Parliamentary Strategy – December 2012

The state parliamentarian continues her series of articles about chapter offices with a discussion about the chapter registrar.

Chapter Registrar Required Reference Materials:

e-Membership

DAR Handbook and National Bylaws

Guide for Chapter RegistrarsIs That Service Right?

  • Is that Lineage Right?
  • Application Papers: Instruction for their Preparation
  • “Build an App” Tool

State Directory

CSSDAR Bylaws

Chapter Bylaws

Storage of Chapter Member Applications – It is no longer necessary for the chapter registrar to maintain printed copies of chapter membership applications due to the availability of digitized member and supplemental applications from NSDAR, either online or by mail.

Chapters may elect to continue with maintaining application records and an approved application copy should be provided to the applicant. Other applications should be shredded for reasons of privacy. Copies of pending new member applications and supplemental applications should be retained until approved. Per the National Bylaws (Article XVI Section 1), an application generated by any person or group of people acting in an official capacity for the DAR is the property of the chapter (even if the applicant decides not to submit it.) As such, it may be retained by the chapter for a period of time, in the event that the applicant may reconsider at a future time.  

Prospective Members – All names of prospective applicants are presented to the chapter registrar and chapter regent. It is recommended that all names, including those not forwarded through NSDAR, be entered into the Prospective Member Database (PMD) of e-Membership by the chapter registrar, where the names can be assigned a tracking number. Chapter registrars are to maintain the PMD for the chapter and to track the progress of prospective applicants. In the event a prospective applicant needs to be removed from the list, needs to be reassigned to another chapter, or for other issues, the chapter registrar will send a request to the state membership chairman to update the database. The state membership chairman has the only authority to remove or reassign prospective members to the PMD.

CSSDAR Reporting Guidelines – e-Membership is a National membership management tool available to chapter regents, vice regents, registrars, and treasurers, as well as state regents, state vice regents, organizing secretaries, registrars and treasurers. With e-Membership these officers are able to log into a password-protected site to view current chapter information, update their chapter members’ addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, view reports and search the membership database. As changes are made, the system automatically updates the NSDAR database. To use e-Membership, you must request a user ID and password from the NSDAR Organizing Secretary General (organizing@dar.org). It is the chapter registrar’s responsibility to keep the chapter membership database up-to-date through e-Membership.

Address, Email, Phone Changes

1. Chapter registrar updates members’ address, email and phone information on e-Membership.

Transfer, Resignation, and Death Changes

1. Chapter registrar updates NSDAR database by emailing members’ transfer, resignation, death and changes to membershipservices@dar.org as per NSDAR instructions. These changes, at this time, cannot be made via e-Membership.

Name Changes

Per the e-Membership tutorial, you cannot edit your  name, National number, join date, chapter code, or paid thru date.

1. Chapter Registrar or member emails member’s name change to membershipservices@dar.org

2. Name changes do not appear on the e-Membership Chapter Change List.

New and Dropped Members – The chapter registrar takes no action.

The State Society no longer has a separate CSSDAR database of members.  We now use the NSDAR database pulled from e-Membership.  The state registrar extracts the

California database on the first of each month, and the state corresponding secretary updates the online CSSDAR Directory the first week of the month using this new information.

Preparation of Application and Payment of Dues and Fees – Once the chapter has accepted the applicant as a prospective member, the Chapter Registrar assists her with the application process. Every chapter is encouraged to have a qualified committee, led by the registrar,  available to assist in the preparation of new and supplemental applications. Instructions for the preparation of applications, dues and fees, can be found on the NSDAR Applications & Supplementals page at http://www.members.dar.org/apps/

Registrars and chapters are not responsible for the cost of copies, postage, and other out-of-pocket costs incurred while completing the application. These charges may be submitted to the applicant, with receipts, at any time during the application process. Please note, it is never proper for a chapter or its members to charge an applicant for the time or expertise in preparing an application. This is a volunteer activity and it is a courtesy to help a prospective member with her application papers. Charging for this volunteer service is a conflict of interest and is not permitted by the NSDAR.

Mary Dalrymple Brown
State Parliamentarian
parliamentarian@californiadar.org

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