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Chapter Leader Community (CLC)

Administrative Management

Best practices on chapter administration

ANN ARBOR CHAPTER: Free Online Tool to House, Update, and Access Procedures to Transform Board Onboarding and Task Management

SUMMARY: The Ann Arbor Chapter found it lacked documented standard operating procedures for the chapter. The board members created a plan to establish documented processes and procedures. Using Airtable, they created a way to store the processes for easy access. The content is now easily accessible for training and onboarding new chapter leaders, thus shortening the length of new board members' training from six months to four weeks.

YEAR: 2020

DALLAS CHAPTER: Round Robin Risk Assessment

SUMMARY: The chapter adopted a round robin approach to conducting its risk assessment to increase board member engagement and mitigate risk. Changing the approach to its risk assessment allowed board members to share their thoughts about potential risks and collaboratively identify strategies for mitigating or eliminating these risks. These thoughts and strategies were incorporated into the final assessment, which was shared with all board members.

YEAR: 2019

NEBRASKA CHAPTER: Operations Manual

SUMMARY: The chapter created a manual to ensure that key details not included in the bylaws or chapter leader job descriptions would be passed on to future leaders. The manual allowed for consistent onboarding from year to year and served as a reference for the processes that impact chapter operations. Having the information in one central location increased board member satisfaction, ensured consistency through board transitions and onboarding, and created a one-stop shop for learning more about procedural details.

YEAR: 2018

NEBRASKA CHAPTER: Process for ALC Sponsorship
SUMMARY: With more chapter leaders wanting to attend the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC), the chapter needed to determine a way to support its chapter leader development while staying within budget. As a result, the chapter created a process for chapter leaders to generate their own funding to attend. Interested chapter leaders were encouraged to ask their employer if it would be willing to cover all or a portion of the costs associated with conference registration and attendance. To further support the ask, the chapter created a template letter for the chapter leader. Should the employer not be able to cover some or all of the costs, the chapter leader can then apply to use chapter funds to support attendance. However, all chapter leaders applying to use chapter funds must also have submitted a proposal to facilitate a session at the conference whether accepted or not. Because session facilitators receive complimentary registration, this requirement is a great way to get exposure for the chapter and also further cut costs. Through this process, the chapter doubled the amount of chapter leaders it previously sent to the conference leading to more informed and engaged board members.

YEAR: 2018

HOUSTON CHAPTER: Past President Engagement

SUMMARY: The chapter assigned the responsibilities of the sponsorship committee chair position to the past president with the intent of improving the relationship between and increasing the commitment of sponsors to the chapter. The shift provided consistency as relationships formed during the president’s tenure would continue to be nurtured. The chapter also designed the role so that the president elect would partner with the past president allowing for mentorship. As a result of the change, many past presidents remain engaged with the chapter and continue to volunteer for either the chapter or for ATD national committees.

YEAR: 2018

NEBRASKA CHAPTER: Creating a Director of Partnerships

SUMMARY: The Nebraska Chapter created the director of partnerships role to focus on developing targeted partnerships and maintaining relationships with sponsors. The position is nestled into the marketing communications area and serves to develop relationships and bring in new partnerships for the chapter and events. The chapter’s 2018 conference was the first large-scale event for which the chapter garnered partnerships, and it profited over $18,000, allowing the chapter to keep the cost down for attendees.

YEAR: 2018

CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER: Chapter Elections in a Digital Box

SUMMARY: To streamline chapter elections and keep members informed and involved in the process, the chapter used the collaboration portal, Moxtra. The chapter formed a virtual nominating committee and used the platform to distribute details and hold virtual meetings. The chapter also used Moxtra to hold elections, empowering chapter members with more information on the election process and giving them a deeper look into the operations of the chapter. After the committee approved the election results, a full summary was provided to members. The implementation of Moxtra addressed the need to conduct a critical part of chapter business more efficiently by providing more flexibility to the nominating committee members who were vetting the candidates.

YEAR: 2018

BATON ROUGE CHAPTER: The Way We Were: Capturing and Archiving Your Chapter’s History

SUMMARY: The chapter has records dating back to 1998 that needed to be reviewed for archiving, indexing, and retention purposes. The chapter secretary undertook the task of reviewing the records, deciding what was necessary to keep, and devising a strategy for storage, indexing, naming, and searching purposes. A team was put in place to track down the chapter’s history and create a repository of records.

