Membership FAQs
Soroptimist International of the Americas
Membership Frequently Asked Questions
General:
What are SIA's vision, mission and core values?
VISION: Women and girls have the resources and opportunities to reach their full potential and live their dreams.
MISSION: Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.
CORE VALUES: Soroptimist International of the Americas is committed to:
· Gender Equality: Women and girls live free from discrimination.
· Empowerment: Women and girls are free to act in their own best interest.
· Education: Women and girls deserve to lead full and productive lives through access to education.
· Diversity & Fellowship: Women from varied backgrounds and perspectives work together to improve the lives of women and girls.
How do members/clubs support the Soroptimist mission?
Soroptimist members belong to local clubs, which determine the focus of volunteer work in their communities. Club projects can range from renovating domestic violence shelters and providing mammograms to low-income women, to sponsoring self-esteem workshops for teenage girls. In addition, Soroptimists participate in organization-wide programs offered from the federation (more details follow under “Miscellaneous”).
Membership:
What benefits do members receive?
In addition to intangible rewards such as friendship and personal fulfillment, members also receive the following benefits:
· Opportunity to participate in Soroptimist’s life-changing programs
· Chance to take part in LiveYourDream.org
· Subscription to our twice-yearly printed newsletter Best for Women
· Email alerts about updates to our monthly electronic blog, the “Soroptimist Summary”
· Access to numerous documents and tools available on the SIA website
· Leadership development and networking opportunities at club meetings, region conferences, the biennial convention and other meetings
· Opportunity to provide feedback, offer suggestions and voice opinions through online surveys, social media, and other market research activities
· Invitations to take advantage of special offers and discounts through our partnering organizations.
Who is eligible for membership?
According to current SIA Bylaws, members are individuals who belong to clubs and membership is extended at the club level. Each club maintains a membership of individuals from the community who support SIA’s mission of improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment. SIA empowers clubs to be inclusive rather than exclusive when growing their clubs.
What are the membership types?
Regular Member
· Definition: Those who support SIA’s vision, mission, and core values.
· What are the 2015-2016 annual federation dues and other mandatory payments? $68.00 federation dues; $5.00 SI dues; and $3.00 liability insurance (United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands only).
· Do dues include a subscription to SIA’s Best for Women newsletter? Yes.
· Can a regular member hold office at the club, district, region and/or federation level? Yes, regular members can hold office at all levels.
· Can a regular member qualify as a delegate at district, region and/or federation level? Yes.
Life Member
· Definition: Those members who achieved life member status by July 2001 and who wish to retain that status.
· What are the 2015-2016 annual federation dues and other mandatory payments? $10 federation dues; $5.00 SI dues; and $3.00 liability insurance (United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands only).
· Do dues include a subscription to SIA’s Best for Women newsletter? No. Life members may subscribe to the newsletter by paying $11 (United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam) or $15 (all other countries).
· SIA recommends clubs should maintain 12 or more members. Are life members included? No, only regular members are included in the recommended 12 or more members.
· Can a life member hold office at the club, district, region and/or federation level? Life members can hold office at the club level if the club bylaws allow it. They cannot hold office at any other level.
· Can life members qualify as a delegate at district, region and/or federation level? Yes.
· How long do life members maintain their status? Life members maintain their status for their lifetime as long as there are no lapses in membership or changes in membership type.
· Can life members change their status? If a life member decides that she wants to be a regular member, she may choose to do so but she cannot return to life member status.
· Does the federation still bestow life membership? The federation no longer bestows life membership, but clubs are encouraged to honor members for years of service. The federation continues to sell life member pins and other length of service awards.
How much does membership cost?
Soroptimist members pay dues at three levels—club, region and federation. Club administration, projects and programs are financed through club-level membership dues, which are set by each individual Soroptimist club. Each Soroptimist region also determines its own dues and fees based on region-level activities and projects.
The 2015-2016 SIA federation-level dues are as follows:
· SIA Dues (July 1, 2015-June 30, 2016) = $68.00*
· SIA New Member Fee or Reinstated Member Fee= $10.00
· SIA Club Liability Insurance Fee = $3.00 (Required for members living in U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam & N. Mariana Islands)
· Soroptimist International Per Capita Payment = $5.00
· Founders Pennies (optional) = $5.70
* Members inducted January 1 through June 7, 2016 (or the annual dues billing for the upcoming year) pay pro-rated dues of $34.00.
What is the difference between a new member and a reinstated member?
New Member:
· Someone who has never been a member of Soroptimist.
· A former member who has not been a member for a year or more is considered a new member.
· A former member who has not been a member during the same club year (July 1-June 30) is considered a new member.
Reinstated Member:
· A member who is re-joining within the same club year (July 1-June 30) is considered a reinstated member.
What is the history of the SIA membership criteria changes over the past several years?
In 2012, the SIA Board of Directors worked with SI to remove unintentional barriers from the SI Constitution to retain and grow membership. SIA’s request for changes to the membership section of SI’s Constitution were heard and acted upon expeditiously and unanimously at the SI Board meeting in Cambridge, England, August 23 – 25, 2012. This resulted in lodging the responsibility for retaining and growing members, including member criteria, firmly with each federation.
In summary, the SI Board agreed to remove Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 from Article IV of the 2010 SI constitution. These sections primarily addressed club requirements for membership including invitation; member categories; members being drawn from a profession, business or occupation; minimum number of members for chartering; and minimum number of members for continued club membership in their federation. These club requirements will now be the domain of each federation. Also, it was determined to clarify Article I and Section 2 to convey that federations are the members that shall be invited to SI.
