TREASURER | MEMBER BENEFIT EXPENSES

PARTY AND MEMBER BENEFIT EXPENSES

Parties are a good way to boost membership and morale.  However, parties are not part of our nonprofit purpose, so the IRS expects that most expenses for member-only activities will be covered by the members who attend rather than by the treasury.  As a nonprofit organization, we are required to keep party/member-only expenses very low.  Each chapter may spend no more than 15% of its total DUES income (this is not total income) for the fiscal year on parties and member-only expenses.

Expenses that are considered Party/Member Benefit and included in the 15% are:

1.  All chapter parties, including those held at or instead of a business meeting
2. Field trips or outings
3. Gifts for members or their children, such as Mother’s Day or holiday gifts, or items simply for being a member
4. Events, orientations, parties for newly joined members

Expenses that are viewed as general business expenses and NOT included in the 15% are:

1. Activities (not parties) at business meetings where prospective members do attend
2. Modest expenses for an Open House to recruit new members.  Open houses should not be combined with chapter parties
3. Costs of attending training sessions or educational activities, such as board workshops, state/regional luncheons, etc
4. Modest appreciation gifts ($5-15 is a good range) for outgoing board members, or other members who have made outstanding contributions to the club
5. Baby gifts for new moms, or flowers for bereaved members, though proceed with caution and consider if you could support every member at the same level if required

You may DOWNLOAD THE 15% RULE FACT SHEET HERE or in the Members Only Resources page of the website.