NAMI Membership Manager Insider is being sent on the third Monday of each month to membership staff, all NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates, executive directors, state presidents and the NAMI board. If you know anyone who should be receiving this communication, please email their name, email address, position and affiliate.

netForum Implementation Update

We have moved into the Data Conversion and Customization Development phases of the new system implementation project. Avectra has delivered the first round of converted data. NAMI staff is reviewing the data to ensure that all data was successfully converted into the appropriate fields in the netForum system. The next steps in data conversion will consist of refining data elements until all data has been successfully mapped and converted into netForum. The first cycle of customizations have also been delivered to NAMI. We are currently testing these customizations to ensure they are working properly and are sufficient for our system requirements. If you wish to be a tester in some of the later development cycles, please send an email to indicating so and we will add you to the list of field testers.

Voting 2012 Preparation

As voting season draws near, please keep the following important dates in mind:
·  March 31, 2012: Nominations for NAMI Board of Directors, Bylaws, and Resolutions submission deadline
·  April 20, 2012: Membership submission and payment deadline
·  May 31, 2012: Voting packets received by NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates
·  June 22, 2012: Voting delegate credentialing and absentee voting deadline
·  June 29, 2012: Voting at NAMI Convention
Reminder: All memberships submitted via TouchBase batches, spreadsheets and other methods, and paid for prior to 11:59 pm EST on April 20, 2012 will be counted towards your NAMI Affiliate's vote weight.

Membership Processing Tips

Here are some guidelines for how you should submit your memberships to NAMI until the new system launches in May.
TouchBase Users
Continue with your current procedures:
·  Renewals should be submitted via TouchBase.
·  New members and re-joining members not found in TouchBase should be submitted on a new member spreadsheet.
·  Memberships should be paid for by mailing a check to NAMI or providing credit or debit card information.
·  Your memberships will be processed only after NAMI has received the payment.
Non-TouchBase Users
1.  Request a list of your members from . Please allow 3-5 business days to receive your list and instructions for making updates.
2.  Please be sure to follow the instructions to ensure your memberships are updated accurately.
3.  Email updated spreadsheets back to .
4.  Memberships should be paid for by mailing a check to NAMI or providing credit or debit card information.
5.  Your memberships will be processed only after NAMI has received the payment
6.  Once we have completed processing your spreadsheet, you will receive a new membership list reflecting the updates you made.

Preparing for the netForum Implementation

Questions and Answers Concerning the Recent TouchBase Modifications
In order to prepare for the netForum implementation, we had to change our electronic payment processor, requiring us to slightly modify how payments are submitted for TouchBase batches. TouchBase was shut down for one day in December 2011 for the modifications and then brought back online the following day. The system now allows you to create and submit renewal batches without paying electronically via TouchBase.
Q: I wasn't able to enter payment information online when I submitted my renewal batch -- how do I pay for those memberships?
A: Please fill out the Membership Payment Form with the TouchBase batch(es) you need to pay for and email it to . You should indicate on the bottom of the form if you will be sending a check or would like to have us contact you to get credit or debit card information. We will process your batch once the payment is received.
Q: I didn't enter any credit or debit card information in TouchBase when I submitted my batch, but the email notification I received said I paid for it by Visa -- was my card somehow charged?
A: No. The Visa that is listed on the notification and which is grayed out when you are on the Process Payment screen for the batch is a fake credit card that the system needs in order to submit the batch. No payment actually went through so you will still need to send in the Membership Payment Form and pay outside of the system.
Q: Do I need to send in the Membership Payment Form if I'm only emailing a new member spreadsheet?
A: No. You only need to submit a Membership Payment Form if you are paying for TouchBase batches. However, if you want to combine payments for TouchBase batches and a new member spreadsheet, you can do so by listing all submissions on one form.
Q: Can I forward the TouchBase email notification or a screenshot of my batch instead of the Membership Payment Form?
A: No. The TouchBase email notification or a screenshot does not provide sufficient information for us to match the batch to your payment method. The only acceptable documentation that should accompany payment for TouchBase batches is the Membership Payment Form .
Q: I already submitted my NAMI Affiliate's bank account information to NAMI -- do I still need to send payment for any TouchBase renewal batches I submit?
A: Yes. The bank account information you provided will be used in the new system, so you still need to be sure payment is sent to NAMI for your TouchBase batches.

