Club President's Guide

Club President's Resources

 

A Guide for Club Presidents
Click the links below to download some helpful documents

• Benefits of your club belonging to the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs

• A Guide for Club Presidents

Below is a “typical” list of duties for a Club President:

• Lead Club and Board meetings - Preside over meetings following an agenda you create

• Represent the club at District and State meetings

• Communicate with officers, committee chairs, and all members

• Learn from district, state, and national resources and SHARE that information with members

• Lead by example. Don't expect others to do things you are not willing to do.

• Guide chairpersons to be the best they can be

• Encourage all members to personally invite someone to attend or join your club

• Review your Bylaws – you are responsible for bringing up if they need to be updated.

• Encourage participation - this includes activities, workdays, projects, and meetings.

• Emphasize educational programs - there are many free and low-cost educational speakers available.

• Select Chairpersons and support new ideas

• Identify why you exist as a group; do you need to adjust the focus of the Club?

• Decide on a theme for your Presidency and establish goals to achieve

• Enjoy your members, learning new things, participating in garden workdays or other club activities

• Encourage members to suggest new ways to do things

• The Treasurer is a key player in the club

INFORMATION AND IDEAS
General Information

1. All the information you need is in your district, state, and national publications and on their websites.

2. Notify your District President and CFGC Assistant Treasurer when the Club President changes. Send the contact information as soon as possible so the president will receive all the pertinent publications.

3. Use Member Services of National Garden Clubs to order ribbons for Flower Shows, a pin for the club president, books, videos, etc. (See page 20.)

4. Encourage members to attend District meetings, State Conventions, and Schools (Flower Show School, Landscape Design School, Gardening School, and Environmental School) for further educational information.

5. Apply for District, State, Region, and NGC awards for the work the club is doing. The monetary award can add funds to the project. The recognition for a job well done serves as a source of ideas for other clubs.

6. Invite the District Director and the CFGC State President to special events of the club, such as anniversaries, flower shows, etc.

 

Financial

1. The club’s bank account should have the EIN (Employer Identification Number) obtained by the club, not the Social Security Number of an individual member. An EIN can be obtained from the IRS using Form SS-4, which can be found on the IRS website, www.irs.gov. Application can be made by phone, by mail, or the quickest way is to do it online on the IRS website.

2. Donations to your club are tax deductions to the donor ONLY if the club has its own IRS 501 (c)(3) status obtained by the club from the IRS, or if the club is a subordinate in the IRS Group Exemption through the CFGC State Garden Club organization. Any other questions about non-profit organizations can be found at http://www.lRS.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Charitable­Orqanizations. Be sure to check out the IRS 1023 – EZ streamline process for applying for tax-exempt status.

3. Being tax-exempt means the club is exempt from paying federal income tax. It does not mean the club does not have to pay state sales tax unless the club has acquired an exemption from the state government to not pay sales tax.

4. If your club is sponsoring an event in a location that requires your club to obtain liability insurance, the club will need to acquire a policy. Your club can purchase 1-day, 3-day, monthly, or yearly policies  from specialized insurance agencies online. The policy and proof of insurance can be printed from your computer. These specialized insurance policies are typically much cheaper than what you will obtain from a standard insurance agent that handles homeowner or car insurance.

Ideas

1. Use a club newsletter by email or regular mail to better communicate with all members and/or shorten the business portion of the club meeting by putting some chairmen’s reports in it.

2. Honor a club member with a Life Membership in ____ . This $_ contribution goes to _________. The donation should be sent to ______.

3. The sale of NGC Vision of Beauty Calendars is used by some clubs as a fundraiser.

4. Meeting ideas that will save the club money on paying for a speaker for a meeting:

• Host the District meeting in place of one of your club’s meetings. There are additional funds available from CFGC for District meetings to cover the cost of an educational speaker.

• Join other clubs for a monthly program.

• Visit gardens or flower shows for a monthly meeting.

