Chapter Finances and Information Due
Back to School Information - Fall 2024
Please pay careful attention to the following information about chapter finances and treasury management for the 2024-2025 academic year. As you review, please contact the Associate Director of Chapter Finance, Anthony Tornini, at anthony.tornini@sigmanu.org or (540) 600-3011 with any questions or concerns.
Members Area
Maintaining your chapter’s information in the Members Area directly affects the billing accuracy of Initiate Dues and Risk Management Assessment. Per The Law of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc., all chapters are to update their membership information (i.e., roster) by September 15th, or 15 days after the start of school, whichever is later. This update will ensure that the chapter is billed accurately. The Commander and Recorder can update the chapter’s membership information on the Members Area.
Additionally, if your chapter has already or will induct Candidates this fall, please follow the instructions for registering those Candidates in the Members Area. There is a 3-business day delay after registration to process the sign-up request into the system before you can approve the registration. We recommend that you instruct Candidates to register at least 3 business days prior to the Candidate Ceremony (e.g., if you plan to hold the Ceremony on Saturday or Sunday, please have them register by the close of business on the prior Tuesday). Ideally, you should instruct Candidates to register and pay their Candidate Fee immediately upon accepting their bid.
Important Due Dates
As a friendly reminder, the first Risk Management Assessment installment and the Risk Reduction Affidavit signed via Adobe Sign are due to the General Fraternity by September 15th. For more important due dates, review the officer resource Important Due Dates. Take some time to look through this resource to ensure that the chapter is making payments and submissions on time.
The Risk Reduction Affidavit will be administered solely through Adobe Sign. Chapter officers and advisors responsible for signing the affidavit will receive an email to do so. To ensure the Risk Reduction Affidavit is sent to the correct officers, please ensure the Officer Information is up to date in the Members Area, and officers check that their contact information is correct. Please prioritize this so that the Risk Reduction Affidavit can be delivered to the correct officers using their current contact information. Failure to do so will delay getting the correct individuals to sign the Risk Reduction Affidavit.
**NOTE – For schools that have not begun the fall academic term by September 15th, the deadline to Complete the Risk Reduction Affidavit is October 15th. There is no change in the due date of the first installment of the Conclave Fee.
What You Can Expect to be Billed
Risk Management Assessment
Risk Management Assessments (RMA) are mandatory assessments to fund the Fraternity’s proactive and reactive health and safety initiatives, risk reduction programs, and liability insurance coverages for chapter officers, chapter members, your chapter, alumni volunteers, other related alumni entities, and where applicable, the house corporation that owns and/or operates your chapter home. Maintaining such coverage is imperative to the continuity of your chapter and the entire Fraternity.
After several years of industry-wide increases in insurance costs, we are seeing our second year of moderate stability in the marketplace for our general liability coverage. This is not the case for our excess coverage (umbrella), where we are experiencing changes in coverage for some insured groups. We will soon share additional information about these changes with those affected. This stabilization of the general liability market and policy changes within the excess coverage, combined with favorable overall membership, has allowed the anticipated rate for the 2024-2025 academic year to remain stable. Due to the number and volatility of factors that impact rate determination, the rate for 2024-2025 may not be indicative of future rates and is only an estimate for this coming academic year. We will continue to monitor these factors and provide guidance accordingly.
The rates noted below are estimates for the 2024-2025 year. As we complete the insurance renewal for the year and evaluate membership levels, spring installments may be adjusted upward or downward during this academic year.
The fall 2024 rates stated below are based upon and will be billed based on manpower (candidates and initiates) from the spring 2024 academic term. Fall due dates will be October 1st and November 1st. The spring 2025 rates noted below are estimates and subject to change based on continued analysis of all cost factors. We will provide an update with final rates for spring 2025 in December 2024 or sooner, if possible.