YEAR: 2018

SACRAMENTO CHAPTER: Creation of Volunteer Coordinator Position

SUMMARY: The chapter board asked one of its repeat volunteers to serve as volunteer coordinator. As the volunteer coordinator, the person is responsible for keeping a running list of volunteers, recruiting and organizing new volunteers, and sending thank you emails. The board created the new position and started introducing her at the monthly meetings. Since she has been in the position, she has become the face of the volunteer program and has added a personal touch that has gone a long way with the members. The position worked out so well that the person is now transitioning to a voting member of the board as the Director of Programs. Because of this effort, there has been an increase in volunteers, a steady rotation of volunteers, and an organized process in place. The membership is more engaged, and the chapter has gained more publicity.

YEAR: 2017

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER: G Suite for Nonprofits

SUMMARY: To save about $170 monthly, the chapter moved board emails from GoDaddy to Google Suite (G Suite). A third party, Tech Soup, contacted the chapter to verify its nonprofit status on behalf of Google. Once the chapter was set up, it realized a full suite of free tools to use. The chapter has continued to discover more tools provided by G Suite it can use to manage chapter operations including forms, surveys, and other communication tools. The vice president of finance has started reviewing the chapter’s paid products and services to determine if there is a free or reduced price for nonprofits. The money saved will go back to the chapter through member initiatives.

YEAR: 2017

LOS ANGELES CHAPTER: Volunteer Tab in Wild Apricot

SUMMARY: The chapter created a “Volunteer Only” tab in Wild Apricot with subsections titled by each topic. The chapter implemented a system to designate who receives access to each section, and uploaded documents and historical information to each tab. This system compiles all resources and tools in one location and reduces email congestion and duplication of documents. At each meeting, the chapter shows documents from the volunteer tab instead of recreating PowerPoints.

YEAR: 2016

CHATTANOOGA AREA CHAPTER: CARE Update

SUMMARY: With the President-Elect as the designated board member responsible for CARE, the chapter dedicates time at each board meeting for a CARE update, a review of the CARE checklist, and any additional CARE items that require discussion. This practice recognizes CARE as a central part of the chapter’s business, and as a result, the chapter is on track to meet its goals.

YEAR: 2016

BAY COLONIES CHAPTER: VP Strategy Role for Past President

SUMMARY: The chapter identified a need to leverage the ATD experience in the chapter. A chapter leadership role was created to focus on onboarding and coaching new board members, identifying network and liaison opportunities with ATD, planning and facilitating the annual strategic planning effort, supporting the annual CARE submission, and ensuring that the mission, vision and values are upheld. The position is perfectly suited for a former past president, who is interested in continuing in a leadership role with the chapter.

YEAR: 2016

PIKES PEAK CHAPTER: Process for Sponsorship/Partnership

SUMMARY: The chapter designed and implemented a process to increase sponsorships and partnerships. The board felt that developing relationships within the community would lead to increased visibility in the community and enhance the chapter’s overall success. As a result of the chapter’s focus on these relationships, the chapter acquired three sponsors, seven partnerships, and $900 in financial gains.

YEAR: 2016

VALLEYS OF VIRGINIA CHAPTER: Recovery From Loss of Nonprofit Status

SUMMARY: After losing its tax-exempt status in 2010 for failure to file its taxes for three consecutive years, the chapter succeeded in reinstating this status with the IRS five years later. Through the process, the chapter learned the importance of transparency, documentation, and accurate financial reporting. With perseverance and diligence, the chapter’s 2014 and 2015 boards put the chapter back on the right track.

YEAR: 2016

FLORIDA SUNCOAST CHAPTER: Speak Easy - Taking the Pain out of the Speaker Selection Process

SUMMARY: The right speaker with the right content delivered the right way to an audience can measurably increase sales, performance, and customer satisfaction while simultaneously improving profits and expanding engagement. For this reason, the chapter created an online speaker proposal form that allowed the chapter to obtain all of the necessary information on a session to properly review, vet, and approve quality speakers. The form resulted in the first speaker who went through the process receiving exemplary marks on the post-meeting survey with a relevant and engaging topic that fell within The ATD Competency Model.

YEAR: 2016

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Changing Venues and Improving the Community

SUMMARY: The chapter moved its programming and board meeting venue from a local hotel to a local nonprofit organization, the Goodwill, in order to reduce its costs from approximately $4,000 to $1,000 per year. By reallocating these costs, the chapter is better positioned to achieve its 2016 focus of bringing its members more valuable learning programs with a strategic focus that involves both local and national talent. Additionally, the new location provides the community with an increased awareness of the Goodwill’s mission, and has resulted in members bringing items to donate to the chapter’s events.