Sample Agenda

As President, you should always have a written AGENDA with the  ORDER OF BUSINESS, for each meeting. It should include the following:

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER

   • Opening activities, such as welcome, invocation, roll call, or pledge of allegiance (all are optional),

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

   • You can email and/or print them to be read in advance. Or they can be read by the Recording Secretary. If emailed/printed and read individually, just ask "Are there any changes, additions, or deletions." The secretary will note all changes to update the minutes and later re-submit the corrected copy for the record.

   • If there are no changes, you will say "The minutes are accepted (or recorded) as submitted."

   • If there are changes, after the changes are noted, then you say “The minutes are accepted (or recorded) as corrected." No motion or vote is needed to approve the minutes.

   • Minutes are the recorded record of the proceedings and should include:

     •  

       Date, time, and place of meeting

     • Presence or lack of a quorum for the meeting. I

       • f there is no quorum, then no votes can be taken during the meeting. If motions were made and votes taken, they must be re-done at the next meeting with a quorum.

     • Statement of approval of the minutes of the previous meeting

     • Treasurer’s Financial Report

     • Record of major actions taken (mainly motions).

       • This includes all motions whether adopted or not (except when withdrawn); the name of the maker (not seconder) of the motion(s) and any financial decisions.

     • Time of adjournment

     • Signature of Recording Secretary

   • Note: Minutes should typically be 1 page for an average club meeting. They may be longer if you are making by-law changes, having an election, or doing your budget. The minutes do not need to include every discussion or point made. Just the motions need be recorded. You may record more, but it is not required, nor recommended. 

3. TREASURER’S REPORT

   • Read by the Treasurer.

   • After any questions or corrections, say “The report will be filed.”

   • No motion or vote is needed to accept the report.

   • Example of a brief form for the Treasurer’s monthly report:

     • Balance on hand ( date of last report) $_________

     • Receipts (for current month) _________

     • TOTAL _________ 

     • Expenses (for current month) – __________ 

     • Balance on hand (date of present report) __________

     • Treasurer Signature ________________________

4. REPORTS OF OFFICERS AND STANDING COMMITTEES

5. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES (If any)

6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (This is where you continue discussions on topics from last meeting)

7. NEW BUSINESS (This is where new topics of discussion are brought up to discuss)

8. ANNOUNCEMENTS (Typically upcoming conferences, conventions, meetings, workdays, or activities as well as the date, time, and location of the next meeting.)

9. ADJOURNMENT (The secretary should note the time for the minutes)

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SAMPLE CLUB BUDGET

 

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SAMPLE YEAR-END FINANCIAL REPORT

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SAMPLE BY-LAWS

 

Composing Bylaws

• By-laws may be drawn up by a committee appointed at the first organizational meeting. By-laws are adopted by a majority vote by the members of the club.

• By-laws should be as brief and unrestrictive as possible and no more detailed than necessary.

• Do NOT include set dates, prices, or things that are likely to change over time. Instead add more general statements such as this example: "Member Dues, as set by the Executive Board, are to be paid by the deadline listed in the Standing Rules." Or this could have said something like "...by the deadline defined by the board, or one month before the date required by CFGC, etc."

• The following outline includes articles that are generally included in by-laws and in the usual order in which they are found. Articles may be inserted or omitted as appropriate for individual clubs.

• Articles are usually designated with Roman numerals and sections with Arabic numerals.

• Refer to the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised for detailed instructions on compiling by-laws.

Examples for By-laws
Note that these are just suggestions. Some clubs are more informal and do not require all of these sections but you should at least consider each of the below to determine if it needs to be in your by-laws or not. Keep in mind that by-laws are typically much harder to change than Standing Rules or Club Procedures. So if something can go in the Standing Rules or a Club Procedures document, that may be a better place for it if it's something that may need to change over time.

BYLAWS OF THE (Name of the Club)

ARTICLE I. NAME
The full, exact, and properly punctuated name of the club.

ARTICLE II. OBJECT
A brief general statement of purpose concisely expressed in a single sentence that sets the boundaries within which business may be introduced at the club’s meetings and the framework within which the organization functions.