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(Estimate, Subject to Change) Spring 2025
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Initiate Dues
Maintaining your chapter’s information in the Members Area directly affects the billing accuracy of Initiate Dues. Per The Law of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc.,
all chapters are to update their membership information (i.e., roster) by September 15th, or 15 days after the start of school, whichever is later. This update will ensure that the chapter is billed accurately. Both the Commander and Recorder can update the chapter’s membership information on the Members Area.
Initiated members who have departed school, either by graduation or leaving for some other reason, are to be marked as either Alumni-Graduated or Alumni-Left School. Initiated members who are studying abroad for a semester should be marked as Alumni-Left School until their return.
It is important to remember that there are no such things as “INACTIVE” or “EARLY ALUMNI” in Sigma Nu Fraternity. If a member is a matriculate of the host institution (i.e., enrolled at the college/university), then he is to be listed on the chapter’s roster.
Initiate Dues are $90.00 per initiate, per semester, and your chapter will be billed for Initiate Dues after updating its membership information in the Members Area.
Conclave Fee
The Conclave Fee specifically covers the expenses incurred for the Grand Chapter and College of Chapters, including lodging, program, and some meal costs. The chapter is separately responsible for travel-related costs to and from the conclaves, meals and incidental costs during travel, and meals not covered as part of the conclave. The chapter should budget for the additional costs of attending the Grand Chapter and College of Chapters.
After several years at the same rate, the Conclave Fee is increasing by $100 for the fall term. This is due to an overall rise in costs, specifically in the hospitality industry.
For the fall 2024 term, the Conclave Fee will be $1,500.00. Conclave will be billed in two installments, the first installment of $750.00 due on September 15th and the second installment of $7500.00 due on October 15th.
We will provide an update with a final rate for Spring 2025 in December 2024 or sooner, if possible.
Candidate Fees and Initiation Fees
All new candidates must register in the Members Area and be verified by the Commander or Recorder after participating in the Candidate Ceremony. Each candidate must pay a one-time fee of $125.00 for the Candidate Fee, either online or directly to the chapter. This fee should be paid before the prospective member goes through the Candidate Ceremony. The chapter will be assessed a $5.00 late fee per new Candidate, per day, if not reported within three (3) days from the Candidate Ceremony.
Candidates being initiated must be verified by the Commander or Recorder after participating in the Initiation Ceremony. The Initiation Fee is a one-time fee of $250.00 and can be paid online or directly to the chapter. This fee should be paid before the candidate goes through the Initiation Ceremony. The chapter will be assessed a $5.00 late fee per new Initiate, per day, if not reported within three (3) days from the Initiation Ceremony.
One of the main reasons chapters become financially delinquent with the General Fraternity is that they do not collect or confirm payment of the Candidate and/or Initiation Fees prior to individuals going through the respective ceremony. Candidate and Initiation Fees collected by the chapter will be remitted to the General Fraternity immediately following the ceremony.
How to Make Payments
You have two options for making payments to the General Fraternity Headquarters. The first option is by check, and the other is online.
If you choose to send in a check, it should be made out to Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc., with a description of the payment on the memo line (e.g., Conclave 1st installment) or include the invoice stub. Payments by check should be mailed to:
Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc.
P.O. Box 1869
Lexington, VA 24450
To pay online via a debit/credit card, go to www.sigmanu.org/payhq. If you are making a payment online that does not pertain to Candidate and Initiate Fees, you should select “Pay Other Fee(s)” and include the payment amount and instructions on applying the payment.
How to Use Your Role for Success
Budgeting: Strategic Importance
Establishing a vision and goals is an important experience for all Sigma Nu chapters but is pointless if there is no plan to achieve those goals. Establishing a realistic budget is a process by which a Chapter sets its plan to achieve its goals.
A simple five-step budgeting process has proven to be incredibly effective for collegiate chapters. This process is known as zero-based budgeting and is efficient and effective for cash-based businesses like fraternity chapters. This budgeting model calls for each budgetary cycle to begin at “zero” and is built following the following steps.
