1. Tools and Tips to Revitalize Your Local Chapter

2. How to Build Your Chapter
Set the foundation
Hold meaningful meetings
Recruit members
Nurture volunteers
Local SNA Chapters can and should provide their members with:
Training and professional development opportunities to meet USDA professional standards
Sharing ideas, challenges, successes with peers
Friends and FUN
Give back to the community
Local advocate
Building a solid foundation for your chapter is important, includes:
Holding Meaningful Meetings that are valuable to YOUR members (may look different in each state and district)
Always be recruiting new members
Nurture and thank members to become
Connect with your community
Today, will share ideas you can use to make the most out of everything you do

3. 1. Set the Foundation

4. Important Documents Chapter Mission Bylaws and Policies
Job Descriptions for Board Members
First, get your important chapter documents in order
What is your mission? If you don’t have one, take a look at SNA’s or your state association and tweak to fit your chapter
Do you have a copy of your bylaws and policies? If not, where can you get one?
Do you have a chapter board and do your board members know what they are supposed to do?

5. Assess Your Resources How many members do you have?
How much money do you have?
What do your members value?
What meetings are successful? Which aren’t?
Next, assess your resources:
How big is your board?
How many members do you have?
How much money do you have?
How much time do your board members have to commit to planning and holding meetings?
What do your members value?
What meetings are successful? Which aren’t?
Who else might help plan events?

6. Create Your Plan for the Year
January
February
March
April
Promote upcoming events
to your members
Promote participation
in SNA awards  
Workshop/  
National School
Breakfast Week
Tour an industry kitchen OR other fun/educational event
May
June
July
August
School Lunch Hero Day
Summer Feeding Success Stories Swap
Annual National Conference
Welcome back and/or event for members
September
October
November
December
Back to School Workshop
Annual Meeting Luncheon/ National School
Lunch Week/
 Invite a Legislator
Thank your members!
Holiday Party with
raffle or community drive/
Holiday Shopping Event
Then, based on where you are
Create a calendar for the year ahead
On this slide, you’ll see a sample calendar with one event or activity per month
Depending on your resources, you can plan one event or activity per month OR just two events for the year
Need to be reasonable about what you can do WELL
Determine goals for your chapter

7. 2. Hold Meaningful Meetings

8. Essential Meeting Attributes
Has purpose
Connects to members
Educates
Fun & camaraderie
Ends on a high note
Have a purpose to each chapter meeting!
Connect to your members’ needs
Have an educational opportunity, training hours towards USDA Professional Standards are in high demand!
Make sure there is some time for FUN and camaraderie, THAT is what really makes our professional organization stand out and valuable to our members
End on a high note – celebrate successes and leave members feel excited about the event and their experience with your local chapter
[HAND OUT THE SAMPLE ANNUAL CHAPTER CALENDAR]

9. Professional Development
Meeting Ideas from SNA
Professional Development
What could you offer as a meaningful meeting to your members? Here are some professional development-focused ideas from SNA:
Work with your state association and state agency to provide specific training
Watch an archived webinar together to earn SNA CEUs
Webinar Wednesdays are on a host of topics which can be viewed at your leisure
Network with directors, managers and employees- with time to share challenges and have open discussion
Promote the SNA certificate and SNS credentialing in your newsletter, on your website, through social media and blasts OR provide basic training to help members earn their level 1 certificate

10. Meeting Ideas from SNA Public Image & Advocacy
You can also use your chapter meeting to promote your school nutrition program! SNA has lots of resources to help, such as:
National School Lunch Week and Breakfast Week—which are fun events with new themes each year. Toolkits are available online and lots of resources, like handouts for parents and activities for students can be shared. Breakfast Week is always in March and Lunch Week is always in October
School Lunch Hero Day, always in early May, is a great time to have a fun get-together and celebrate the hero in each and every chapter member, play up the hero theme and give out awards for outstanding individuals
Invite a student who is interested in school foodservice or nutrition to attend a chapter meeting
You don’t have to attend LAC to be an advocate!
Host a cafeteria site visit for a local, state or federal legislator, where you invite the legislator to see how your kitchen and school nutrition program works; great press for you too!

11. Meeting Ideas from SNA Community
Take advantage of SNA member benefits and help your members do the same
Nominate members for the SNA Awards and encourage your members to nominate someone they admire. SNA awards include:
Employee of the Year
Manager of the Year
Director of the Year
Celebrate your award winners, or even nominees, at a meeting.
Hold a meeting to talk about how members can take advantage of the School Nutrition Foundation scholarships
Some local chapters hold magazine club meetings– like a book club on school nutrition! You can even help members earn a CEU by reading the “For Your Credit” article and submitting the test to SNA headquarters
Promote local, state, and national meetings and events
ANC and state conferences can be invigorating!
Give a scholarship to a member to attend the state or national conference

