Important News for Chapters

It is a pleasure to announce several significant changes affecting the work of chapter treasurers.  While additional information and instructions will be made available on the members’ website under the offices of both the Treasurer General and Organizing Secretary General and in other forms of communication, we are delighted to share news about these changes with our members via this installment of the Today’s DAR Blog.

The National Society is pleased to announce that Chapter Treasurers will soon be receiving their member dues invoices electronically, rather than the bulky, hard-copy printed versions that had been mailed in the past; this use of technology allows the NSDAR to save both printing and postage expenses, but it provides advantages to the chapter, as well. The electronic invoice form will be a listing of the chapter’s member database on August 1, and it will provide chapter treasurers with the opportunity to create a worksheet to credit collected dues as they are received. It will not only auto tabulate for Life Memberships but will also automatically tally the chapter’s dues total.  This easy-to-use automated file will save chapter treasurers precious time and effort when completing the important annual function of dues remittance.

Once finalized by the chapter, the invoice will be automatically updated within the database of the National Society. A printed copy of the final version will be kept by the chapter and a check will be mailed to the National Society for payment of the chapter dues prior to December 1, as been done in the past.  It is the goal to provide electronic payment options by next year, though that choice will not be available for 2015.

Any residual or reinstated dues submitted after the annual invoice and chapter check have been finalized may be remitted to the National Society via the Dues Remittance Form, formerly titled the Chapter Dues and Remittance Fees Control Sheet, and available on the members’ website.

Chapter treasurers will receive detailed instructions for completion of the automated dues invoice from the Office of the Organizing Secretary General when it is issued in August. We hope you agree that this is progressive step forward in terms of National Society’s efficiency. No longer will member dues need to be manually processed upon their arrival at your National Headquarters; instead, they will be automatically reflected in the National database. While we are certain that this first year will present a learning curve for all of us, we believe this automation will pay productivity dividends in the long term. Perhaps most important, it will free our hard-working chapter treasurers from at least some of their annual paperwork responsibilities – hooray!

We also want to inform you of another important change related to the collection of annual dues: Chapters may no longer resign non-responsive members. A member who provides her chapter with a resignation communication may be removed from the chapter roll; however, chapters may not resign any member from whom they have not received a communication. The unresponsive member whose dues remain unpaid is to be considered a “delinquent member” and will be automatically dropped by the National Society on the last day of February, as per our National Society’s Bylaws.

Why are we doing this? A review confirmed that the practice that was authorized in 1991 to allow chapters to resign non-responsive members prior to December 1 was in conflict with our National Society’s Bylaws. The bylaws require that a member who does not pay her dues on time is considered delinquent, but that she shall not be dropped from our roll until the last day of February; she is therefore entitled to a “grace period” in order to pay her dues and retain her good standing within the Society.

It is now more important than ever before for chapters to make every effort to contact and retain their members each year. Please make every possible attempt, e.g. mail, email, telephone, visit, etc., to contact the women who sustain your chapter and our Society with their annual dues. Make them feel wanted and welcome – let them know how important they are to our future. We do not want to drop or resign women from our Society – we want to encourage and support them by demonstrating the value of their membership. Please redouble your efforts to retain all of the women who make your chapter successful in our dedication to God, Home and Country – each one is important to our Society.

Finally, the Chapter Master Report has been adjusted to provide chapter credit to recognize the “big picture” goal of maintaining a healthy membership roster. The following fields will be automatically filled:

• Item 1A will provide all chapters that collect dues from 90 percent or more of their members with 20 points of credit (rather than collecting national dues for ALL members), on the condition that the chapter’s dues are postmarked on or before December 1; 
• Item 2C will provide 10 points for a net increase in chapter membership, as we strive to both retain our existing members and welcome new women;  and
• Item 2D will provide 10 points to those chapters that post a 10 percent or higher net increase in membership. 

We will continue to seek ways to improve the smooth and efficient operation of your National Society, while at the same time enabling our chapters to complete the important advocacy work that occurs in every community where Daughters serve. Thank you for your support of these changes and your patience as we implement them over the months ahead.