PREPARED FOR USE BY THE
INTERNATIONAL REAL PROPERTY
FOUNDATION
Author: Judith Lindenau, CAE, RCE
October 2001
Introduction,
page 3
Association
Organization, page 5
Planning,
Budgeting and Financial Management, page 9
Association
Staff, page 18
Association
Advocacy Programs, page 23
Education
and Professional Development Programs, page 26
Developing
an Organization Code of Ethics, page 30
Membership
Development, page 34
Uses
of Technology in the Association, page 42
Non-Dues
Income and Value-Added Services, page 48
Marketing
and Public Relations, page 52
Self-Assessment
Guide for Real Estate Associations, page 56
Appendices
Additional Resources and Background Material, page 70
Business Plan Template, page 75
Association Project Planning Worksheet, page 84
Sample Strategic Plan, page 87
Sample Job Descriptions for the Chief Staff Officer, Elected President, page 91
Ethics, Caux Round Table, page 96
Welcome to the “Handbook for
Real Estate Associations”! A publication
of the International Real Property Foundation (IRPF), it is designed for use by
the volunteer leaders and staff of real estate associations around the world.
The goal of the manual is to provide direction to these associations through a
self-assessment process and a guide for strengthening and expanding them.
Associations must learn from
each other and profit from one another’s experiences. With both financial and volunteer resources
often limited, it is important to make efficient decisions. If similar associations have found successful
answers to common problems, others might consider adopting them. At the same time, it is important for
organizations to have an objective picture of their unique weaknesses, and to
set about strengthening themselves so that their members and the real estate
business environment may grow and prosper.
The International Real Property
Foundation has a primary goal of assisting real estate associations so that
they may take collective action to strengthen private real estate markets and
improve industry professionalism. This manual provides standard benchmarks in
an association’s growth and development and directs the association
decision-makers in evaluating their organization and moving forward to maximize
its effectiveness.
The key to beginning this
process is employing the association self-analysis tool (page 56) that is a
fundamental part of this publication. For maximum benefit association leaders and
staff should work through the evaluation individually and as a group, taking
time to discuss each section. Areas where the association is notably weak
should be listed, and then prioritized according to importance.
When there is a consensus on
this list, strategies can be developed and implemented to strengthen the
association. Again, it is critically important to prioritize the actions and
assign a time frame for completing them. The leadership should conduct periodic
re-evaluations. It is important to be methodical in and consistent in this
process in order to keep the association moving in a forward direction.
This publication has been funded
by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in order to
provide an important association management tool to real estate professional
groups. It will be updated from time to
time, incorporating new resources and emerging trends. Users are encouraged to contact the IRPF with
their commends and questions and for further assistance.
International Real Property Foundation
Telephone: 202-383-751296
Fax: 202-383-7549
Email: IRPF@realtors.org
The organization of any association is critical to its success. Organizational structures answer questions about the roles of volunteers and staff in achieving goals, and about the participation of the membership in general. The effort put into designing the organization should be thorough and thoughtful at the outset, and the initial principles must remain consistent and stable throughout the life of the association.
Association Governing Documents:
From the time an association is founded, leaders should take care to organize and protect the governing documents of the group. These documents become the statement of understanding among members and between the association and other entities, such as government. Leadership should be aware of the any legal requirements or governmental restrictions pertaining to the organization and incorporate those into bylaws and other elements of the association’s basic structure.
Governing Documents of an association may include:
ü Bylaws
ü Policy Manuals
ü Registration papers, if appropriate
ü Any other regulatory approval as required
These documents should be kept in a safe place, as they are the heart of the association.
In addition, the association should keep
ü Minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors and of the General Membership
ü Financial records
ü All documents pertaining to governmental requirement compliance
ü Insurance policies
ü The current Strategic Plan, as approved
These documents should be archived and safe, in perpetuity.
In developing governing documents, an association may want to turn to the following for models:
· NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS: Model Bylaws for Local Member Boards
· NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS: Organizational Standards
· NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS: Membership Qualification Criteria
While these documents will not be totally appropriate to another organization, they can provide valuable guidance. They can be obtained from NAR at www.onerealtorplace.com or by contacting the International Division of the NAR .
Bylaws:
Bylaws are the underlying statement of organization and operation of any association. Bylaws are the rules that the Board of Directors must uphold as the operating agreement between members and leadership.
In constructing an association’s bylaws, the following components should be considered:
A. Membership Qualification. Who will be the members? What are the criteria for obtaining and maintaining membership?
B. Membership Application and Approval. How does one apply for membership? Who approves new members? What is the appeal process if a membership application is rejected?
C. Leadership. Who are the officers? What are the qualification requirements? What is the election process?
D. Decision-making. What is the level of membership participation? When do members vote? Must they be present? How many constitute a quorum?