ARTICLE Ill. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Classes of members such as “active”, "Family," or “associate”.
Section 2. Qualifications or eligibility for membership.
Section 3. Application and acceptance procedure. Method of reviewing and voting on applications.
Section 4. Fees and dues. Dates payable. Date delinquent with time and procedure for notification. Date members will be dropped for nonpayment of dues.
Section 5. Procedure for resigning and reinstatement.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
Section 1. Officers' titles are listed according to rank.
Section 2. How Officers are elected or appointed.
Section 3. Term of office and number of terms permitted.
Section 4. Qualifications for office.
Section 5. Duties – When listing the duties of officers, care must be taken not to omit any major duty but also not to be too specific for things that change over time. Conclude the section with the following statement, “Officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and the adopted parliamentary authority”.
Section 6. Method of nominating officers. Procedure for election or appointment.
Section 7. How vacancies are filled.

ARTICLE V. MEETINGS
Section 1. Regular meetings. Day and month or quarterly, or whatever your club's typical meeting schedule. (Time and location(s) specified in Standing Rules or Club Procedures.)
Section 2. Annual meeting. When, purpose or business conducted.
Section 3. Special or Called meetings. How and by whom called. Previous notice required.
Section 4. Quorums for meetings. (State number rather than a percent.)
Section 5. Provision for canceling meetings in an emergency.

ARTICLE VI. EXECUTIVE BOARD (or BOARD OF DIRECTORS)
Section 1. Composition
Section 2. Powers and duties are delegated to the board.
Section 3. When and how often to meet, by whom called.
Section 4. Quorum

ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
Section 1. List names of standing committees.
Section 2. Composition and duties of each. Include statement that chairmen shall conduct the work appropriate to the respective committees.
Section 3. Manner of selecting the chairman.
Section 4. Provision to permit additional standing and special committees by including the statement, “Such other committees, standing or special, shall be appointed by the president as deemed necessary to carry on the work of the club”.
Section 5. Include, “The President shall be an ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.”

ARTICLE VIII. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
(Include as follows)
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the club in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the club may adopt.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENT
Section 1. Meetings at which Bylaws may be amended.
Section 2. Previous notice requirement.
Section 3. Vote required.

 

STANDING RULES
Standing rules govern the administration of the organization as opposed to rules regarding parliamentary procedure. The established standing rules policies aren’t usually related to parliamentary meeting procedures. The standing rules, would include items that would further explain the operation of the club, such as:

1. Duty of Officers.
2. Committees and their responsibility.
3. Member’s information about the standing committee and their obligation to the club.
4. New members; how to join, requirements and responsibility.
5. Any information that will benefit members and/or the club.

 

MEMBERSHIP
(A downloadable brochure containing this information can be found on the NGC website, www.gardenclub.org)

 

• BE PROACTIVE ABOUT MEMBERSHIPS

• Realize that most volunteer organizations are losing members, not just garden clubs.

 

• Be proactive instead of reactive!

  • Proactive – Creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.

  • Reactive – Responding to a situation

 

THE 3 R’s OF MEMBERSHIP
RECRUIT, RETAIN AND REVITALIZE!
1. RECRUIT

• If there is a cap on membership, consider removing it.

• Voting on members – does it work in your area or with your club’s size? Do members have to leave for the vote? This might perpetuate a stereotype. Consider an application with automatic acceptance. If someone wants to join, why would we turn them down?

• How often do you meet per year?

• Do you have too many or too few officers?

• Are your dues too high or too low?

• Do you meet in private homes or in public places? Most visitors are more comfortable meeting in a public place.

• Is your club meeting only daytime or only evening? Most younger or working people cannot make a daytime meeting.

Make Visitors Feel Welcome

• Are visitors greeted and made to feel at home? Consider assigning a greeter at each meeting who sits with a new person and explains things and makes them feel welcome.

• Are visitors introduced?

• Are visitors invited back?

• Are visitors given a club brochure explaining what your club is all about?

• Are visitors sent follow-up cards – “We’re glad to have met you, please come back”?

• Are potential members on your call/email list? Are they called and reminded of the meetings?

Advertise Your Club

• Donate magazines with your club’s information in it and place at doctor’s offices or other waiting rooms. Give your local library a copy of your state magazine and/or a gardening magazine subscription with your club’s information to be put inside each issue.

