Guidelines on How to Start an IALEIA Chapter

Being part of an IALEIA chapter is one way to get more out of this international organization. It takes work and motivation, but once you get started you will find it is a great way to network with other IALEIA members in your area.

To begin, contact the Chapter/Member Liaison Director (The contact details are located at the bottom of this page). The Chapter/Member Liaison Director will assist you with identifying other IALEIA members in your area. He or she will also supply you with a copy of the Chapter By-laws under which chapters must operate. After you identify a minimum of five members who are interested in starting a Chapter, the Chapter/Member Director can grant Provisional Chapter status**. This status allows those members time to put all things in order and gather additional members necessary to apply for a Chapter Charter from the International body.

The Chapter Charter serves to outline your purpose in creating a chapter, and basically outlines how a chapter would benefit local members and IALEIA. Once the charter is awarded (by the IALEIA Board), you must hold elections in accordance with the chapter bylaws. At this point, you can apply for $200 in start-up costs. Many chapters have taken the initiative and sold mugs and t-shirts to shore up their treasuries.

Once you have established your chapter, you need to schedule meetings for your members. Some chapters meet every other month, others meet quarterly; you will have to make this decision based on what you and your members can facilitate. Chapters must submit annual activity reports to the board, as well as financial reports for tax purposes (regardless of financial activity, the report is required). You are encouraged to reach out to chapters which are already established for ideas and guidance. The entire board is made up of individuals who are accessible, most of whom also belong to chapters, so there will always be someone to help out.

Hopefully this will encourage some new chapters to emerge where there is a concentration of analysts who would benefit from this level of organization. Good luck!

For more information on chapters, please contact Mark Massop, IALEIA Chapter/Member Liaison at massop@ialeia.org

*(Note: chapters must be comprised of members of a geographical region; chapters that are found to be exclusionary will have their charters revoked.)

**In the United States, the Chapter/Member Director can grant Provisional Member Status. Outside of the United States, the Chapter/Member Director will work with the responsible Regional Director for granting Provisional Chapter Status.