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Activate Online

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Online activation will offer FASTER activation for students and is EASIER for advisors to manage.

1. For online activation, advisors should direct students to register and manage their own payment.
2. Advisors should update MENC contact information by completing and submitting the Chapter Enrollment Card.
3. The advisors should distribute the August, September, and October periodicals sent to them from MENC for their members.
4. The advisors should inform their members that the November through April periodicals will be mailed directly to the student's mailing address if registered by August 15.
5. If the students are not registered by August 15, they will start receiving issues approximately 30 days after PROCESSING of their application by MENC. (Delivery estimate is not guaranteed.)
6. Advisors may collect an additional local fee for chapter operation. Advisors may choose not to collect a local fee from their student members. IF local fees are collected, these will be independent of MENC dues and shall not be mandated, administered, or regulated by MENC. The advisor and chapter members are responsible for the collection and management of these local fees if imposed.
7. Other chapter activities are suggested but are left to the discretion of the advisor and their chapter.

Renewing a Chapter by Mail

For chapters that were active last year. Please be aware that applications received by mail will have a significant delay due to mail time and manual processing.

1. Complete a Chapter Enrollment Card each year. Please provide all of the information that is asked for on this card. The up-to-date information you provide on this card will be referred to throughout the school year to respond to the needs of the chapter and the advisor. (Enrollment cards from previous years are invalid.)
2. Distribute MENC Collegiate applications to all potential student members. Instruct the students to fill out the application completely and submit it with their payment by check to MENC as soon as possible. Inform the students of the current dues for your school’s state listed on the back of a dated application. You can also find your state's current dues here.
3. Encourage students to submit their applications early in the school year, preferably July or August. Due to mail delay and manual processing, anything sent after mid-August will probably cause the students to miss out on the receipt of one or more MENC periodicals for the school year depending on how late they apply.

Send to:
MENC Collegiate Membership
1806 Robert Fulton Drive
Reston, VA 20191-4348

Reactivating or Starting a New Chapter by Mail

For chapters that are new or for chapters that were once active but inactive as of last year. Please be aware that applications received by mail will have a significant delay due to mail time and manual processing.

1. Determine if your school is still eligible. Find out if your school is still qualified to prepare its students for certification and employment as music teachers in public, private, or parochial schools, or if it offers a preparatory program for a teacher education curriculum that may lead to such certification.
2. Receive approval to reactivate the chapter. Meet with the head of your school’s music department or school of music (or related authority figure) and have him/her grant approval to reactivate the chapter.
3. Appoint a faculty advisor. Ask your department head to appoint a faculty member who is, or will become, an MENC member to serve as the chapter advisor. It is important that the faculty advisor is someone who will help with making chapter decisions, be involved in directing the chapter, and be a reliable source of information and advice. The faculty advisor is the link between your chapter and the MENC national office.
4. Complete a Chapter Enrollment Card each year. Please provide all of the information that is asked for on this card. The up-to-date information you provide on this card will be referred to throughout the school year to respond to the needs of the chapter and advisor. (Enrollment cards from previous years are invalid.)
5. Distribute MENC Collegiate applications to all potential student members. Instruct the students to fill out the application completely and submit it with their payment by check to MENC as soon as possible. Inform the students of the current dues cost for your school’s state as listed on the back of a dated application. You can also find your state's current dues here.
6. Encourage students to submit their application early in the school year, preferably July or August. Due to mail delay and manual processing, anything sent after mid-August will probably cause the students to miss out on the receipt of one or more MENC periodicals for the school year depending on how late they apply.

