Every affiliate should assemble a complete policy and procedure manual that is supplemented by best practice documents. Use the templates below to evaluate your current policies, create new policies, and determine what information to transition to a best practice.
The following types of processes/topics should be formalized in a policy and procedure, which requires a board vote to adjust:
- Legal obligations
- Financial standards and operations
- Operations that enhance transparency of the affiliate
Other activities your affiliate executes regularly, but don't have legal, financial, or core operational implications can be moved to best practices which allows committees to regularly evaluate and adjust how things are done. Examples can include planning your annual conference, public policy outreach, and communication strategies. Best practices include all items volunteers will find helpful in executing their tasks such as timelines, templates, and strategies.
It is important to regularly update all of your governing documents and best practices. Designate a volunteer or your executive director as the person to lead the updating process by ensuring volunteers are aware of what needs to be updated and the timeline. They should also ensure follow through in receiving the updated documents back, facilitating board approval if necessary, and organizing and storing the updated documents for future use. You can utilize this
tracking document to facilitate the process as well as access our webinar on how to leverage volunteers to
update your governing documents here (
slides are here).
Financial Policies