Community/Small Chapter Best Practices

1
Community/Small Chapter Best Practices
2
Why Suddenly a Subject of Interest?

• More chapters who were corporate chapters have
  become community chapters because of changes in
  contractors, changes in top management
• Small businesses need to be as knowledgeable as
  the big guys they may be competing with
• The federal government is looking to small
  businesses to provide services and materials

3
Comparisons between Small and Community Chapters

• Community
• Generally not sponsored by a business
• Smaller membership
• Membership is made up of many businesses
• Meet at public locations
• Usually meet during the evenings
• Usually purchase web site

• Small
• May be sponsored by a business
• Smaller membeship
• May be a city government or small business
• May meet during business hrs
• Web site may be sponsored by business

4
Pros and Cons of Small/ Community vs Corporate
Chapters

• Pros
• Not tied to business can gather members from
  anywhere
• Can meet anywhere such as restaurants
• True networking
• Dont have to do everything focus on one or two
  things you do well or want to do well

• Cons
• No corporate sponsorship to help with funding
• No senior management to count on
• No set place to meet and store materials
• No set field of members
• Cant take dues from paychecks
• Fewer members to hold offices and chairs

5
What is Your Goal?

• Training for your members
• Providing training for others
• Community service
• Speech Contest
• Large membership to do many things

6
How Do You Decide What to Do With So Few People?

• You may want to combine officers and chairs
• Secretary/Treasurer
• VP/Membership Chair
• Community Service
• Chair/Publicity
• Use National to provide training through live
  online
• Sell business membership to allow for less
  expensive training materials for their business
• Meet with other Associations Project
  Management, Administrative Professionals,
  Professional Engineering Groups

7
How can NMA Help?

• On-Line Training
• LDCs and National Conferences
• Staff, National Officers, and National Directors
• Councils way to participate in more
• Breaktime
• Foundations of Management
• Building Virtual Teams

8
What One Chapter Did

• Bring in a facilitator
• List three things that every member wants from
  the chapter
• Multi-vote to trim down to no more than 6 items
• Every member gets 1 vote for the item that means
  the most to them
• Take the top 2-3 items and have someone volunteer
  to lead a team in discussion about one of the
  topics do this for each of the 2-3 items chosen
• List what the target audience is, what the
  benefits would be to them, what chapter resources
  will be required, what the benefits are to the
  chapter

9
What One Chapter Did

• Present the results and decide how to move
  forward accept the items, change the items,
  delete the items
• Form teams and go forward with the focus of the
  chapter
• If membership grows, meet again to choose focus
  areas or take some of the other items from the
  larger lists
• Think of this as a 2-year strategic plan take
  time to do it right, plan to spend some money,
  dont give up!

10
Any Ideas to Share?