[Ohio-Talk] Emailing: Membership Practices Affiliate Technical Assistance - 2024 Update.docx

[Richard Payne]

Please read and practice this is attached also.
National Federation of the Blind
Membership Practices Overview for Affiliates
Updated February 26, 2024

This technical assistance document for affiliates of the National Federation
of the Blind is intended to articulate practices consistent with the
national constitution and other practices adopted by the organization and
affirmed by the board of directors. It is intended to document the spirit,
intent, and practice behind membership in our movement. It should guide
local practices and training for leaders regarding membership. It shall also
govern the management of membership data and validation of members for
voting purposes. It should be noted that affiliates have responsibility to
manage membership in accordance with organizational practices and to provide
guidance to affiliate members regarding the practices of the affiliate.

General Principles of Membership:
.	Everything we do is built upon membership; thus, we want as many
blind people as possible to understand and experience being a member of our
movement.
.	We have an open membership policy which means we do not limit
participation in membership based upon any other characteristics. We seek
diversity. We strive to make participating in the movement accessible to
all. 
.	We are driven by the hopes and dreams of blind people. Thus, a
majority of our members must be blind, at least a majority of each of our
governing boards-at all levels-must be comprised of blind people, and our
presidents and vice presidents must be blind. The only exception are our
divisions for parents of blind children and educators of blind children. 
.	We believe in an active member standard. This means an individual
has paid their dues for that year, they are in good standing, and they
participate in some meaningful work of the movement during the year. 
.	Membership runs the calendar year and is effective during the year
for which one has paid dues. Membership status is in effect at the level of
the organization where one joins and at all higher levels (membership never
extends to lower levels).
.	Membership is specifically governed by constitutions. Chapter,
division, and affiliate constitutions must be filed and approved by the
national organization including all amendments. 


Membership Requirements:
.	Pay dues each year.
.	Continue to commit to the NFB Pledge.
.	Participate actively in at least one significant activity of the
organization during the year. Paying dues is not enough. 
.	New members must be voted in by the membership. All members must
remain in good standing. Failure to remain in good standing or to pay dues
for two consecutive years will result in the need for an affirmative vote to
be taken to restore membership rights and privileges.
.	The determination of good standing is set by the membership and
should, at a minimum, be what is outlined in the organization's code of
conduct.
.	Federation members may participate in other organizations of the
blind that might exist. Members of other organizations are warmly invited
and encouraged to learn about the Federation in order to make an informed
decision about joining the Federation. Federation members seeking to serve
in elected offices anywhere in the organization may not be a member of
another blindness organization that has policies in opposition to those of
the National Federation of the Blind or in contravention to its
constitution. This must be the case when an individual stands for election
within the organization and during the entire time they serve in an elected
office within the Federation.

New Members
A new member is an individual who has paid dues to join the Federation at
any level and who has been determined not to have been a member, anywhere in
the Federation, for two consecutive years or more. This determination might
be made through conversation with the prospective member and/or through use
of our database. When an individual moves to a new
chapter/affiliate/division, they should be voted into that unit of the
Federation-but they would only be a "new" member if they have not been
active for two years or more. It should be noted that individuals who have
only been a member of a national division will not be integrated into the
new member process. Thus, affiliates/chapters should work to welcome new
members in and include them in the new member onboarding process. 


Affiliate Members (generally, three types):
1.	Local chapter members, including at-large chapter members
2.	Affiliate division members
3.	At-large affiliate members (alternatively some affiliates choose to
organize these members into an at-large chapter)


Common Membership Policies That Apply in Every Affiliate:
.	Membership year must align to calendar year. (Example: 2020
membership is January 1-December 31, 2020.) Affiliates/chapters have
discretion as to when to start accepting dues for the year (e.g., some
chapters grant new members who join in October membership for the final
three months of the year as well as the next full membership year).
Affiliates should define this for their organizations.
.	Affiliates are responsible for providing an accurate membership list
to the national organization upon request-this is documented through the
Membership Management module. 
.	Manage lifetime membership structure in affiliates. Affiliates
should phase out permitting people to buy membership that lasts forever
unless they are prepared to carefully manage and track these memberships.
For those with existing lifetime memberships, governing boards should track
and determine that those individuals continue to be active in the
affiliate/chapter. The two-year standard should be applied to lifetime
members-if you are not active in the affiliate your lifetime membership
lapses. Affiliate conventions may wish to establish an honorary process for
conferring lifetime membership on long-serving members. Affiliates should
clarify that lifetime membership does not transfer to other affiliates.
.	Members need to be voted in when they first join, and the vote must
be recorded in official meeting minutes (chapter meeting, division business
meeting, affiliate board meeting, or state convention business meeting).
.	Membership in multiple affiliates: An affiliate should make a
positive determination about accepting members whose residence is outside
the state. If the affiliate votes on it, the affiliate makes the decision
about the exceptions. The objective of affiliates is for the blind residents
of that state to direct the policies and elect the leaders for the blind of
that state. 
.	Membership in one Federation affiliate does not grant automatic
membership in another affiliate for voting purposes. Federation meetings are
open, thus, members are always welcome to attend public meetings where they
are not active members. 
.	Affiliates are required to utilize the national new membership
process.
.	Modify associate membership (supporting membership) as a category
authorized in the constitution. Boards should consider carefully how to
appropriately acknowledge financial contributors. It is recommended that we
no longer use the word "membership" to describe their distinction in the
organization. A suggestion is Federation Friends.
.	Affiliates decide when dues need to be paid in order to be eligible
to vote in business meetings. We want to welcome people to be members. We
also need to validate who is a member for voting purposes. Once a business
meeting starts, people should not be permitted to join. (If they do, their
membership takes effect after the business meeting closes. We should use the
business meeting to vote new members in.)

  
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