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How to Start a Chapter
Chapter Development Guidelines |
| Thank you for your interest in starting a chapter of the Fulbright Association. These guidelines and attachments provide you with preliminary information needed for the organizing process. They discuss chapter responsibilities and opportunities, relationships with the national office, and information and assistance available from the national office. |
| Chapter growth is vital to the development of the association. As a starting point, please consider that the association has current names and addresses for only about 40 percent of U. S. Fulbright alumni. Your efforts may have the happy result of identifying alumni previously unknown to our organization and recruiting them into membership and active participation!
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| Purpose |
| Chapters are organized locally by Fulbright Association members to provide opportunities, through volunteer service, for continued involvement with the Fulbright program and with other alumni and visiting Fulbright students, teachers, and scholars currently in the U. S. National and chapter projects also provide Fulbrighters with an opportunity to build on their Fulbright experience through public service and to support the Fulbright program so it will be available for future generations of students, teachers, and scholars.
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| Membership |
| Chapters are comprised of members of the Fulbright Association. Alumni status does not automatically confer association membership. Alumni must make application to the association and pay annual or life dues to maintain membership in good standing. There are reduced membership fees for retirees, full-time students, and non-alumni. Individuals who have not received Fulbright grants may join as associate members. One of the central tasks of chapter organizers is to identify alumni in their area and to interest them in joining the Association and in becoming active in its chapter and national programs.
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| Starting a Chapter |
| To start the organizing process, consult with the Director of Member and Chapter Services at the national office to discuss the chapter's proposed geographic area. Adjustments may need to be made based on boundaries of existing chapters or the interest of other chapter organizers.
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| Once you have decided on the geographic area, the national office will work with you on contacting area members to ascertain their interest in developing a chapter and what specifically they are able to contribute to the organizing process. The national office has developed a questionnaire that may be used to determine the level of interest in the community.
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| Once a nucleus of interested members is established, set up a steering committee that can take steps to gain formal recognition for the chapter and plan a public meeting for alumni and visiting Fulbrighters. You may also want to get in touch with a representative of one of the chapters near you to discuss his or her experiences with chapter development.
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| When you are ready to hold the public meeting, the national office will do a mailing to members and possibly former and prospective members in your area, telling them about association benefits and informing them of your intention to begin a local Fulbright Association chapter. To arrange for such a mailing, send a written request to the national office at least five weeks in advance of your meeting date. Include information on the activities you envision the chapter undertaking, the place, date, and time for the meeting, the topic of the meeting, and information on speakers, if any, or other program elements.
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| Chapter Affiliation |
| Chapters are affiliated, unincorporated associations which apply for and receive charters, adopt standard Bylaws, and enter into Affiliation Agreements with the national association to receive services and benefits. The Association has developed specific guidelines and procedures regarding the relationship between national and chapters which are delineated in the Chapter Charter Application, standard chapter Bylaws and the Affiliation Agreement.
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| Chapter Rebates |
| Once your chapter is officially established, it becomes eligible to receive an annual $5 rebate for each association member within the chapter boundaries. In order to qualify for rebates, chapters must conduct their finances as prescribed by the association. Financial reporting forms will be made available by the national office.
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| To claim the rebate, a designated chapter officer must send to the national office a list of chapter officers and directors, a chapter mailing list or a list of individuals who have participated in past events, a statement about the geographic area your chapter encompasses, and assurance that you have conducted at least two chapter events during the rebate period (the calendar year). When this information is received, a data base search is conducted to determine how many Association members in good standing (i. e. dues paying) are in your chapter as of December 31st. Your chapter will receive a $5 rebate for each of these members, including life members.
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| Chapters may charge small annual activity or program fees to cover expenses associated with meetings and other activities. Since membership and dues reside in the national organization, chapters are asked not to refer to their levies as dues.
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| Publicity |
| The national office will assist chapters by processing invitations to events. When a chapter wants to invite members to a planned activity, the national office will absorb the postage, copying of a flyer, and processing costs or will send labels to chapters and pay for the $.37 postage per piece. Please contact the national office for further information on this service.
