discount and sell to your members or the general public at your events. Other ways to bring in money for your group are raffles/drawings, show box rental fees, sales permit fees for members to be able to sell at your shows, entry fees, selling items such as t-shirts, books, pet supplies, etc., having sodas and snacks or lunch at your shows, charging a fee for a seminar, making or having the show boxes available for purchase to your exhibitors, ask talented members to make cards, posters, calendars, jewelry, rat hammocks, etc., to sell, offer copies of photos to the proud owners of the prize-winning rats and mice from your shows, sell booth spaces or sale tables at your shows to bring in crafty people and local businesses that have items your attendees would like to buy, offer to clip rat toenails for a small fee, have a donation jar at each event, etc.

The ideas are endless on ways to get the money your club will need to operate. Also, don’t just look at rat and mouse items to offer for sale, but look at other animal theme items as most people have more than just rats or mice.