• Give articles on home landscaping to your local realtors to give to prospective buyers. Have contact information on it. Greet a new neighbor with an invitation to join.

• Volunteer to write a gardening article for your newspaper.

• Wear shirts with your Garden Club’s name on them when working in your community.

• List your Garden Club meetings in your newspaper in the community calendar.

• Donate magazines with your club’s information in it and place at doctor’s offices or other waiting rooms. Give your local library a copy of your state magazine and/or a gardening magazine subscription with your club’s information to be put inside each issue.

• Give articles on home landscaping to your local realtors to give to prospective buyers. Have contact information on it. Greet a new neighbor with an invitation to join.

• Volunteer to write a gardening article for your newspaper.

• Wear shirts with your Garden Club’s name on them when working in your community.

• List your Garden Club meetings in your newspaper in the community calendar.

Use Signage

• Use signage on your community gardening projects to show who created and/or maintains it.

• Consider a small magnetic logo or window sticker for your car if you don’t have a Garden Club license plate.

• Consider creating a club logo and using it.

• Use signage on town welcome signs that churches and civic organizations use.

• Have business cards printed with contact information and meeting days to pass out to potential members.

• Volunteer to make arrangements at Nursing Homes or other public places and leave informational tent cards.

• Adopt a roadside Wildflower Site with signage

Other proactive measures

• Offer garden educational seminars to the public.

• Have booths in local fairs and festivals.

• Work cooperatively with other groups, including Master Gardeners, scouts, etc.

• Invite members from disbanded clubs to join your club.

• Think of creative meeting places – block parties, historic sites, public gardens

DON’T FORGET WORD OF MOUTH!
Always look for potential new members by noticing people in garden centers or neighbors working in their yards. Invite them to your garden club meetings. Invite new neighbors. When you’re in a store line and notice someone purchasing plants or gardening magazines or books, start a conversation about gardening and invite them. Most people join a garden club by an oral invitation.
 

2. RETAINING MEMBERS

• Make sure every member is spoken to, especially newer members.

• Call club members who have stopped attending your meetings. Offer to pick them up and bring them to meetings.

• Listen to the needs of your members and implement and highlight their talents.

• Realize not all members can do the same work due to time restraints, physical restrictions or finances. Make sure every member serves on the committee, including older members as mentors.

• Offer fund raisers so that members aren’t constantly giving financially to projects

• Send cards for special accomplishments, etc. Make members feel special

• Avoid gossip

• KEEP MEETINGS SHORT!

Members and Clubs Need to See What They’re Receiving for Their Dues.

• Does your club, district or state offer scholarships to participate in state, region, and national conventions? Schools? Advertise ii!

• Does your nonprofit status allow clubs to benefit? Let clubs know this

• Make sure your state magazine is high quality and features the accomplishments of clubs and members.

We Need to Encourage Attendance and Participation

• Encourage members to take advantage of what NGC offers through your state: Landscape Design Schools, Flower Show Schools, Gardening Schools, Environmental Schools, Region meetings, District meetings and State conventions.

• Encourage attendance at our club’s activities and at the state, region and national levels.

• The more connected your club is to other clubs, districts, and states; the more vital your club will be.

 

3. REVITALIZE

Definition: to impart new life or vigor to Synonyms – re-energize, boost, regenerate, resuscitate, refresh, stimulate, rejuvenate.

We need to change our image from a women’s organization to an organization that is inclusive of all genders, wears gardening gloves, and has a strong presence in our community.

We need to embrace technology!
• We can use email, Skype or Facetime to contact members and cut down on meetings.
• Are you using social media to advertise our clubs and organization?
• Do we use text messaging to remind members of meetings?
• Are we using Power Point and other computer visual aids for programs?

Leaders Need to Set Example
• Get your hands dirty. If possible be a working garden club
• Occasionally have hands-on projects that members can take home.
• Take field trips to garden related places.

Respect the role of changing membership within our ranks. Diversity in membership is the key.

Try to think outside the box, and lastly, HAVE FUN!

 

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