Guest Author: Melanie D.G. Kaplan, Associations Now
A lesson in how not to respond to a rogue chapter within your association.
As the president of Mariner Management and Marketing LLC, Peggy Hoffman, CAE, has years of experience working with chapters of national organizations. But when it comes to rogue chapters, one instance stands out for her—as an example of how not to respond to a challenging chapter.
In this situation, a chapter was embezzling, and the national organization concluded that if one chapter was doing it, there might also be others. “So they’ve asked us all to get audits,” Hoffman says. “And with a small budget, the audit will be one of our most expensive budget items. They are enforcing this rule across the board because of one chapter.”
On behalf of the chapter she was working with, Hoffman let the national organization know that the cost of an audit would have a negative impact on the budget. “But now,” she says, “they view us as a rogue chapter because we are questioning their decision.”