YEAR: 2016

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Key Takeaway From Chapter Leader's Conference

SUMMARY: The chapter’s current president attended the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC) as president-elect with the goal of learning how other chapters operate. The chapter leader attended a session covering board structure, and learned about a specific chapter’s board that was comprised of VPs who had voting rights and non-voting, director-level positions who reported to board members. The chapter desired to focus more on membership, programs, and communication, but felt this was too much for the board to handle it on its own. By creating these new director positions, the chapter created new volunteer opportunities, developed a leadership pipeline, and reduced the workload of the chapter board.

YEAR: 2016

DETROIT CHAPTER: Strategic Plan Process

SUMMARY: The chapter developed and executed a strategic planning process. This process resulted in a completed strategic plan with four distinct and defined key result areas and corresponding goals, a membership communication piece, focus areas and goals for each Vice President, specific criteria and review processes of how the chapter is lead and meeting its mission statement.

YEAR: 2016

FLORIDA SUNCOAST CHAPTER: Developing a Culture of Sharing our Success (SOS)

SUMMARY: The chapter has created a culture of SOS. The 2016 chapter President requested that each board member review the SOS submissions on td.org/sos and report back to the board on two to three SOS submissions that the chapter could implement. Both chapter leaders and chapter members have directly benefited as a result of implementing the various best practices from several SOS submissions

YEAR: 2016

UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA CHAPTER: Phenomenal Collaboration and Partnership Contributes to Community Workplace Development

SUMMARY: The University Center of Greenville (UCG), a chapter sponsor of the Upstate SC Chapter, provides chapter office space, equipment, plexi-glass signage, banner flags, and more as part of its partnership with the chapter.

YEAR: 2015

SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN CHAPTER: RFP Process for Association Management and Website Transition

SUMMARY: In an effort to improve member services, provide more self-service capabilities for its leaders, and reduce operational expenses, the chapter recruited a new association management company and launched an improved website with a member management system.

YEAR: 2014

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Going Green with Meeting Announcements

SUMMARY: The chapter moved from paper handouts detailing upcoming events, bios for members of the board, and important information available via the website to a rolling PowerPoint presentation.

YEAR: 2014

METRO DC CHAPTER: New Director Orientation

SUMMARY: To address the challenge of having to onboard new board members in a relatively short time, the chapter developed a formal board orientation. The program helped ensure that all board directors received consistent messaging about the chapter culture, norms, expectations, and that they could sufficiently navigate within the chapter's critical software applications.

YEAR: 2014

HOUSTON CHAPTER: Launching a Leadership Council

SUMMARY: The Houston Chapter created a leadership council consisting of senior leaders within the learning and development community, who work as advisors in setting strategy for the local chapter.

YEAR: 2014

NIAGARA FRONTIER CHAPTER: President's Meeting

SUMMARY: The chapter's president-elect, president, and immediate past president began meeting a few days prior to the chapter's board meeting to discuss the meeting agenda, chapter and board issues, and any additional items of importance to the chapter president. The informal meetings provide an opportunity for the past president to serve as consigliore to the president, and for the president-elect to acclimate to the role of president prior to taking office.

YEAR: 2014

GREATER CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER: Wild Apricot Certificate of Attendance

SUMMARY: The chapter received requests for proof of attendance at monthly meetings for attendees to demonstrate personal/professional growth to their employers. The chapter modified a Wild Apricot template to look like a certificate, which is emailed to all meeting attendees automatically after each event.

YEAR: 2013

MARYLAND CHAPTER: Leveraging Wild Apricot to Identify Volunteers

SUMMARY: The Maryland Chapter included a question on their membership application that asks new members if they are interested in being contacted about serving as a volunteer for the chapter. Using Wild Apricot, chapter leaders set up a query that quickly identified all members who answered “yes” so they could be followed up with immediately.

YEAR: 2012

GREATER BOSTON CHAPTER: Chapter Operational Plan

SUMMARY: The chapter leaders at the Greater Boston Chapter put together a great guide on how to create your chapter's operational plan.

YEAR: 2012

SAN DIEGO CHAPTER: Risk Management

SUMMARY: The San Diego chapter created a form and process for comprehensively addressing the Chapter's risk management. This is easily adaptable for any chapter.

YEAR: 2011

CENTRAL IOWA CHAPTER: Team Building

SUMMARY: This Central Iowa event was an opportunity for the entire board to learn about each other on a personal basis, meet the new board members, have fun, and learn a little more about the operational side of the board to jump start and energize all to get a head start with the 2011 year.

YEAR: 2011

GREATER DETROIT CHAPTER: Chapter Business Office Administrative Policy and Procedure Manual

SUMMARY: The Greater Detroit Chapter contracted with a new administrative management firm. In order to provide a smooth transition for the administrative management company and chapter board members, an Administrative Process and Procedure Manual was created.

YEAR: 2004

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