ASSISTING CHAPTERS SUBSTITUE TREASURERS APPLICATION

Basic Problem Definition Recruiting and maintaining Chapter Officers continues to be a problem Some functions can be automated to reduce the burden of the office but may require outside support In some cases support services such as Banking have tools that simplify officer functions Training and maintaining competency is lacking Recordkeeping, reporting and storage of records may be reasons for recruiting problems

Chapter Treasurer’s Responsibilities The NARFE Chapter and Federation Officers Manual has 10 bulleted requirements for a Chapter Treasurer Some duties such as collection and dispersing dues payments no longer apply.

Disburses funds as directed by the president, executive committee or bylaws, obtains IRS federal income tax exemption letter from the National Treasurer (see page 11, Communications/Mailing Permit); *Forwards to National Headquarters (attn: Budget & Finance) all national dues paid to the chapter and notifies National Headquarters of all chapter dues paid by members in order to update member records; (Uses Forms F-16 and F-16R Transmittal Sheets to send dues to National Headquarters. The instructions should be followed exactly.) If a chapter cashes a member’s dues renewal check, sends a check for the national dues only to National Headquarters and indicates that the chapter has retained its dues. Receives chapter dues, which are reimbursed to the chapter by the following month for the prior month’s chapter dues; Adds chapter dues certification on Form DW-2 for members requesting dues withholding; Deposits funds in a federally-insured financial institution and maintains an accurate, current account of all monies collected and disbursed; Reports chapter finances at each regular meeting (may use Form F-38, page 35, in the Attachments section; no copy is required at NARFE National Headquarters); Reconciles, at regular intervals, membership records and chapter dues received from the National Treasurer with the chapter secretary and the membership chair or other officer assigned membership duties; Uses requisition Form F-18 to request Form F-38 (Treasurer’s Monthly Report), page 38 in the Attachments section, from National Headquarters’ supply section; Disburses special/dedicated (S/D) funds such as the NARFE-PAC fund, Alzheimer’s

Basically Treasurers do the underlined task above plus They reconcile the funds received from National NARFE and send funds to the Federation as required by the Federation Bylaws – This require time and effort Many Chapters maintain a checkbook as the Chapter’s financial management system Others have ledger systems and computer systems What do Chapter Treasurers Really Do?

Possible Solution for Chapter Treasurer Provide Chapters the option to use an automated system based on the system the to track financial activities for our Conventions Joe Irwin, Treasurer for Dulles Chapter 1241 in Virginia has automated the Chapter’s financial system and has provide valuable information and we have included examples for our study The Texas Federation has provided guidance to their Chapters along similar lines in “Going Paperless” by Pantoja and Creswell and we will draw from their experience as well

Chapter 1241 Case Study The Dulles Chapter is a very large chapter when compared to North Carolina Chapters 600 to 700 members It is a very active chapter and often attends National meetings on issues impacting NARFE members They have regularly scheduled meetings Participate in Federation and National Conventions

System Description for Chapter 1210 Part 1: Internal accounting system – Basically a ledger system for assigning income and expenses to specific officers, projects or Federation Treasurer(Budget Account Codes) – It does not contain check numbers but Payment ID for reconciling checks to bank statements Part 2: All funds are deposited by check or debit card using wireless connectivity with the bank(NARFE Premier Federal Credit Union) – no deposits at bank Part 3: Chapter Treasurer’s Reports are automated, presented in paper copy at monthly meeting and stored online.

Part 1: The Chapter funds and disbursements follow standard accounting procedures Income Ledger records all income Expenditure Ledger records all expenditures Example provided below does not include Debit Card actions Note the Account Number and Nickname and Payment ID

Part 2: Banking The Chapter submits funds electronically and receives funds electronically through direct deposit from National NARFE Funds received at meetings are deposited by credit card deposits using a hand-held card reader or by scanning a check using the banks online app Below is an illustration of the expense ledger for the Chapter The bank provides statements online in a secure website location like most bank do today The bank statements are reconciled against the Income and Expense Ledgers

Part 3: Treasurer’s Monthly Report Data from the Internal Automated System (Part 1) collects data and places it in the correct space on the Monthly Report Form Only special activities require a special note on the report Once approved the report is stored electronically Annual reports are prepared similarly as is shown below

Excerpts from “Going Paperless” by the Texas Federation Frances Pantoja and Dorothy Creswell developed a document “Going Paperless” handbook for the Texas Federation In this one document the authors cover both the Online Activities Module (OAM) and the Online Reports available from National NARFE The basic information provided has been provided to our Federation officers in shot standalone training modules except for that dealing with Chapter Finances.