Bank Information Collection Still Ongoing

In October 2011, NAMI sent out the first in a series of data collection efforts which requested NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate's bank information in preparation for the implementation of netForum. The goals of this effort are:
·  To establish a centralized system that is expedited, user friendly and trustworthy.
·  To establish a system where NAMI State Organizations and Affiliates can get timely membership payments sent directly to their bank.
·  To go live with 100 percent completed information from NAMI State Organizations and Affiliates so no defaults have to be put in place in the system.
Thank you to those NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates who have already provided their information and helped us to work towards these goals!
In order for everyone to benefit from the new system we need full participation from all NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates. We have only received responses from 81 percent of all NAMI State Organizations and 19 percent of all NAMI Affiliates.
Those who have yet to provide their information can do so online or by downloading the Authorization Form for NAMI Membership Payments and sending it to the NAMI office. This information must be provided by someone who is a signer on the NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate's bank account and would be in a position to provide any needed follow-up information.
The criteria for a NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate to use the netForum system for membership are:
·  A valid business bank account to receive membership payments
·  A valid credit card or bank debit card to make payments for renewals or new members
If you currently do not meet these criteria, the only option for membership processing is manual processing with any applicable membership payments being mailed to you quarterly by paper check.
Since the initial effort to collect this information began, the netForum implementation project plan has been revised and the submission deadline for this data has been changed to March 30, 2012. If we do not receive your data by that time, you will receive the default quarterly paper check payments for your memberships until we receive your bank information.
For questions and answers concerning the bank information request, please refer back to the October 2011 issue of the NAMI Membership Manager Insider newsletter.

Up-to-Date Contact Information Needed

As we have mentioned in previous issues, it is important to keep your NAMI Affiliate's contact information current with the NAMI office. This not only ensures that your members can get in touch with you by finding you on the NAMI.org website, but also that vital Voting 2012 information and communications are sent to the right individuals. Many NAMI Affiliates have recently had elections, so now is a great time to check that NAMI has your current contact information.
NAMI Affiliates will be able to maintain their own information once the new system launches in May. Here is how to make sure your information is accurate until that time:
1.  Go to Find Your Local NAMI and locate your NAMI Affiliate's information.
2.  If any changes need to be made, please download the NAMI Affiliate Contact Update Form.
3.  Fill out the form with any necessary updates and email it to .
4.  You will receive a confirmation email after the changes have been made.
If you already know your voting contact for this year, please let us know who that person is by filling out the Voting Contact section of the form. Designating a contact now ensures your NAMI Affiliate is kept up-to-date with Voting 2012 communications.

Discuss What You've Read with the Information Services Team

We will be holding an hour-long conference call on the fourth Monday of each month to give readers the opportunity to discuss the content of that month's newsletter. Due to the holidays, the call information for January is as follows:
·  When: Monday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central, Noon Mountain, 11 a.m. Pacific)
·  Where:
1.  Dial 1 (888) 858-6021
2.  Enter conference code 7035247600# when prompted
Notes from this call will be available in the next newsletter for anyone who is unable to participate. To view notes from previous calls, please visit the Document Resource Center.

Update on Standardized Dues

Many organizations have had questions about the mutually agreed upon split, and a discussion of that topic is contained in this fact sheet. The fact sheet can also be easily printed for distribution to others who you feel may need the information.
For NAMI State Organizations that have not yet communicated their membership dues split agreement for use in the new database, please contact Susan Gaffney at with that information, or if you have any questions.