Resources

for NIRSA State & Provincial Leaders

Congratulations!

You have accepted an important position in the structure of the NIRSA. You are to be commended for the professional commitment you have demonstrated by volunteering your time to act as a State/Provincial Director or Student Leader.

This page contains contact information, position descriptions, suggestions, and ideas to facilitate your success as a NIRSA State/Provincial Director or Student Leader. Feel free to use any and all of the information on this page…or come up with your own innovative ways to communicate with and motivate members in your state.

Thank you for your commitment and enthusiasm. Best wishes for a successful year!

Getting Started

If you haven’t completed and submitted the Position Acceptance Contract, then please do.

If you want to get the ball rolling, then try using the State/Provincial Director’s Check List for Getting Started. You can contact the Member Network Regional Representative or Student Leader with your questions at any time.

Review Regional Position Roles:

Communications Guidelines

NIRSA Email Policy Guidelines

NIRSA only uses member email addresses to communicate directly with its membership about NIRSA-related business through NIRSA Headquarters (e.g. Communications from Regional Representatives, State/Provincial Leaders, Championship Series event hosts, etc.) following these guidelines:

  • Addresses will be used only for official NIRSA business.
  • Address lists will not be sold or shared with other parties or members for any reason.
  • Any form of commercial use is prohibited. A commercial email means any email that has as its exclusive or primary purpose the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service.
  • All addresses from the provided list must be included only in the Bcc: or Blind Copy address box to ensure that email addresses are not included in the actual email message.
  • Address lists will be deleted and purged after NIRSA-related business is completed.
  • Remember NIRSA Membership data changes regularly. Please use the most up to date membership list available.

All email messages MUST include the following text as a footer of the email message:

You are receiving this message as a service and benefit of your membership with NIRSA. You are not receiving this message because you are subscribed to an electronic list. Should this material not pertain to you, please forward it to the appropriate individual or excuse the update.

Membership List

Membership email lists are available for official NIRSA business. The NIRSA Member Network is provided with a current membership list monthly. To request a membership list for your state or province, please contact your Regional Representative.

Website

Connect with members and non-members in your state or province by reviewing and updating your Regional webpage. Here, you can highlight information, people and events in your state or province. Keep your site timely by sending updates to the NIRSA Member Engagement Manager, Natasha Fischer, and Cc: the appropriate Regional Representative.

Use of NIRSA Logo

NIRSA Regional Representatives and State/Provincial Leaders are permitted to use the NIRSA name and/or logo within their newsletters. All NIRSA Logos can be downloaded from the NIRSA Logos & Graphics webpage.

Member Retention & Recruitment

NIRSA State/Provincial Directors work closely with the Member Network and NIRSA Headquarters to recruit new members and retain the current membership.

As the Member Network and NIRSA Headquarters launch recruitment and retention initiatives, you will be asked to serve as a facilitator by contacting specific members, promoting initiatives to members of your state or province, and communicating any member feedback to the Member Network or NIRSA Headquarters. You may also be asked to serve as a consultant as recruitment initiatives are being developed.

Professional Development

As a State/Provincial Leader, you will be involved in planning and executing your next meeting, workshop, Lead On or other event. Please include information about these opportunities in your communications to members in your area:

  • Are your events listed on the NIRSA Calendar? If you have an event that is not yet listed on the NIRSA calendar, please send the event information to the NIRSA Member Engagement Manager, Natasha Fischer.

Newsletters

An effective way communicate to with members in your state is through a monthly or quarterly newsletter. Whether you decide to send out an electronic newsletter via email, or simply send an email with a link to the newsletter posted on your State/Provincial web page, the following guidelines and suggestions can help you get started:

  • Clearly identify yourself and your mission.
  • Highlight state activities, upcoming workshops and tournament.
  • Report recent events in your state/province or the Association.
  • Highlight regional and/or national NIRSA events and programs.
  • You may want to reserve space for your State/Provincial Student Leader to add his/her comments
  • Members on the Move section for NIRSA members in your state or province.
  • Announce committee selections, awards, births, deaths, marriages, etc. Anything that might help everyone in your state/province get to know each other better.
  • If you are communicating electronically, feel free to provide links to information on www.nirsa.org.

Please note that it is not appropriate to post job listings or internships in your newsletter. Members are encouraged to post their position openings on www.bluefishjobs.com.

You are encouraged to grow your distribution list to include non-members in your state or province who might have an interest in NIRSA activities and services. You are one of the most effective forces that NIRSA has in recruiting new members. Additionally, share the contact information of any interested non-members with the NIRSA Membership Coordinator, Megan Granholm.

Information Collection

Retirement Reports

Part of your role as a communication facilitator is to help the Association keep current on member retirement. Any NIRSA member that retirees in your state or province should be reported to your Regional Representative and to the Membership Coordinator at the NIRSA Headquarters for database maintenance and inclusion in the retirement report and Emeritus Member announcement at the Annual Conference. You can solicit this information in your newsletters and on your web page. Please submit any information that you receive to the NIRSA Membership Coordinator.

Necrology Reports

Any NIRSA member deaths in your state or province should be reported to your Regional Representative and to the Membership Coordinator at the NHQ for database maintenance and inclusion in the Necrology Report at the Annual Business Meeting. Please submit any information that you receive to the NIRSA Membership Coordinator. Please solicit this information in your newsletter and website text. Be sure to include any appropriate photos and personal information that will help the Association to remember and honor the individual.

For more information, please contact Natasha Fischer, NIRSA Member Engagement Manager.