Section 2. Online Reports – describes login procedures – Financial Reports provide access to only the Chapter President and Treasurer – Include reports A-220, W-101, M-130 and M-131C – A-220 Chapter Dues Activity Report contains data on payment made to Chapters by National

Minimal Chapter Financial System Maintain a ledger of funds received from National and other sources and disbursed funds. Keep accurate records Make financial reports to the chapter and National (F-38) Prepare an Annual Budget for planning purposes Submit Dues payments received from chapter members to National

F-38 Financial Report-Excel Form

F-38 Budget Format

F-38 Submission Form 1

F-38 Fill-In Form

Issues with Income Chapter Income comes from these sources – Chapter Dues transfers form National – Recruitment and New Member Rebates – Irregular Income Interest on CD or Bank Deposits Chapter projects support from National and Federation Transfer from Federation for Convention Hosting Raffles and Gifts

Chapter Dues Income Problem Issue: Many Federations require Member Chapters to contribute a “Per Capita” fee to support Federation activities There are 14 listed Dues Categories that range from Life Member to 1 year dues payment plans This illustration show the number in each category for one Federation Area

National Suggested Method Multi-Year Dues Recognition When you have members who pay multi-year dues, it is wise to recognize their dues revenue over multiple years rather than posting the amount all in one year. To allow for members on the two- and three-year rates, therefore, you should open up three years of records simultaneously. As a result, if the current year is “Year I,” you should have years II and III open at the same time, as shown below.

Problem: Paying Per Capita Fee National pays the total amount at the time the Chapter Dues are received Chapters which choose to use the suggested system have two choices – Distribute the over the life of the Payment (up to 3 years) – Use a “Cash Accounting” system – Place the total income into the Chapter Treasury

North Carolina Example YOUR TREASURER REPORT SHOULD SHOW: STARTING BALANCE FROM DECEMBER – INCOME – DUES FROM NATIONAL; ALZHEIMERS – FUNDS, ETC – EXPENDITURES – LIST EACH MONTH THE CHECK NUMBER; PAYABLE TO, FOR WHAT AND THE AMOUNT PAID – BALANCE FOR PERIOD ENDING

YOU WILL ALSO NEED THE TO CLICK ON “CHAPTER” TO GAIN YOUR MONTHLY REPORT WORKING WITH THE A-220 YOU WILL FIND A COLUMN “DUES”. THIS COLUMN WILL LET YOU KNOW IF THE DUES ARE A1 – ONE YEAR; A2 – TWO YEAR, AND A3 – THREE YEAR. YOU WILL NEED TO FIND OUT HOW MANY 1YEAR MEMBERS ARE THAT PRINT OUT.

THERE ARE SEVEN – 1 YEAR ; TWO NEW MEMBERS; ONE – 2YEAR; AND ONE 3 YEAR YOU WILL POST THE TOTAL INCOME TO YOUR TREASURER REPORT UNDER INCOME. YOU WILL POST ON YOUR WORK FORM A-220 AS FOLLOWS: 7 (1YR) X 4.25= (2YR) X 8.50= (3YR) X 12.75= 12.75

THIS WILL TOTAL $51.00 FOR YOUR PER CAPITA FROM THE A-220. THE W-101 FORM HAS 3 PAYMENTS – – ALL ONE YEAR MEMBERS WHO USE THE MONTHLY DEDUCTION FROM THEIR MONTHLY ANNUNITY. – POST 3 (1YR) X 4.25 = – THIS WILL BE ADDED TO THE A-220 AMOUNT TO EQUAL TO POST AS PER CAPITA ON YOUR MONTHLY TREASURER REPORT.

AT THE END OF DECEMBER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIGURE YOUR PER CAPITA TO PAY THE FEDERATION THE PER CAPITA WILL BALANCE WITH YOUR LAST TREASURER’S REPORT FOR DECEMBER EACH MONTH YOU WILL ADD TO YOUR JANUARY PER CAPITA AND CONTINUE UNTIL YEAR END.

– POST UNDER FIRST COLOMN, THEN POST THE PER CAPITA IN A COLUMN; AND LAST COLUMN WILL SHOW THE AMOUNT OF MONEY RECEIVED FOR THE GENERAL FUND _______________________________________ NAME - DUES REC’D - PER CAPITA- CH MONEY – SUE DOE – EACH MONTH YOU WILL POST ONLY FROM THE A- 220 AND W-101 FORMS

AT THE END OF DECEMBER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIGURE YOUR PER CAPITA TO PAY THE FEDERATION THE PER CAPITA WILL BALANCE WITH YOUR LAST TREASURER’S REPORT FOR DECEMBER EACH MONTH YOU WILL ADD TO YOUR JANUARY PER CAPITA AND CONTINUE UNTIL YEAR END.

Virginia Chapter 1241 Example – Cash Basis System Using the same numbers as the North Carolina Example: Per Capita at $4.25 based on Chapter Membership as listed below 80 (1YR) X 4.25 = (2YR) X 4.25 = (3YR) X 4.25 = 4.25 Or 91 members X 4.25 = To Federation $ for the year The Chapter would be responsible for remaining dues

North Carolina Convention Registration System Example This system uses an Access Database system Three input Tables: – Applications Income – Other Income – Expenses

Applications Income Would not be uses or Could be used to track A-220 and W-101 data Would be available for those who wish to use it

Other Income Other income would become Income

Expenses

Reports