Policy and Procedure Guide Appendix

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Council Guidance: Suggested Council Installation Ceremony

Installing Officer: Ladies and gentlemen, I now have the privilege and honor of installing the individuals who have been elected to serve as officers of this council of chapters during the next two years.

Will the secretary please call the names of the newly elected officers? As you do so, will they please come forward and stand to my ________________, facing the chapter delegates and guests?

(The outgoing secretary reads aloud the names and offices of the newly elected officers. Each comes forward as his or her name is called.)

Installing Officer: Officers-elect, the _______________________ Council of Chapters has shown great confidence in your integrity and executive ability by electing you to your respective offices. These are positions of importance and responsibility. I now ask you: Do you accept the office to which you have been elected?

Officers-Elect: I do.

Installing Officer: Are you ready to receive the oath of office?

Officers-Elect: I am.

Installing Officer: Please raise your right hand and repeat after me: “I accept the office to which I have been elected. I will perform the duties of that office to the best of my ability and will, in all my undertakings, strive for the good of the _____________________ Council of Chapters. I will uphold and enforce the council’s bylaws and will promote the aims of the Military Officers Association of America. All of which, I now affirm in the presence of the chapter delegates here assembled and before God and the flag of my country.”

Please lower your hands.

Officers-elect, I now install each of you into the office to which you were elected. I charge each of you to be faithful and diligent in discharging the responsibilities of your office.

President _____________________, the ___________________ Council of Chapters is now in your charge. I relinquish to you this gavel, a symbol of your authority and responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, I declare the officers of the Council of Chapters have been duly installed. Will you please join me in a round of applause for your new officers?

I now offer the past and new presidents an opportunity to exchange council officer pins and would also offer the new president an opportunity to make comments, if desired.

Printable version (Microsoft Word Doc)


Installation of Chapter Officers

TIME AND PLACE

The suggested bylaws given in Chapter Guidance stipulate that elected officers shall take office at the first regular or special meeting in the calendar year following their election. Usually, therefore, officers are elected at the annual meeting in November and are installed at the regular meeting in January.

The assumption of office by new chapter officers calls for a simple yet dignified installation ceremony, which can be conducted at a dinner or lunch meeting, with members, spouses, and guests in attendance. Incoming and outgoing officers can be honored, and members can be reminded of the responsibility and authority vested in their elected officers.

INSTALLING OFFICER

Any individual with a measure of authority and prestige can serve as the installing officer. One of the best possibilities, and the handiest, is to have the outgoing president serve in this role. However, there are other possibilities, such as a council president, a past chapter president, a past or present member of MOAA’s board of directors, an officer or staff member of national MOAA, a government official, or a senior active duty officer.

RECOGNITION

It is customary for the incoming and outgoing presidents to exchange president and past president pins (available for free from national MOAA’s Council and Chapter Affairs Department) with each other as part of the ceremony.

PUBLICITY

Arrangements for an officer installation ceremony should include ensuring that a photographer is on hand and that a photo and news release is provided to local newspapers as soon as possible after the ceremony. (Unfortunately, because of space limitations, neither Military Officer nor The Affiliate normally will include articles related to the installation of chapter officers except under extraordinary circumstances.)

The following sections feature suggested installation ceremonies. The first is for a ceremony performed by the outgoing president, while the second is for a ceremony performed by someone other than the outgoing president.

Installation ceremony by outgoing president

Outgoing President: Ladies and gentlemen, I will now install the individuals who have been elected to serve as officers of this chapter during the next year.

Will the secretary please call the names of the newly elected officers and will those individuals please come forward as his or her name is called.

(The outgoing secretary reads aloud the names and offices of the newly elected officers. Each comes forward as his or her name is called.)

Outgoing President: Officers-elect, the members of the ____________ Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America have shown confidence in you by electing you to your respective offices. Do you accept the office to which you have been elected?

Officers-Elect: I do.

Outgoing President: Are you ready to receive the oath of office?

Officers-Elect: I am.

Outgoing President: Please raise your right hand, and repeat after me: “I accept the office to which I have been elected. I will perform the duties of that office to the best of my ability and will, in all my actions, strive for the good of the chapter. I will uphold and enforce the chapter’s bylaws and will promote the purposes of the Military Officers Association of America. All of this I now affirm in the presence of the members here assembled and before God and the flag of my country.”

Please lower your hands.

Officers-elect, I now install each of you into the office to which you were elected and ask each of you to be faithful and diligent in discharging the responsibilities of your office.

