Changes to AFS-USA Volunteer Structure Approved at NVA

From AFSWiki

One of the biggest decisions that was made at the 2011 National Volunteer Assembly involved changes to the volunteer structure, which were recommended by the Volunteer Structure Committee (VSC). The recommendation was based on several months worth of work by the VSC, including a survey to all AFS-USA volunteers and staff, an in-person meeting, and input and feedback from most of the Advisory Groups in the organization.

National Volunteer Assembly delegates voted to eliminate the terms “Area Team” and “Unaffiliated Chapter” from the volunteer structure, along with the distinctions between area teams and unaffiliated chapters that have been in place since late 2008, and the elimination of term limits for the Team Chair and the Team Chair Elect positions. Also eliminated was the requirement for “area teams” to have a minimum number of chapters and a minimum annual hosting and sending volume of 40 participants. Moving forward, AFS-USA will replace the “area team” and “unaffiliated chapter” terminology with the term “teams.” The criteria for chartering a volunteer team will include:

1. Be in good standing with Compliance Standards as established by the NVA in 2010 or as amended by future NVAs, or as amended by the National Council in response to changes in the U.S. Department of State regulations or AFS-USA policies and procedures.

2. Having a biennially elected team chair.

3. Having a team treasurer not related to or from the same household as the chair.

4. Having a defined geography (Currently based on ZIP codes)

5. Adhering to financial guidelines of AFS-USA

6. Making and keeping to the best of its ability commitments for hosting and sending numbers

7. A team may have affiliated chapters. If it does, it is responsible for ensuring that they are chartered.

If a team, in existence when this proposal is passed, desires to break into multiple smaller teams, it may petition the National Council for permission. The team must providing the National Council with a File:Team Structure Change Request Form2011.doc that includes a detailed justification for the break up and a plan, agreed upon by 3/4 of the team's registered volunteers, to maintain the same total hosting and sending commitment levels.

Here is a downloadable version of the File:Team Structure Change Request Form2011.doc

Currently, the plan is to officially implement the changes with the launch of the 2012 Team Chartering Process in the fall of 2011. Look for more information about these changes in the volunteer structure in the coming months. If you have questions about the implementation, please contact the Volunteer Structure Committee at volstructure@afsusa.org.