CHAARG Membership Dues
It’s important that as an exec team leader of CHAARG, you feel confident explaining where membership dues go + know when ++ how your Chapter can increase or decrease Chapter dues!
Membership dues are broken down into 2 parts: Chapter dues + National dues. The Chapter dues portion is what comes back to the Chapter + is set at the discretion of the exec team! The Chapter dues are what the exec team uses for creating their Chapter budget, holding Chapter socials, recruitment materials, etc.
National dues are $49/member/semester [$32/member/quarter]. We are proud to continue doing our best to make CHAARG affordable to college students + are proud that over the past 10 years of CHAARG, we’ve only raised our dues twice + it is well below the national rate of inflation. It is important that all CHAARG exec team leaders understand what the CHAARG National dues go towards + are able to explain what the National fee is for to any potential members, as well as members.
- DEI Consultant: We have a DEI Consultant in order to help with our efforts in making CHAARG a more diverse, equitable, + inclusive community.
- Exec Membership Assistance Fund: A portion of National dues go towards maintaining an Exec Membership Assistance Fund in order to make sure that all exec team leaders can afford their membership dues. We are proud that we’ve never had an exec leader step down due to financial needs because of the assistance we are able to provide.
- Exec Team Training on Thinkific: This is the platform that hosts executive team training + is used by all executive team leaders as well as Small Group Coordinators + DEI Chapter Chairpeople. We pay to use this platform + keep it free for exec + other leaders to be able to use for training + development.
- Expansion: We are always actively seeking to expand CHAARG to new universities. It is free for a student to start a CHAARG Chapter on their campus [which includes a 10 week training course]. We actively invest in marketing CHAARG on other campuses + developing relationships with universities that do not have CHAARG Chapters.
- Insurance: CHAARG maintains insurance for the safety of all Chapters + Chapter members in the case of an accident. This insurance also assists in providing risk management training for all executive leaders.
- Legal Retainer: As with any activity based college organization, accidents are bound to happen. In order to keep our community safe, we have legal advisors + consultants on retainer.
- Operational Platforms: We use Mailchimp, Zoom, Google Suites, Shopify, + ShipBob in order to effectively operate.
- Team CHAARG: Team CHAARG is made up of 4 full time team members as well as 35+ part time team members [RCLs, CLCs, Designer, + Social Media Manager]. Full time team members are provided health insurance.
- Team Retreat: We hold retreats for the entire National CHAARG team (40+ people) to promote team bonding + leadership development within our team to support our Chapters better.
- Website Hosting + Management: A third party hosts + manages the CHAARG.com website used for sharing information on CHAARG + assisting with membership sign-ups for Chapters.
- Wellness Accessibility Fund: A portion of National dues goes towards maintaining the Wellness Accessibility Fund. This fund provides scholarships so that all students can have the opportunity to join CHAARG, regardless of their financial situation.
Every year, Chapters have the opportunity to increase or decrease their Chapter dues portion of membership dues. Please look for a form in the Exec Newsletter to fill out near the end of the spring semester/quarter! If you have any questions on Chapter dues, please reach out to tori@chaarg.com.
All exec team leaders are Chapter members + also pay for their membership. This is important because many universities have policies against executive team leaders being compensated + it allows Chapters to be kept in good standing with their university. That being said — we have never had an exec team leader step down due an inability to pay for their dues. We created a separate fund + application to support exec team leaders who may not be able to afford their membership. Please complete this form here to receive funding for your membership
We have also created + maintained a Wellness Accessibility Fund for any Chapter member [non-exec team leader] that would like to join CHAARG but is unable to do so. We fund this using a portion of National dues + reward applications on need-based merit prioritizing BIPOC students. Any person who would like to apply for the WAF can learn more about it + do so here.
How to receive Chapter dues
There are two options for receiving your Chapter Dues — via PayPal or via a check in the mail. Please note that unless you are a brand new Chapter, how you receive Chapter dues is not going to change from what is already established from previous years [unless something is wrong with how you’re receiving dues!]. If you receive dues via PayPal, please make sure the login information is shared during transitions. If you receive dues via check, Tori will reach out in early August + January to make sure all check information we have on file is correct still!
If your Chapter uses PayPal, the PayPal name must be X CHAARG or CHAARG at X [X = your Chapter’s name, such as DePaul CHAARG] in order to ensure it’s not associated with anyone’s name or SSN. You also need to have your Chapter bank account linked up to the PayPal account.