E. Committees. What are the standing committees? Who can serve? How are members appointed? What are the operational rules? (Commonly the association adopts Roberts Rules of Order or a similar document)
F. Dues. Who pays dues? How and how often are dues collected? (Amounts should be in the operations policy, not the bylaws)
G. Dissolution. What happens if the organization dissolves? How are any assets or liabilities dispersed?
H. Bylaws Change and Approval. What are the methods and what membership vote is required?
Operating Policies:
An association should set up a book of operating policies. These policies function as an adjunct to the Bylaws. They do not require a membership vote to change, unless otherwise specified. They are more detailed than bylaws, often codifying amounts of dues or fines and other details and procedures that are more administrative or operational.
Three types of policy manuals are:
· Personnel—details the internal employee policy including hiring and firing procedures, work hours, dress code, employee benefits, and performance reviews.
· Operational Policies—Amounts for dues and fines, financial policies including staff and volunteer responsibilities, expense reimbursement to staff and volunteers,
· Leadership Policies—expected performance levels of volunteers (meeting attendance, length of terms, etc.), job descriptions for committees and leaders, operating relationships between committees and the Board and association staff.
Policy Manuals are meant to be statements that give consistency to more finite operational matters. Unlike bylaws, policies can be approved by the Board of Directors and added to the policy collection. The policies are flexible and may be changed when needed, again upon action of the Directors. In any event, the Board should subject the policy collection to annual scrutiny and re-evaluation.
Minutes:
An association must keep permanent minute books that are collections of minutes of the Board of Directors and of all committees.
Minutes should contain the following:
ü Name of the group which is meeting
ü Date, time place, persons present.
ü Action motions
ü Adjournment specifics
ü Name of the Recorder
It is a constructive policy to make certain members of the Board of Directors receive all minutes of committees and other groups, and re-affirm all action items by specific vote.
Membership Records:
Membership records are an essential part of any organization. Each member is recognized in the permanent records, including address specifics and date joined, dues paid, and other data deemed appropriate by the association. . A permanent file folder on each member might contain such documents as the membership application, verifications of courses taken or designations earned, a photo, final rulings in any ethics cases and other information.
Association Headquarters:
As soon as possible in its inception, the association should establish a headquarters and hire staff support. Headquarters should include a physical location, and telephone, fax e-mail, and regular mailing addresses.
Checklist for establishing an association headquarters facility:
ü Is the proposed facility within budget?
ü Has the lease agreement been reviewed?
ü Is the facility accessible to members?
ü Is it visible to the public? Does it present a good public image for the organization?
ü Can the location accommodate intended office technology?
ü Will the facility be conducive to efficient office workflow?
Conclusion: These are basics to any association. Without the fundamental documents, policies, and procedures no association can function harmoniously and with maximum benefit to its constituencies. Care must be taken at the outset to carefully construct the foundation upon which the organization will be built.
A major goal of any association is to become financially stable and self-supporting. It is a primary role of an association’s Board of Directors and staff to be custodians of the resources of the association and to organize those resources to benefit the welfare of the membership as a whole. Secondly, the association needs to develop the resources to maintain consistency of programs and services from year to year. This is especially challenging in the association world where the leadership is constantly changing.
These goals may be reached in two ways:
A. Developing a plan and budget, and
B. Implementing responsible financial procedures.
Developing a plan and budget:
A. The
Characteristics of a good mission statement:
o It assures that everyone connected directly or indirectly with the organization understands its reasons for existing. and knows precisely what the organization strives to accomplish.
o It is periodically reviewed and updated by the Board and by the members.
o It defines who is being served by the organization (members, the public, other interested parties).
o It explains what makes the organization distinctive and special. It presents a compelling reason to support it either through memberships or other contributions.
o It serves as a guide to organizational planning and board and staff decision-making.
o It serves as a guide for setting priorities among competing demands for scarce resources.
o It sets the stage for developing the strategic plan for the association.
o It is widely distributed and frequently referenced.
Henry Ernstthal, a
leading
"The (organization) serves (industry, trade or
profession) by providing (adjective) (noun) to (the target audience) and by
improving the (noun) of its members so that they can better (verb
phrase)."
Ernstthal's prescription is a good place to start, though an
association certainly would want to make changes in the format as circumstances
warrant.
B. Next, the association develops steps or goals that will help move it toward achieving its purpose as stated in the mission statement. It’s good to have measurable component stated in each of the goals: instead of a goal of ‘increasing membership’ the association might have a goal of ‘gaining 50 new members a year.’
C. Each goal should have some strategies that are action steps the association takes. These strategies must take into account the cost, accountability, and a time frame. If the goal is “to gain 50 new members a year”, then a strategy might be for the association president to visit each real estate office in the capital city in the next 12 months. The cost to do this should be put in the budget and at the end of 12 months, the president will report the progress of the strategy to the Board of Directors.