ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIPS
Associate members are members who have paid reduced dues because their participation in the chapter is limited. They may not vote and they may not hold office. Their participation in the chapter is limited by either time (a 1-, 2- or 3-month membership) or by limits on the activities they may participate in (meetings, holiday parties, newsletters only, etc.). If a chapter wishes to offer associate memberships, the chapter must vote on guidelines for the associate memberships, including dues amount.
There are several situations where associate memberships are not appropriate:
- Associate memberships should never be forced on a member who wants to be a full member, unless there is a reason why she is not qualified to be a full member;
- Associate memberships should not be used to avoid waiving or reducing dues of members in economic need;
- Associate memberships should never be offered automatically just because a mother’s children are all in elementary or secondary school. Just because a mother’s children are all in school does not mean she automatically won’t want to be a regular, full member of the chapter. If a chapter has a well-rounded calendar, with activities of interest to all mothers and not just geared towards mothers of preschoolers, then even after their children are in school full time, members will continue participating in the chapter.