To change the name on your PayPal account:
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1. Click on the wheel-looking icon on the right-hand side of the screen
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2. On the left-hand side of the screen, you’ll see your profile box. Click “change name”
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3. For first name, enter your university/Chapter name [or CHAARG]
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4. For the last name, enter “CHAARG” [or “at X University”]
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5. Click continue + save!
To link up your bank account to PayPal:
- 1. In the blue menu bar, click on “Wallet”
- 2. On the left-hand side of the screen, click “Link a bank”
- 3. Search for your bank
- 4. Enter your bank login information
- 5. Click agree + link!
Most universities require that RSO accounts receive a check in the mail for dues! This should only be if your university requires you to receive dues via a check, or if you do not want to use PayPal! Please note that if you choose to receive a check in the mail, you will most likely only receive 1 check per semester — once with the total amount of dues projected that you’ll receive via your memberships, + a 2nd if there are any unpaid dues of substantial amount [you will be contacted ahead of time with the amount of additional dues your Chapter collected + if you would like a 2nd check sent or if the dues should be added to the next semester’s check!].
If your Chapter would like to receive a check in the mail, please send tori@chaarg.com the mailing name + address for the check, as well as who the check should be made out to + if there is anything special that needs to be in the memo line of the check.
Below is what the National Dues go towards:
- DEI Consultant: We have a DEI Consultant in order to help with our efforts in making CHAARG a more diverse, equitable, + inclusive community.
- Exec Membership Assistance Fund: A portion of National dues go towards maintaining an Exec Membership Assistance Fund in order to make sure that all exec team leaders can afford their membership dues. We are proud that we’ve never had an exec leader step down due to financial needs because of the assistance we are able to provide.
- Exec Team Training on Thinkific: This is the platform that hosts executive team training + is used by all executive team leaders as well as Small Group Coordinators + DEI Chapter Chairpeople. We pay to use this platform + keep it free for exec + other leaders to be able to use for training + development.
- Expansion: We are always actively seeking to expand CHAARG to new universities. It is free for a student to start a CHAARG Chapter on their campus [which includes a 10 week training course]. We actively invest in marketing CHAARG on other campuses + developing relationships with universities that do not have CHAARG Chapters.
- Insurance: CHAARG maintains insurance for the safety of all Chapters + Chapter members in the case of an accident. This insurance also assists in providing risk management training for all executive leaders.
- Legal Retainer: As with any activity based college organization, accidents are bound to happen. In order to keep our community safe, we have legal advisors + consultants on retainer.
- Operational Platforms: We use Mailchimp, Zoom, Google Suites, Shopify, + ShipBob in order to effectively operate.
- Team CHAARG: Team CHAARG is made up of 4 full time team members as well as 35+ part time team members [RCLs, CLCs, Designer, + Social Media Manager]. Full time team members are provided health insurance.
- Team Retreat: We hold retreats for the entire National CHAARG team (40+ people) to promote team bonding + leadership development within our team to support our Chapters better.
- Website Hosting + Management: A third party hosts + manages the CHAARG.com website used for sharing information on CHAARG + assisting with membership sign-ups for Chapters.
- Wellness Accessibility Fund: A portion of National dues goes towards maintaining the Wellness Accessibility Fund. This fund provides scholarships so that all students can have the opportunity to join CHAARG, regardless of their financial situation.
Increasing/Decreasing Chapter Dues: Every year, Chapters have the opportunity to increase or decrease their Chapter dues portion of membership dues. Please look for a form in the Exec Newsletter to fill out near the end of the spring semester/quarter! If you have any questions on Chapter dues, please reach out to tori@chaarg.com.
Exec Financial Assistance: All exec team leaders are Chapter members + also pay for their membership. This is important because many universities have policies against executive team leaders being compensated + it allows Chapters to be kept in good standing with their university. That being said — we have never had an exec team leader step down due an inability to pay for their dues. If you or someone on your exec team is in need of financial assistance for their membership dues, please have them email opportunities@CHAARG.com.
Wellness Accessibility Fund: We have also created + maintained a Wellness Accessibility Fund for any Chapter member [non-exec team leader] that would like to join CHAARG but is unable to do so. We fund this using a portion of National dues + reward applications on need-based merit prioritizing BIPOC students. Any person who would like to apply for the WAF can learn more about it + do so here.