Whether you are a new leader in your chapter or returning from

last year, we are glad that you have chosen to step up and do your

part to forward the IDEAS Movement. Understand that you are the

face of our movement, the boots on the ground laying the path for

environmental change in your community. You decide how to manifest

your own chapter’s destiny. Every one of your members looks to you to

show them how to add value to the environmental movement of your

community, and the Board of Directors and staff of IDEAS For Us are

here to guide you along the way. During your tenure as a leader, IDEAS

will serve as your tool; a venue for change. So now is the time! Set out

and make the most of what lies ahead of you!

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley, “Invictus”

The IDEAS For Us Staff and Board of Directors

with love

Dear You

contents1

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timeline for active chapters / pg.01

Declaration of Action Requirements / pg.03eventsmeetingssolutions

Example IDEAS MOVEMENT DECLARATION OF active CHAPTER / pg.05

Tips For running a Chapter / pg.06how to keep new & returning membershow to run a member meetinghow to hold eventshow to run solutions

4

2

3

Remember your members and executive board are just coming

back from Summer or Winter break- give them and yourself

some time to assimilate back into the semester. Your Regional

Director or Bio-Regional Coordinator will be contacting you

shortly to set up your timeline for the upcoming semester.

Your Regional Director will reach out to your group to work with

you to set goals for the semester ahead. By now, you should

have a good idea as to what you can accomplish by then.

These goals, as well as contact information for your chapter,

will be documented by your RD in the Declaration of Active

Chapter paperwork. They will send this to you to be completed

and signed electronically.

01

month 1:

1timelinefor active chapters

Time Frame: One SemesterJanuary to June July to December

month 2:

Begin working on the goals set out in the Declaration of Active

Chapter paperwork. Assign a person to keep documentation

of your org’s actions with the help of the Documentation

Toolkit. Though it is not imperative that you use the structure

set out by this toolkit, you will find it helpful for keeping an

accurate record of your actions. Your RD will keep in contact

with your chapter on a monthly basis to give you advice with

completing goals and talk about IDEAS and sustainability

movements in general.

Your RD will assign you a date to turn in your documentation

of your chapter’s actions. The RD with review this and plan

a conference call with your executive group. A review of

your chapter’s actions of the last semester will be reviewed

and compared to the goals set in the Declaration of Active

Chapter paperwork.

month 3-5:

month 5-6:

02

As a part of your Declaration of Provisional Chapter paperwork,

you will work with your IDEAS Regional Director to determine

your goals for the coming semester. This includes a finite

number of Events, Meetings, Solutions. You will have the goal

set to complete these, however, it is acceptable to not meet the

exact number of actions set by the end of the semester. This will

be judged on a case-by-case basis by your Regional Director.

Community Events- This event must involve the community

and have a positive impact. Think of it as a service project.

Suggestions: Neighborhood or ecosystem clean up, erosion

prevention planting, local farm or farmer’s market volunteering,

clothing donation collection.

Social Events- Must engage your members on a social level and

get them to relate on a level outside of working. Suggestions-

Parties, farmer’s market outing, organic food potluck.

Tabling events- Set up a table in a central area of the

community (grocery stores, city hall, the student building), and

have awareness activities offered to passers-by. Suggestions-

petition signing, consumer water testing (tap, bottled) flyering.

03

2declarationof action requirements

events

It is essential to utilize member meetings to update your members

on events and current solutions, and then break them into

subgroups to have them work on solutions or projects together.

Solutions are the lifeblood of IDEAS chapters. They make the

difference between simply being an awareness group and a

solutions-oriented group. Your solutions should have the goal

to resolve an ongoing environmental problem. It is not required

that solution must be completed within 1 semester.

Solutions of your choice- confer with your executive board

and see what solution you would like to take on that is specific

to your university! Suggestions- Meatless Monday, bike rallies,

or dorm room waste and energy audits.