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| Chapters are encouraged to publicize their events and activities to reach the broadest possible audience. Increased visibility in your community will attract not only Fulbright alumni but also the public at large and will help to educate fellow citizens on the importance of the Fulbright Program and international education. The Fulbright Program has a long history and a number of complexities. The Fulbright Association's identity and its relation to the grant-making process the public identifies as "Fulbright" is also complicated. Since our credibility as an accurate source of information on our own and other Fulbright-related organizations is precious, we ask all chapters to send draft press releases to the national headquarters for comments and suggestions.
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| Program Ideas for Chapters |
- Provide an educational or social enrichment program for international Fulbright scholars, teachers and students to welcome them to your area
- Organize a public lecture on a topic related to an international educational, political, or cultural topic with a knowledgeable Fulbright alumnus/a as a featured speaker or panelist
- Sponsor a performance or art exhibit involving international and local Fulbrighters
- Co-sponsor a workshop with Fulbright Program representatives on Fulbright application procedures to promote a diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates for Fulbright awards
- Have a send-off party for local students/teachers/scholars who will become Fulbrighters in the next year
- Match visiting Fulbrighters with local Fulbright alumni for home hospitality and informal interaction
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| Useful Publications |
| The following publications are provided to chapters from the national office:
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J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Annual Report on the Fulbright Program
This report is the single most comprehensive source of information on the Fulbright program. It describes highlights of the Fulbright program in the year of record, includes useful facts and figures on program history and explains the complex administration of the Fulbright program. The report includes charts depicting, by geographic region, grants awarded in the year of record and cumulatively since 1949. This report contains important program information about which chapter officials should be knowledgeable in order to fulfill their responsibilities. Mastery of this information is requested of all chapter leaders. The report is issued each summer for the previous year.
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Visiting Fulbright Scholars and Occasional Lecturers Directory
Published annually by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), this directory lists foreign Fulbrighters according to academic discipline and includes indices of scholars' home countries and their host institutions. There is also an alphabetical listing by scholars' last names.
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Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program Participant List
This listing provides names and school addresses for U. S. and overseas Fulbright teachers who are exchanging teaching duties and also names and school addresses of U. S. teachers participating in Summer Seminars.
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| These directories, provided to chapters by the national office, are valuable resources for Fulbright Association chapters interested in bringing together visiting Fulbright scholars and U. S. alumni. They are also useful for members who would like to identify foreign scholars in their own academic fields or from areas where they did their Fulbright.
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Directory of American Fulbright Scholars
Also published annually by CIES, this directory lists the approximately 1,000 U. S. scholars who each year receive Fulbright awards for university lecturing and advanced research abroad. Detailed information on each scholar is arranged according to academic discipline. Scholars are also listed alphabetically, by host geographic area, and by home state in the indices.
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| Resources -- Grant Programs |
CIES Occasional Lecturer Program
The Council for International Exchange of Scholars makes available limited funds for round-trip transportation for international scholars who accept lecturing invitations. Although used primarily by colleges and universities, assistance through the Occasional Lecturer Program may be available to Fulbright Association chapters with thoughtful plans for a program including visiting Fulbright scholars. Please contact the national office to discuss your ideas.
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Enrichment Grants for Visiting Fulbrighters
Funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States State Department and administered by the Fulbright Association, the Fulbright Enrichment Grant Program is designed to support Fulbright Association chapter projects which enhance the exchange experience of visiting Fulbrighters by exposing them to unique aspects of the local community or state. Grants of up to $4,000 are awarded through a competitive process. Applications and proposals are usually due in the beginning of June for activities organized for the following academic year.
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| Resources -- Speakers |
| Representatives from: |
- Fulbright Association, such as a board member, chapter leader, or staff
- United States State Department, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
- Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program, United States State Department
- The Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES)
- The Institute of International Education (IIE)
- The Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU)
- America-Mideast Educational & Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST)
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| In addition to the organizations listed above, you may contact local universities and colleges, businesses, libraries, historical societies, or cultural institutions.
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