Frequently Asked Questions About NAMI Standardized Dues Why Create

frequently asked questions about nami standardized dues why create a standard membership dues amount? * nami wants to grow and

Frequently Asked Questions about NAMI Standardized Dues
Why create a standard membership dues amount?
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NAMI wants to grow and be visible. To grow, we need to make
joining NAMI easy. Until now, it has not been easy to become a
NAMI member – every entry point is different and charges a
different dues amount.
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Standardized dues simplify all those processes and lay the
groundwork for something we have all wanted – a national
membership campaign.
What do I need to know about standardized dues?
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The NAMI Board has set the standardized dues at $35, with the
option of an “Open Door” (reduced dues) rate of $3.
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This new dues rate becomes official July 1, 2012 – but we can all
begin to implement it sooner.
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Of the standard $35 dues, $10 goes to NAMI, and of the $3 Open
Door dues, $1 goes to NAMI. The balance will be divided between
NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates in that state, based
on a mutually-agreed upon split to be used state-wide.
What is the mutually agreed upon split? How will the membership dues
be split three ways?
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Any state/local split is acceptable. Historically, NAMI once
recommended a $10/$10/$15 split, basically an even, three-way
distribution, with the excess going to the NAMI Affiliate. In some
states, this may still make sense; in others, some other
arrangement may be more appropriate.
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The mutually agreed upon split must be communicated to NAMI. NAMI
will use the split amount communicated by your state in the
automated membership system to make monthly electronic payments
from NAMI to NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates.
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Details of the split in your state should be communicated to
[email protected] by the State Organization.
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If the current split is not agreeable to all the Affiliates and
the State Organization in your state, please contact
[email protected] for support and models for reaching a mutually
agreed upon split.
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States that do not communicate a mutually agreed upon split by
December 31, 2011 will have the split for their state set at a
default amount. The default amount will be determined by the NAMI
Board of Directors at its meeting in early December.
Why $35?
In a survey of NAMI Affiliates conducted in the spring of 2011, most
respondents were charging $35 for membership. When NAMI established
e-Join (the capacity for an individual to join NAMI online, using a
credit card), the average dues amount being charged across the country
was $35, so NAMI selected that amount as the dues amount for those
joining via e-Join. Since then, more than 25,000 people have joined
NAMI at that rate.
In selecting a standard dues rate for the coming five years, the NAMI
Board chose to go with what is already most common practice.
Similarly, $3 is the most common Open Door dues rate – so the Board
continued that amount as well.
How will the “Open Door” dues work now?
NAMI, NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates are required to
offer a reduced dues rate, called Open Door, for members with limited
financial resources. Open Door members enjoy all the same rights and
privileges of regular membership, they just pay less. The NAMI Board
has set the Open Door dues rate at $3, of which $1 comes to NAMI and
the balance is split between the member’s NAMI State Organization and
NAMI Affiliate.
Open Door membership is not a consumer membership and recipients do
not need to prove their need – all they have to do is ask. Although
the Open Door dues rate is universally available, it will not be
offered online. Individuals wishing to secure the Open Door dues rate
may submit membership via a local NAMI Affiliate or NAMI State
Organization. Open Door dues rate will be included on the standard
membership form.
What does it mean to be a NAMI member?
NAMI Standards of Excellence have a clear commitment to "a member is a
member is a member" -- meaning that anyone who joins the organization
at any entry point has joined the organization at all points
(local/state/national).
Through standardized dues, we move away from the fractured, separate
membership lists of the past that kept our head count low and our
structures chaotic. Standardized dues eliminate all specialized
membership categories such as associate, professional, student,
consumer, etc. -- a person is simply a member. Categories for
supporters/donors can, and probably should, be established locally,
but these are not member categories. NAMI can help in establishing
strategic supporter categories for use locally and statewide.
How can people become new members of NAMI?
With the new membership system, new members can join NAMI
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Online, signing up in the privacy of their own homes, selecting
their NAMI Affiliate from a list of options – much as people can
now with E-Join
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Via a NAMI Affiliate, in which case someone at the Affiliate will
complete a web-based form on behalf of the individual
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Via a NAMI State Organization, using the same access that NAMI
Affiliates will use.
NAMI will be creating a standard membership form for use across the
country. This form can be inserted in brochures, newsletters and
anywhere else that might attract new members.
Regardless of where or how a member joins, they will pay the standard
$35. Members joining via the Open Door ($3) option must do so via a
NAMI Affiliate or NAMI State Organization. Open Door will not be
available as an online option.
How will people renew their membership dues?
Currently, renewals are mainly handled by Affiliates and State
Organizations. The new automatic membership system can be modified to
allow other models of renewal, including having renewal occur directly
from NAMI. The data gathered from our recent survey on this topic will
be used to determine the best policy on this going forward.
What will happen to E-Join?
Individuals will still have the option of joining NAMI online. The
specific system called E-Join will cease to exist when the new
membership data system goes live in May 2012.
With the new system, NAMI will collect $10 for members who join online,
just like any other member. The balance of the dues ($25) will be
split according to agreements in each state. Payments will be
distributed electronically monthly to NAMI State Organizations and
NAMI Affiliates, according to the split agreed upon in that state.
Information about the new member will be shared instantly and
simultaneously with the member’s NAMI State Organization and NAMI
Affiliate.
What becomes of donations?
The new membership data system will launch in May of 2012. The system
will be able to handle donations. The NAMI Board of Directors is in
the process of making policy decisions that will impact how and when
that portion of the system will be implemented. As more information on
that becomes available, we will update you.
How and when will the dues be distributed?
For those Affiliates and State Organizations who opt-in to the new
system by supplying their bank information by December 31, 2011 to
NAMI Member Services, their portion of dues will be distributed
directly to their bank accounts on a monthly basis. The new system
will launch in May 2012, and the first disbursements will be made one
month later. If the system does not record new membership payments for
you in that month, you will not receive any money. You will receive
money every month that membership payments occur in the system and are
linked to your organization.
For those Affiliates and State Organizations who choose not to opt in
to the new membership system with their bank information and record
payments by other methods, distribution of your portion of the dues
amount will continue to happen on a quarterly basis. The appropriate
portion will go directly to the State Organization and/or the
Affiliate based on the mutually agreed upon split communicated to
NAMI.
Please see above for more information on the mutually agreed upon
split.
What other strategies will we have for raising money beyond dues?
Some NAMI Affiliate leaders are concerned that they will lose income
because of standardized dues. NAMI will provide technical assistance
and strategies for replacing any lost revenue – and for adding new
revenue by cultivating supporters and donors above and beyond members.
The first in a series of webinars on this topic was recently offered
and can be heard here. There will be two more webinars in this series
offered early in 2012.
How can I describe the benefits of membership?
In support of this effort, NAMI is drafting "boiler plate" language we
can all use in our publications to describe the benefits of
membership. Below is our first draft, and we welcome your feedback and
suggestions in making it the best description of the value conveyed
through NAMI membership. Please send your comments and suggestions to
[email protected].
"Support NAMI By Becoming a Member!
Become a NAMI member today and add your name to the list of thousands
raising their voices to demand services, support and respect for the
millions affected by mental illness. NAMI membership demonstrates your
support for the important work being done at NAMI and helps us make
our voice heard in your community and the nation's capital.
Members receive NAMI's national news magazine, the Advocate, in
addition to local and state newsletters. Members also enjoy reduced
costs at conventions, the NAMI Store, and other events, as well as
voting privileges to shape the future of America's largest grassroots
organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions
affected by mental illness.
Your membership counts!"
Standardized Dues
Fact Sheet/talking points V2
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