Soultions from the IDEAS Bank of Solutions- Practiced

solutions from the Solutions Toolkit--These solutions are

worked on by existing IDEAS Chapters. Consult with your

Regional Director or BioRegional Coordinator about where you

can find the Solutions Toolkit resource.

meetings

solutions

04

05

Declaration of Active Chapter

On the day of August 3rd, 2013, IDEAS For Us and a IDEAS Movement chapter of IDEAS For Binghamton, have entered into an agreement signifying that IDEAS For Binghamton is a an active chapter of the IDEAS Movement overseen by the 501(c)(3) non-profit, IDEAS For Us. The scope of this relationship is for IDEAS For Us and the chapter to form a working partnership from July 24th - December 17th, with the intent of forwarding the mission of the IDEAS Movement. In this partnership, the aforementioned parties are charged:

IDEAS For Us shall: • Assign a main point of contact for the chapter • Provide services to assist the chapter complete actionable goals • Make the chapter eligible to receive operational funds

IDEAS For Binghamton shall attempt to complete: • 8 Meetings which members will gather and plan for action • 4 Solutions which members take action on environmental issues • 6 Events which engage the IDEAS community related to the chapter on a positive level • 14 Surveys which the provisional chapter will gauge the overall effect of their work

This partnership exists with both parties abiding by these duties, and following these terms and conditions:

The chapter operates under the umbrella organization, the IDEAS Movement, as a local entity representing the movement. IDEAS For Us claims no ownership of the chapter organization. The chapter shall uphold the mission of the IDEAS Movement: “The IDEAS Movement is growing international sustainability across communities and K-U(niversity) campuses around the world. IDEAS provides people of all ages with opportunities to make a positive impact for generations to come.” Any breach of the above duties and conditions will possibly make the partnership subject to termination, determined by IDEAS organizations. Parties acknowledge the duties and conditions of this partnership by signing below:

IDEAS For BinghamtonMain POC: Email: Main POC Telephone: President: Vice President:Treasurer:

IDEAS For UsRegional Director:Email:

Joshua BarnesJoshua.Barnes@BinghamtonUniversity.Org

000.000.0000Joshua Barnes

Kendall MitchellRaymond Johnson

Jacob RobinsonJacob@IDEASForUs.org

example

Jacob Robison

These are a few basic tips for running a chapter. Remember,

your Bio-Regional Coordinator is a fantstic asset for helping you

cultivate your IDEAS!

Once you have a bunch of new people come to your first

member meetings, it is most likely that not all of them will

stay. Even the most successful groups will only retain about

half of the new members which come to their General Interest

Meetings. To keep the members which are interested in your

cause, it is essential to engage them with interesting activities

and give them a stake in your chapter and solutions. Give them

a chance to take action! Making IDEAS member meetings part

of a person’s personal routine also helps them remember when

meetings are. “Every Tuesday night is IDEAS!”

4tipsfor running a chapter

How to keep new & returning members

06

Start each member meeting with and introduction and collective

updates of your chapter. You might want to have recurring

introductory events, like holding peer seminars and allowing

your members to showcase their research in a punctual manner.

You always need to take part of member meetings to break into

separate groups for members to work on their solutions together.

This will give you the ability to engage them! Don’t forget to reward

your members sometimes with pizza or cookies!

Make sure that all of your events are thoroughly planned out

ahead, to make sure that all of the pieces come together on the

event day! Make sure your events are original and edgy. People

don’t want to go to an event and participate in activities that they

have done before. If there is a schedule for people running the

event, don’t forget to remind them the day before.

how to hold events

how to run a member meeting

07

Make sure that your solutions have a concrete, solid goal

from their outset. If you don’t begin an solution with your end

goal in mind, there is a pretty good chance that your solution

will stagnate and lose focus! The most efficient and effective

solutions are lead by people who think methodically and can

articulate what needs to happen next to take another step

toward the goal of a project. Don’t forget to document what your

solution has completed for advertising purposes!

how to run solutions

08

IDEAS For Us, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, accredited

by the United Nations, advancing sustainability and environmental

awareness through campus and community action.

The IDEAS Movement is growing international sustainability

across communities and K-U(niversity) campuses around the

world, IDEAS provides people of all ages with opportunities to

make a positive impact for generations to come.

The mission of IDEAS is to educate, engage and empower

people of all ages with sustainable solutions through research,

action and awareness.

Authors:

Jacob Robison

Graphic Design:

Stephanie Wrong

Written August 2013

Think@ideasforus.org

ideasforus.org

facebook.com/ideasforus

twitter.com/ideastweetsus