(Optional) Outgoing President: Chaplain, would you ask for God’s blessing on this chapter and its officers?

Chaplain: Would you please rise?

Let us pray: “Eternal God, you have instructed us that we have to be leaders, that we must be servants of all and endeavor to meet the needs of others. Look with favor, we pray, upon these your servants whom we have elected and whom we now install as officers of our organization. Amen.”

Outgoing President: Thank you, Chaplain.

Mr. President, the chapter is now in your charge. I now give you this gavel as a symbol of your authority and responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, I declare the elected officers of the _________________________ Chapter have been duly installed for the next year. Will you all please join me in a round of applause for your new officers?

Installation ceremony by distinguished guest

Outgoing President: Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my privilege, as my final official act, to introduce our distinguished guest, ___________, who will install the individuals who have been elected to serve as officers of this chapter during the next year.

(The outgoing president leaves the lectern and takes a seat.)

Installing Officer: Will the secretary please call the names of the newly elected officers and will they please come forward?

(The outgoing secretary reads aloud the names and offices of the newly elected officers. Each comes forward as his or her name is called.)

Installing Officer: Officers-elect, the members of the ________________ Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America have shown confidence in your abilities by electing you to your respective offices. I now ask each of you, do you accept the office to which you have been elected?

Officers-Elect: I (we) do.

Installing Officer: Please raise your right hand, and repeat after me: “I accept the office to which I have been elected. I will perform the duties of that office to the best of my ability and will, in all my actions, strive for the good of the chapter. I will uphold and enforce the chapter’s bylaws and will promote the purposes of the Military Officers Association of America. All of this I now affirm in the presence of the members here assembled and before God and the flag of my country.”

Please lower your hands.

Officers-elect, I now install each of you into the office to which you were elected and charge each of you to be faithful and diligent in discharging your responsibilities.

(Optional) Installation Officer: Chaplain, would you please ask for God’s blessing on this chapter and its officers?

Chaplain: Would you please rise?

Let us pray: “Eternal God, you have instructed us that we have to be leaders, that we must be servants of all and endeavor to meet the needs of others. Look with favor, we pray, upon these your servants whom we have elected and whom we now install as officers of our organization. Amen.”

Installation Officer: President _______________________, the chapter is now in your charge, and I give you this gavel as a symbol of your authority and responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, the elected officers of the chapter have been duly installed for the next year. Will you all please join me in a round of applause for your new officers?

At this time, I would invite the old and the new presidents to exchange pins and then offer the new president the opportunity to make some comments.

Printable version (Microsoft Word Doc)

 

MOAA Logo Information/Brand Book

The MOAA logo is an immediate representation of our brand, and it is important that our Chapters use the logo, the MOAA seal, and each approved variation of the logo in accordance with MOAA’s Brand Book.

The primary logo is trademarked as we seek full copyright to legally protect our logo. MOAA and its affiliates have the exclusive right to use it. It also is important that affiliates use the same logo to reinforce our commitment: Never Step Serving®.

Any MOAA affiliate may use the primary logo or other approved variations as noted in the MOAA Brand Book on the following types of items, provided that such use is in line with the purposes of the affiliate and national MOAA:

  • printed material such as letterhead, newsletters, meeting notices, special bulletins, membership cards, and convention programs;
  • a flag or banner for the affiliate’s use; or
  • individual awards such as certificates, trophies, and plaques.

From time to time, a chapter or council asks permission to use the MOAA shield in connection with an activity or undertaking, such as on a chapter newsletter, nametags, banner, golf shirts, or baseball caps. These requests almost always are approved. For the MOAA shield to continue being legally protected, however, MOAA cannot grant blanket permission for affiliates to use it and must continue to oversee its use.

A chapter or council that wishes to use the logo in connection with a new activity should submit a written request, describing its proposed use, to MOAA’s Marketing Department (Mail to MOAA, Attn: Marketing Director, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314.) Affiliates already using the vertical logo in connection with chapter activities need not submit new requests.

Under no circumstances may an MOAA affiliate use either logo in connection with the promotion of a commercial enterprise or a political candidate. Nor can MOAA logos be used on any commercial items without the advanced approval from national MOAA. Doubtful cases in the matter should be referred to national MOAA.

The primary logo, the MOAA shield, and other approved variations are not harmonious and should not be used together. These logos can be used for black-and-white reproduction. If using color reproduction, the shield should be reproduced in its proper colors (2 reds in the shield and blue) as follows: the red triangles, using Pantone® Matching System 188C; for the red that makes up the shield, using Pantone® Matching System 1907C; and blue, using Pantone® Matching System 5463 C.

