Today's DAR
As a DAR volunteer, you may have found yourself second-guessing yourself as you wrote an article for a chapter newsletter or a committee report. Does America 250! really have an exclamation point? Should eMembership be hyphenated? What is the proper way to refer to the DAR Members’ Website? The answers to questions and others were unclear and, in some cases, depended on whom you asked—until now!
In March, the Executive Committee adopted the NSDAR Style Guide, a shared reference that outlines the rules for our written communication, including grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and terminology. It ensures that everything produced by the National Society, states, and chapters sounds and looks consistent and professional and aligns with our brand.
NSDAR members and staff should begin following this style guide effective immediately as it is practicable to do so. If you are a state regent or national chair, your report for the upcoming Annual Proceedings should follow the style guide. However, you may wait to incorporate the style guide into your committee webpages the next time you do a major update.
Special thank-you to the members of the Style Guide Task Force who contributed to this project: Colleen Joyce, Recording Secretary General, and Cecile Wimberley, Corresponding Secretary General; collaborator Donna Seago, National Vice Chair, DAR Magazine Committee; and reviewers Kathleen Huston, National Chair, Public Relations & Media Committee; Deb Hvizdos, National Chair, Volunteer Information Specialists (VIS) Committee; Bren Landon, NSDAR Director of Public Relations; and Edith Rianzares, NSDAR Director of Publications.
What is a style guide?
If you work in communications or marketing, you are likely familiar with the concept of a “house style guide.” Organizations such as NSDAR typically pick one major style guide and then build on that guide with “house” style to cover situations specific to the organization (e.g., “eMembership”). A unified writing style helps audiences recognize our voice across all platforms and reduces confusion, unnecessary revisions, and personal preference-driven inconsistencies. This guide saves time, clarifies expectations, and helps everyone create content more efficiently and cohesively.
In general, the National Society follows Associated Press (AP) style, with two notable exceptions:
The use of the serial or Oxford comma in a series
The spelling out of months in all dates
The NSDAR Style Guide offers guidance on DAR-specific terminology or use cases. In most instances, a subscription to the AP Stylebook should not be necessary; this document is designed to be comprehensive for most volunteer scenarios. (Please note that due to formatting and character limits on social media platforms, guidance regarding italics, the serial/Oxford comma, and the spelling out of states, months, and numbers may be adjusted for social media as needed.)
This guide covers all NSDAR written materials, including:
Member-facing written communications: emails, letters, publications, reports
Marketing and brand materials: campaigns, Development messaging, printed collateral
Digital content: website copy, social media posts, newsletters, blogs
It is intended for use by anyone—staff or volunteer—who creates content for DAR. You don’t need to memorize every rule; use this guide as a reference whenever needed.
The NSDAR Style Guide: a living document
Language changes as society changes. In older versions of NSDAR style guides, a woman was referred to by her husband’s name. In later versions, it was necessary to specify that the woman’s name should be used. We have left that guidance out of this updated guide entirely because it is no longer necessary.
As the National Society evolves, language changes, and new programs and committees are introduced, this guide will be updated as needed.
Should you have any questions about or suggestions for this guide, please share them in the DAR Magazine Committee community on the Daughters Online Community.
