Chapter News

Congratulations to the Greater Cleveland Chapter of ASTD for being named the May 2012 Chapter of the Month!

Reminder: Mandatory IRS Filing Requirement Deadline May 15
All chapters are required to file Form 990-N or Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) every year. Chapters that fail to file Form 990-N are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status, and being removed from ASTD’s group tax exemption. Chapters with revenue less than $50,000 should file Form 990-N. Chapters with revenue of $50,000 or more should file Form 990. Forms must be filed every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of the chapter’s tax year. For most chapters this will be May 15, 2012, for the 2011 tax year. Questions? Visit www.irs.gov or contact your chapter relations manager.

Special membership discounts available for chapter leaders and chapter members. Click here for more information. Chapter leaders, click here for the special application for the $119 discounted national membership rate for chapter leaders.

Next Level Assessment Tool- Find out if your chapter is an emerging, solid, or high performing chapter.  See what resources are available to help move your chapter to the next level.  Take this assessment now as part of your board planning and build a stronger chapter today!

Check out the 2012 Chapter Leader Day Idea Log. Use this tool to track ideas throughout the day. Enjoy the International Conference!

Business Acumen Assessment- Why should your chapter participate?
This skill assessment is an opportunity for your chapter board to individually assess and get feedback on the specific abilities, knowledge, and behaviors that exemplify business acumen. In addition to being an assessment, this provides a positive model of what your chapter should look for in a portential chapter leaders.

Did you miss the 2011 ASTD Chapter Leaders Conference?  View the keynote presentation by Tony Bingham, ASTD's President and CEO, now!  Click here to view.

Updates to the ASTD Competency Model
Click here to find out how this affects your chapter!
Recognizing the role social media tools and social learning are having in the learning and development profession, ASTD is updating the ASTD Competency Model with updated information specific to social learning. The ASTD Competency Model answers the question “what learning and development professionals need to know and do to be successful” and thus helps ASTD to establish curricula and content to address these needs and knowledge gaps. While this is a “minor” update in terms of scope and content, it does have implications for you.  Click here for a brief explanation of what is happening and when, and what it means for you. Please note that the change to the CPLP exam will take effect on September 17, 2011.

Read the latest Leader Connection Newsletter online!

Don't miss an important deadline, view the 2012 Key Dates Calendar.

View the online calendar and check out upcoming Chapter Events!
 

Important Updates

• Chapter team discounts for the ASTD 2012 International Conference & Exposition
  If at least five members of your chapter are attending the International Conference & Exposition in Denver, May 6-9, your chapter can qualify for a chapter team and take advantage of the discounted rates of $1,100 for national ASTD members and $1,400 for nonmembers. To set up your chapter team, please complete the chapter team conference registration form and send to chapterteams@astd.org with payment. All members of your conference chapter team must be members of your chapter. Once the chapter team is established, subsequent chapter team members may register online. Please click here for the chapter team conference registration form.
  
  

• Important PCI Compliance Info
  Chapters that collect payments by credit card must ensure that they are Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliant. The purpose of these standards is to protect the security of customers’ credit card data. Here are some tips to ensure your chapter is PCI compliant:
  
  • Black out credit card numbers once processed so that they cannot be read.
  • Lock up all paperwork with credit card numbers.
  • Delete all emails once you have processed the credit card number.
  • Take all measures to ensure there is no permanent record of credit card numbers anywhere.

• If an unauthorized person obtains your member’s credit card number from the chapter and starts charging off of it, the chapter could be subject to a large fine and not be allowed to accept credit card payments.

• Earn ChIP revenue for your chapter with the ASTD Job Bank. Click here for more information.

• Resource designed for VP Communications/Technology! Download the quick links list for ASTD chapter webpages for a list of key national ASTD links you can reference on your chapter website.

Chapter Leader Webcast Schedule

Ways to Plan & Execute Your Chapter's Succession Plan
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
12:00pm - 1:00pm ET

Succession planning is one of the most challenging, yet critical, components of board management, which leads to a chapter having a healthy leadership pipeline. During this webcast, learn about a straight-forward process and useful tools to help you effectively execute a succession plan in your chapter. Find out what other chapters are doing to engage their volunteers, develop and transition leaders, and ensure the talent is available and ready as you go forward.

Presenters: Mark Myette, National Advisor for Chapters and Kimberly Seeger, Past President, Baton Rouge Chapter.

Registration Link:
https://astd.webex.com/astd/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=591316056

Conference Line Information:
Call-in toll-free number: 1-866-726-0541
Conference Code: 396-955-3727

Nonprofit Basics: Effective Chapter Management from Vision to Implementation
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
1:00pm - 2:00pm ET

Sometimes it’s hard to see the chapter management forest through all the jargon and the trees. We hear about nonprofit basics, chapter management, business acumen, and many other terms, and somehow lose sight of the fact that there are solid, easy-to-apply standards and accessible resources that make our jobs as nonprofit/chapter leaders manageable.

