New Policy – Chapter Account Review (Page 49)
The National Board of Directors approved two new policies that apply to chapters that do not have leadership in place or if fraud is discovered in their Crowded account. These policies ensure accounts are secure and will help to reduce the possibility of fraud occurring for chapters that are inactive or accounts that may have been compromised. Please see the policies below:
- Account Activity: If suspicious activity/transactions appear on a chapter’s semi-annual bank statement via regular review by ANFP staff, staff will contact the chapter to clarify the transactions and request back-up documentation. Staff will regularly review the account while awaiting documentation and will cease review effective immediately upon receipt of appropriate documentation and reasonableness of the transaction. If documentation and a reasonable explanation cannot be provided, staff will regularly review the chapter’s account for the following 6 months to ensure no additional irregular activity occurs.
- Inactive Chapter Leadership: Should a chapter become inactive, whether through resignation of chapter leaders or communication has ceased by all chapter leaders and no replacements can be found, staff will review the chapter’s account on a monthly basis to ensure no fraudulent or suspicious activity occurs until a time when leadership becomes active once again.
New Policy – Multi-Year Venue Contracts (Page 61)
A policy that prohibits chapters from contracting multi-year contracts was approved by the National Board of Directors. This is to ensure that chapters can fulfill their future agreements and the incoming president and chapter leaders are able to determine the best course of action (along with the current president) for future events while in office.
- Policy: Chapters are not permitted to sign contracts that span more than one year from the date of signature or that include more than two events (i.e. Spring and Fall meeting), whether through one single contract or multiple contracts with the same venue for more than two events.
Update to Prior Approval
While the prior approval handbook is a separate document, a new policy was developed, which chapter leaders should be aware of. This policy states that the educational content presented at a chapter meeting must align with the scope of practice and endorsement or selling of a product or service as an educational session is prohibited. If necessary, CBDM staff may request additional information, and all presentations must utilize the approved slide deck that is currently available in the Prior Approvals toolkit on ANFPConnect in Volunteer Resources. This ensures the CDBM Prior Approval requirements are met and chapters are presenting educational sessions and not sales pitches or product endorsements.
- Policy: All sessions submitted for CBDM Prior Approval must provide substantive educational content aligned with the CBDM Scope of Practice to qualify for CE hours. Vendor representatives serving as speakers must present in an educational, non-promotional manner and may not market, sell, or endorse specific products or services during the session. All presentations must utilize the approved slide deck template available in the Prior Approval Toolkit & Meeting Resources. CBDM reserves the right, as part of its quality assurance process, to request additional documentation, including full slide decks, to ensure compliance with program standards.
If you have any questions about these policies, please contact Abigail Solazzo at asolazzo@ANFPonline.org.