Thinking about building a local chapter network - or re-imagining yours? A few key questions and tips exploring principals and effective practices for developing a strong chapter program.

1. Principals & Effective Practices
Peggy Hoffman, CAE
Peter Houstle

2.  Association are about “associating”
 Organizational structure should enable connections
 Chapters are one way of extending the organization’s
reach and creating face-to-face connections

3. Range of models:
 Separate, independent organizations which
collaborate and partner
 Affiliated organizations which are separate but have
shared mission and branding
 Division or branch of the same organization
 Sub-group of the organization

4. Matching the Options: 3 Guiding
Questions
 How important is it for people to get together in
person to achieve your purpose?
 To what extent are there unique local issues across
your country or do national issues need to be
addressed locally?
 Are you significantly advancing the mission by
creating infrastructure to support local activities? (Will
the results be worth the effort?)

5. Matching the Options: 3 Areas to
Explore
 What services or activities are most appropriate for
chapters to offer or perform?
 How will you define success? What metrics will you
measure and how?
 What resources are required for chapters to succeed
and are these available?

6. Resources to Succeed
 Financial
 Human – paid staff and member-volunteer
 Technology
 Training and Information
 Environmental Conditions
 Opportunities

7. Organizational Options
TRADITIONAL
NEW APPROACH
Chapter Charter
Principals of Affiliation
Board of Directors
Not applicable
Articles of Incorporation/By-Laws
Not applicable
Elections
Not applicable
Standing Committees
Task-Oriented Teams
Regular Meetings
Meet Only As Needed
Bank Account
HQ Funding Pool
1-up Communications Systems
(e.g. Web, Email)
Centralized Communications Systems
Limited Program Management Expertise
(Event Planning, Marketing/Comm, Etc.)
Program Management Expertise Highly
Supported or Provided Directly by HQ
Limited Member Needs Assessment
Needs Assessment Tools & Data
Supplemented or Provided Directly by HQ
Awards Based on Activity
Rather than Results
Awards Based on Results
Knowledge Uncollected
Knowledge Harvested & Shared
A look at the evolving
options from a USA
perspective. Acknowledges
that some chapters achieve
a financial size that requires
some traditional structure,
such as a central governing
body, incorporation, formal
by-laws.

8. Organizational Options
Begin with the function, then focus on form.

9. Questions?
Mariner Management ▪ www.marinermanagement.com