By using elements of the ASTD Competency Model—Managing Organizational Knowledge, Improving Human Performance, Facilitating Organizational Change, Coaching, and Career Planning and Talent Management—while also keeping our eyes on concrete examples from chapters and the importance of social networking tools, participants will explore the roles and responsibilities Board members assume in a nonprofit organization.

Presenters: Paul Signorelli (National Advisors for Chapters) and Walter F. Hansmann III, CPLP (Northeast Oklahoma Chapter).

Registration Link:
https://astd.webex.com/astd/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=590536054

Conference Line Information:
Call-in toll-free number: 1-866-726-0541
Conference Code: 396-955-3727

Chapter Community Outreach Programs
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
1:00pm - 2:00pm ET

Do you want to strengthen your chapter's community outreach program? Join us for this special webcast where presenters will share best practices on how to manage community outreach programs at the chapter level. If your chapter already has a strong community outreach program, join us and share your insights with other chapter leaders who are looking for ideas on new ways to interact with the local community.

Presenters: Jennifer Tomarchio, NAC Advisor and Kris Schaeffer, In-Service Manager, Community Outreach (ASTD Golden Gate Chapter).

Registration Link:
https://astd.webex.com/astd/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=596139550

Conference Line Information:
Call-in toll-free number: 1-866-726-0541
Conference Code: 396-955-3727

Congressional Conversations Orientation and Overview
Thursday, September 20, 2012
2:00pm - 3:00pm ET

On Thursday, October 18, ASTD’s Public Policy Council will lead a group of chapter leaders to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and their staffs to introduce ASTD, discuss policies and legislation affecting the learning and development field, and to offer our help and expertise in training.

This event is a preconference workshop for the ASTD Chapter Leaders Conference taking place October 19-20 in Arlington, VA.

ASTD Public Policy will help you get ready for the event by providing email templates to request appointments with Congressional staff and talking points for your visit.

Presenters: Jennifer Homer and Michael Ferraro, ASTD Public Policy Council

Registration Link:
https://astd.webex.com/astd/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=591688609

Conference Line Information:
Call-in toll-free number: 1-866-726-0541
Conference Code: 396-955-3727

Click on the topic name for more information and to register. All chapter leaders are invited to attend these free virtual learning sessions! 

Looking for more? Click here to listen to a previously recorded webcast.

Social Media

Click on the group names above to connect with ASTD chapter leaders! Looking for more help? Download job aid directions on how to join the LinkedIn or Facebook ASTD chapter leaders groups. For updates on new chapter resources and events, follow @ASTDCHAPTERS on Twitter!

Social Media Toolkit - This toolkit serves as a guide to help your chapter engage with members and your community through social media.


Follow ASTD chapters! Click here for a list of Twitter chapter names.

Are you currently using Twitter? Participate in monthly chapter leader chats! (hashtag #astdchapters) 

Chapter leader Twitter chats are held regularly on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. ET. Click the Chapter Leader Twitter Chat Schedule to view a list of upcoming Twitter chat topics.

If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat before, check out the guidelines for another learning-related chat (#lrnchat) http://lrnchat.wordpress.com/. We follow the same basic guidelines. Transcripts of previous chats can be found at http://astdchapters.wordpress.com/

Chapter Resources

National Member List Request Form
Looking for a national member list? Request it by submitting the national member list request form by clicking here. The national member list should be used for the following purposes:

1. To promote chapter membership
2. To invite members to a chapter meeting or event
3. To ensure CORE achievement with the chapter-national joint membership requirement

National members information is confidential and for chapter use only. National member information should not be added to the chapter’s weekly correspondence.

Looking for speakers?
Click here to visit the Chapter Speaker Resources page to request a national ASTD speaker, search the online ASTD Speakers Bureau database, or view speakers from previous ASTD Conferences.

Are you a new chapter leader?
Look up your position on the list and find what resources are available to your specific chapter leadership role. Resources by leadership position. Make sure you take advantage of the $119 discounted national membership rate for chapter leaders!  Don't forget to order your discounted business cards through ASTD partner, OfficeMax. Make plans to attend the annual ASTD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC).

What are your chapter's goals?
View the resources available to your chapter to see if you're on track for this quarter. Resources by quarter

Share Best Practices!
Wouldn't it be great if chapter leaders had a place to upload documents, share best practices, and connect through an online directory? Check out the Chapter Collaboration Portal. To login you must have a single sign-on profile established and be recorded as a chapter leader with national ASTD. If you do not yet have an astd.org profile, go to www.astd.org to register. Questions? contact your chapter coach.

How do you measure up as a chapter leader? Chapter Leader Competency Model

Download the Chapter Survival Guide with tips to survive and thrive in the economic downturn.

Resource for VP of Technology or webmaster!  Auto-populate your chapter’s ChIP code when linking to the ASTD store from your chapter website. This 1 page job aid will help you set up your chapter promotions for ASTD products on your chapter website or in email promotions to automatically insert your chapter’s ChIP code when the customer checks out.