Send to:
MENC Collegiate Membership
1806 Robert Fulton Drive
Reston, VA 20191-4348

Enrollment Activities

1. Publicize meeting information. Use the poster provided in your Collegiate Chapter Resource Kit as a “shell” for posting information about upcoming meetings. Attach the poster to a bulletin board or wall and then staple an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper with the current meeting or event information in the space provided. Make sure the paper you attach to the poster can be removed without destroying the poster. This will help preserve the poster for future use.
2. Distribute Collegiate Membership brochures. Have the brochures available during meetings and in classes. Set up a table at your school’s campus orientation event and keep a stack in the front office of the music department or school of music throughout the year. (If you need additional brochures, call MENC Collegiate Membership at 800-336-3768.) Space has been provided on each brochure to include the chapter advisor’s and/or chapter president’s contact information. Please fill in these spaces or affix labels to the brochures so the recipients know whom to contact for more information.
3. Distribute August, September, and October MENC periodicals to promote MENC and chapter benefits. The August, September, and October MENC periodicals will be sent to the advisor’s chapter address for this purpose.
4. Direct potential members to activate their membership online. Recommend that they activate in July or August, but mention that they may register anytime through May 31st. Late activation after August will limit the number of MENC periodicals they receive. No back issues will be available unless paid for.
5. If students cannot activate their membership online, distribute Applications for Collegiate Membership for their use. Instruct the students to fill out an application and submit it with payment by check to MENC as soon as possible. Inform the students to use the current dues cost for your school’s state as listed on the back of a dated application. You can also find your state's current dues here. Applications from previous years are invalid.
6. Collegiate members will receive their personalized membership card, monthly periodicals, and other mailings from MENC and their state music educators association at the mailing address they provide on their current application. Due to manual processing delays, expect materials approximately 30 days after the student’s application is PROCESSED by MENC. (Note: Postmark or MENC receipt date is not considered in this distribution estimate. The delivery estimate is not guaranteed.) Back issues of MENC periodicals are missed because of late activation and will only be available if paid for.

Tips to Establish A Chapter Bank Account

If your chapter does not already have a bank account started, it is advisable that the chapter president and/or the chapter treasurer take care of this immediately. The following are tips on establishing a new bank account:

Contact your school’s financial services office. Almost every campus has a business office or student services office that provides consultation on financial services and information. Often an account for your chapter can be established through your school’s student government organization. Many fraternities, sororities, and school clubs are able to do this.

Visit a local bank. Most banks will help you through the process of establishing an account for your chapter. There are usually a few steps your chapter will have to go through to prove your status as an organization to the bank. The requirements to establish an organizational account at local banks differ from state to state and bank to bank. Most of the same regulations and rules that apply to a personal bank account will apply to the chapter’s bank account. However, many banks offer special services and situations to non-profit organizations. Be sure to ask if your bank provides these services. Also, it is recommended that you shop around when looking at banks. Different banks offer different services. The following is a list of items that banks usually ask for:

• More than one individual as signers on the account. Chapters usually have two to three officers, and sometimes the faculty advisor, as signers on the account.
• Proof of Non-Profit Status/Federal Tax ID Number. There are a few forms that you will need to complete and send to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to receive a Federal Tax Identification Number for your organization. It will take some time to receive official status as a non-profit, but the tax ID number will be assigned almost immediately in most cases. Although your school is an official MENC chapter affiliated with the national association, you will still need to identify your chapter locally as a non-profit. It will be important to go through this step so your chapter can receive donations and, in most cases, make large purchases without paying a sales tax. You can call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to request the appropriate publications and forms or go online to www.irs.gov. We recommend that you ask for:
  Publication 583: Starting a Business and Keeping Records
  Publication 557: Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization
  Form SS-4: Application for Employer Identification Number.
  After completing federal IRS forms, inquire if any local or state requirements are necessary for non-profit status.
• Minimum deposit/balance. To start the account, the bank will ask for a minimum deposit. Most banks ask that you keep a minimum balance at all times in these accounts. You will be charged a service fee if the balance dips below the minimum.

PLEASE NOTE: When setting up your bank account, please use your school name and chapter number in the title. DO NOT use “MENC” because the banks used by the national office will have difficulty processing your payments.