12. Meeting Ideas From Your Peers
Party
Craft & vendor evenings
Health & wellness fairs
Workshops
Fun Fundraisers
Tours
Service Project/ Drive
Scholarships
Here are ideas we’ve heard from other local chapters across the country:
End of year or holiday meeting and party
Craft & vendor evening at local outdoor education facility
Health & wellness fair at different elementary school each year
Baking and cooking workshops
Fun Fundraisers
Parchment Paper, pan, knives sales
Food sales
Chili Cookoff
Tours are very popular!
Minnesota Twins Stadium and Kitchens
Trident, Tomy’s Produce, Dairygold Milk, FSA

13. HAVE a little FUN! don’t‘ forget to. . .
Don’t forget with ANYTHING you do. . .always try to have fun and be welcoming.
People who have fun are more likely to come back and to one day volunteer
Adds interest
Enhances knowledge
Makes meeting more bearable!
Be sure to avoid acting like a club or being cliquey. That won’t be fun and will make new members hesitant to return.

14. Avoid Common Issues Meeting times Travel Meeting length
Generational gap
Lack of childcare
Chapter meetings appear not to be working as a viable meeting option in all areas of the country. Here are some reasons why:
Scheduled time for meetings and/or travel required are issues
Meeting length – too long/too short
Generational issues about meeting topics; what a millennial wants/expects out of a meeting can be very different than a Baby Boomer
Childcare issues

15. What works? Regional groups Rotate location Work groups
“Virtual” Chapters
Earn CEUs
Babysitter
Divide chapters into larger/smaller regions to address travel and participation issues
Involve school district to plan meetings on a rotational basis – it can get competitive!
Have meetings organized by work groups (managers, hourly staff, district directors, etc)
“Virtual” Chapters—via conference call or webinar
Link meetings to earning CEUs- gives more value
Have a baby sitter available at meetings

16. 3. Recruit Members

17. Recruiting Basics Make it personal Understand what members want
Actively engage your members
Keep on recruiting!
Potential members won’t join if they don’t know about SNA
Member testimony is the most powerful recruiting tool
Recruiting must be ongoing
Leaders must:
be actively involved in the recruitment of members- all board members
have an understanding of potential members wants and needs for recruitment to be successful
be constantly aware of the concerns and issues that face members
How can leaders do this? [ASK AUDIENCE FOR IDEAS]:
Discuss membership at every board meeting
Make a pledge to personally ask someone to join
Share ideas from the planning tool

18. Making the ASK A: Always be prepared S: Show your enthusiasm!
K: Know your audience
Communicate benefits to members and instruct them on how to access them
Show an interest in your members
Engage members ASAP
Make the Membership ASK
Never assume that new members know their benefits
Think about What’s in it for me?
Bottom line? Be enthusiastic and energetic about what you do, why you do it, and whom you do it for, and you’ll draw people in with little effort.
[HAND OUT MEMBERSHIP ELEVATOR SPEECH]

19. Get Your Members to Recruit!
Promote membership to your Business Manager and/or Superintendent
Use brochures
Talk about your experience
What’s in it for them?
Encourage your members to help in the
Promote the Annual Membership Campaign. Members who recruit at least 5 new members to SNA in the school year are entered into a drawing to win a VIP experience to ANC 2017 in Atlanta, registration included
Promote participation in the SNA Star Club- Star Club gives members points and prizes for recruiting and retaining members
Give a free membership to your highest recruiter each year

20. The 1st Event. . . Help introduce Explain jargon Answer questions
Be welcoming
It can be intimidating and uncomfortable to walk into an event full of people you don’t know and try to fit in. At a members first event, and really every event!...
Make them feel comfortable
Introduce them to at least one other person
Be sure not to overwhelm!
Avoid jargon- SNA, ANC, etc.
Ask a seasoned member to sit with them to answer questions

21. Communicate Often E-mail Newsletters Meetings Website Social Media
Personal Phone Call!
Engage members often and in different ways throughout the year!
Even if there isn’t a meeting, you can make membership valuable

22. 4. Nurture Volunteers

23. Volunteer Continuum

24. Top Reasons for Not Volunteering
Lack of Information
Lack of Personal Invitation
Lack of short term or virtual volunteer opportunities
Involvement in other organizations
Location
Source: ASAE Decision to Volunteer Survey, SNA Specific Results, 2009

25. Make the Volunteer Ask Positive Personal Start off small Thank you!
Can be really simple.
Just like asking someone to be a member
Positive
Share your personal experience
Start off small
Always say thanks and recognize all contributions!

26. Resources for You Chapter Leadership Handbook Meeting Ideas for CEUs
Event Planning Tools

27. WE are Better Together LOCAL STATE NATIONAL
Don’t forget- SNA has three levels working together for one purpose. We each bring something different to the table- and we need all 3 levels to be successful. We’re all on the same team and you can contact us at national or at the state level if you need help.

28. Q+A