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Officer Budget Requests – These are the functional expenses that the chapter controls. These expenses would include but are not limited to Recruitment, Alumni Relations, Brotherhood, Educational Programming, Social Programming, etc.
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Operational Expense Estimates – These expenses are those that the chapter does NOT control but must pay to ensure the chapter’s existence/recognition. These expenses include Risk Management Assessment, Initiate Dues, Conclave Fee, IFC dues, etc.
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Revenue Estimates – Revenue means income paid by the chapter members (i.e., member dues). The simplest calculation to estimate a chapter’s revenue is Total Expenses (Functional + Operational) divided by Initiates.
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Budgetary Adjustments – This step is a vital part of the budgeting process. In this step, a chapter may reallocate financial resources from one functional area to another, either because of chapter priorities/goals or because the budget is showing a deficit. Deficit budgeting/spending is not an option available to cash businesses.
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Proposal to the Chapter – For each budgetary cycle, whether that is an academic term or academic/calendar year, the budget must be put forward to the chapter for discussion and approval. Members of the chapter pay dues, and it is important that they are made aware of the chapter’s plan for those funds.
Collections: Reminders to be Successful
The collection of chapter member dues is one of the more challenging aspects of a Treasurer’s and Finance Committee’s role. That said, it is vital to the health and stability of a collegiate chapter that members are held accountable for their financial obligations. To that end, the following are important policies and best practices to aid in the effort of collections.
Important Policies You Need to Know
Zero Tolerance Enforcement Policy of the High Council - If a chapter fails to meet its financial and reporting obligations to the General Fraternity within 30 days of such obligations being due, that chapter’s operations will be suspended until such obligations are met in full. If such delinquency continues for 90 days, the High Council will consider the suspension or revocation of that chapter’s charter.
Check Signing - Use dual signature checks to ensure no one person has complete access to the chapter funds. Per The Law of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc. (Article Seven, Sections 5.2 F and 5.5 F), the Treasurer may not sign checks. Checks are to be signed by the Commander and Recorder, while the Treasurer maintains the checkbook.
Late Reporting Policy of the High Council - Chapters shall report all new Candidates and Initiates, along with all required information, on the Members Area of the General Fraternity’s website within three (3) days of the Ritual Ceremony. The chapter will be assessed a $5.00 late fee per new Candidate or Initiate, per day, beyond the three (3) day reporting grace period. Candidate and Initiation Fees not paid within thirty (30) days from the report date will be assessed a finance charge at an annual rate of 18% (1.5% per month).
Treasurer’s Report to the Chapter - The Treasurer must have a substantive report to the chapter at each business meeting. While this report does not have to be long, the members must be fully informed of the chapter's financial activity. The following is a suggested format for the Treasurer’s report:
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Report the chapter’s expenses and revenues from the previous week.
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Report the chapter’s available cash on hand.
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Report the chapter’s expected expenses and revenues for the upcoming week.
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Report the chapter’s budget to actual for year/term to date.
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Report on collection matters, as appropriate.
Taxes – Filing the 990
The Internal Revenue Code of the United States, most commonly associated with the collegiate fraternity/sorority community, is the 501(c)(7) classification – social and recreational clubs. This classification, 501(c)(7), establishes that these organizations are exempt from paying federal income taxes, and all 501(c)(7) organizations are required to file an annual return to maintain this tax-exempt status.
The form to be filed annually for 501(c)(7) organizations is the Form 990. There are three versions of the Form 990 and established thresholds that determine which version a 501(c)(7) organization must use based on its gross receipts. Review the officer resource Federal Tax and Form 990 Filing Guide [password: 4242] for additional information.
Other Links to Useful Resources
Below are links to additional resources that will likely prove helpful to you and your chapter.
If you have any questions, please contact the Associate Director of Chapter Finance, Anthony Tornini, at anthony.tornini@sigmanu.org or (540) 600-3011.