During their November 2012 meeting, the SIA Board of Directors decided to include all regular, retired/unemployed, and embarking member types in the requirement for a club to be in good standing and to allow clubs to continue in service and not forfeit their charters regardless of the number of members in their club.
Research and development continued to further shape membership criteria, which was done primarily through feedback gained from members via a survey and 2013 region conference presentations. At their November 2013 meeting, the SIA Board of Directors discussed more changes based upon this feedback and their dialogue resulted in the following procedure changes:
· Clubs should maintain 12 or more regular, retired/unemployed, and/or embarking members.
· No club shall forfeit its charter due to having 11 or fewer regular, retired/unemployed, and/or embarking members unless they are not in good standing.
· To be a club in good standing, a club must remain current in all financial obligations to the region and Federation and have submitted all required final reports from Federation club grants and disaster relief grants. NOTE: The number of members in a club is no longer included in the definition of a club to be in good standing.
· To charter a new club, a minimum of 12 regular, retired/unemployed, and/or embarking members are necessary.
During the 43rd Biennium Convention held in July 2014, proposals were made to continue to update the criteria in the SIA bylaws. In the fall of 2014, clubs reviewed these proposals and voted on them. In January 2015, all of the proposals were accepted so that:
· Membership in clubs is no longer based on occupations and classifications. Each club shall maintain a membership of individuals from the community who support SIA’s mission.
· Regular, Retired/Unemployed, and Embarking members will now all be known as “Regular” members.
· The definition of a Regular member is an individual who supports SIA’s vision, mission, and core values.
Some of these proposals were due to the modifications made to the SI Constitution, but many were based on what we’ve been hearing from our members and reflect the sign of the times.
The SIA Board of Directors will continue to review membership criteria requirements in order to ensure members and clubs are able to support the vision and mission of the organization.
Clubs:
What must a club do in order to be in good standing?
A club must remain current in all financial obligations to the region and federation, and have submitted all required final reports from federation club grants and disaster relief grants. Clubs not in good standing are not eligible to vote in federation elections or mail ballots, and cannot receive grants or awards from the federation.
What happens if a club has less than 12 regular members?
If a club has less than 12 regular members, they are notified by the Federation that they are below the number of members recommended to maintain a club. Those clubs are encouraged to recruit more members and to seek advice from their region and the federation. As long as the club remains current in all financial obligations to the region and federation and submits all required final reports from federation club grants and disaster relief grants, the club is considered to be in good standing. No club shall forfeit its charter due to having 11 or fewer regular members.
What about meetings—when, where, how long, how formal or informal, etc.?
Club members should decide the best day, time of day, and location of their meetings. They should be held at the convenience of the majority of the members, considering work and life obligations. How often a club meets should be determined by the clubs’ goals and how frequently the members should assemble together in order to accomplish the mission of Soroptimist.
A good rule of thumb is that a meeting should last about one hour, allowing some unscheduled time before and/or after for socializing. The meeting itself should combine club business, education, fellowship, and fun.
A suggested parliamentary procedure and sample business meeting agenda are available on the SIA website for clubs wishing to use such a process. Keep in mind, there is no requirement to use the Soroptimist pledge, prayer, grace, or song.
What are the attendance requirements?
As written in the SIA Bylaws, Section 5.02 Entitlements: (a) All members whose participation meets the requirements set by the club bylaws may hold office, speak, make motions, and vote. Clubs shall not require attendance at meetings as a condition of retaining membership in the club.
Do SIA clubs have bylaws?
Clubs are free to adopt bylaws that will aid in effective operation, provided they are not in conflict with the SI Constitution or SIA Bylaws or Federation Procedures. Sample bylaws are available in the membership section of the SIA website.
What are the requirements when choosing or changing a club name?
As Soroptimist strives to increase awareness of its mission and recruit members, it is increasingly important that both internal and external audiences – recipients of Soroptimist service, potential members, Soroptimist members in other federations, the media and the public at large – can easily identify and locate clubs within SIA’s international community.
When selecting a new club name or changing an existing club name, the name should not only be geographically descriptive of the community it serves (i.e., contain an actual “place” name such as town, city, county) but should be identifiable throughout the entire Soroptimist family. Additionally, the club name should represent the area of club service rather than the various locations from which membership is drawn. Clubs who are selecting or changing their name are encouraged to contact the membership department at headquarters for guidance and suggestions and submit Form 204: Application for Change of Name of a Soroptimist Club.
Can Soroptimist clubs use websites, social media, etc.?
SIA headquarters has developed club website templates that are available to Soroptimist clubs free of charge. This benefit was developed for non-technical users and allows clubs to quickly add or subtract information while maintaining a welcoming and visually attractive website. The content of each website is the club’s responsibility and all websites must adhere to SIA’s Club and Region Website Guidelines, available in the members area of www.soroptimist.org.
One of Soroptimists’ key strengths is its ability to provide global connections for women. To add to this strength, SIA headquarters has developed several social networking groups for members. These free online outlets are a great place to interact and share ideas. Members and non-members can join one or all of the Soroptimist groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Clubs can and are encouraged to establish their own social media presence.
What about a club email address?
Club email addresses are an important part of SIA’s communication strategy—both internally and externally. To provide access while protecting individual member’s privacy, SIA provides all clubs with an email address beginning with their club name and ending with “@soroptimist.net,” along with information on setting up and accessing the account. All clubs should designate someone to access their account on a regular basis (at the very least once per week). Contact for assistance with your club’s account.