All members should help protect the logo’s trademark status by ensuring it always is accompanied by the trademark symbol (™). Once the mark has been fully registered, the registered mark (®) will replace the trademark symbol. Because of the amount of detail in the seal logo, the following rules for logo size apply to logo use in all communications: the minimum width for print is 1.25 inches and the minimum width for Web is 175 pixels.

For complete instructions on the proper use of the MOAA logos and seal, including recommended colors, white-on-black usage, minimum sizes, and other criteria, refer to MOAA’s Brand Book.


Certificates of Recognition and Pins

National MOAA has certificates available that have been specially printed for various types of recognition of individuals. These certificates for chapter preparation and presentation include:

  • Affiliate “Certificate of Appreciation” for outstanding service;
  • Affiliate “Certificate of Merit” for exceptional and meritorious service;
  • Blank MOAA certificates (imprinted with "Military Officers Association of America" together with the MOAA seal).

 

Council and chapter pins

Present and past council and chapter president pins are available to recognize outgoing and incoming presidents.

MOAA Leadership Award pin

The MOAA Leadership Award recognizes council and chapter leaders who have made an exceptional contribution to their chapter, their council, or to MOAA.

  • Distinguished by a special gold lapel pin
  • Awarded with a letter of congratulations from the national MOAA president
  • Nominations for the leadership award should be from another officer in the same chapter or council. Please include a brief synopsis of what the chapter or council leader has done to contribute to the overall mission during their tenure.
  • Don’t forget to include your timeline for presentation. Please submit requests at least 45 days prior to your presentation date.
  • Email nominations with the subject “Leadership Award” to chapters@moaa.org.
  • If mailed, use the following address:

Attention: Senior Director, MOAA Council and Chapter Affairs
201 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314

To request certificates or pins:

 

Generating Non-Dues Income for Your Chapter

Finances and Chapters

Healthy chapters share some common characteristics. One of those characteristics is they are fiscally sound.

Finances impact a chapter’s ability to grow and serve its members.

A chapter that’s struggling financially may:

  • have trouble communicating with its members. Financially strapped chapters often stop publishing their monthly newsletter.
  • have trouble recruiting new members. It takes money to print and mail recruiting materials to prospective members.

 

Finances also may affect the chapter’s ability to fulfill its missions, which may include:

  • supporting local ROTC and JROTC units;
  • awarding college scholarships to servicemembers’ children; or
  • assisting the families of deployed servicemembers.

 

These projects help keep the chapter in the public’s eye, and give new prospective members a reason to join.

Common Fundraising Methods

Many chapters have found ways to generate non-dues income so they can meet their missions. Common fundraisers include:

  • bake sales or BBQs;
  • 50-50 raffles, with half of the proceeds going to the winner, and half to the chapter; and
  • silent auctions, which are typically held in conjunction with another event such as the chapter’s Christmas party.

 

Innovative Fundraisers

  • Do something of regional interest. The New Hampshire Chapter raises thousands of dollars each year for its scholarship fund by hosting a clambake.
  • Do something fun. Each year, members of the Greenville (S.C.) Chapter donate “interesting” items and hold a white elephant auction. Proceeds go to the chapter’s scholarship fund.

 

Drive for Show, Putt for Dough

  • Hold a golf tournament. The Heart of Texas Chapter hosted two golf tournaments and raised $32,400 in a little under a year. Proceeds were used to start an American Patriot Scholarship through MOAA. Chapter members focused on getting corporate donors, sold mulligans, and held a raffle to maximize profits. 

 

Just Ask

  • Several chapters ask members to include a little bit extra when they renew their dues. The additional money goes into a Charitable Giving Fund, which the chapter can dip into to fund projects during the year.

 

Get the Community Involved

  • Don’t forget in-kind contributions can serve as a source of “revenue” for projects. For example, each weekend during July and August, members of the Kingdom of the Sun (Fla.) Chapter park a school bus in front of Wal-mart and challenge members of the community to “Stuff the Bus” with items for needy schoolchildren. Now in its eighth year, the chapter has collected and distributed more than $252,000 worth of donations to homeless and needy students.

 

Seek Out Corporate Sponsors

  • The Pikes Peak (Colo.) Chapter hosts a social each month for wounded warriors. Food for the event is donated by area businesses or the Home Front Cares, a charitable organization started by two chapter members. Soldiers who attend these events also are given gifts that were donated by area businesses.

 

That’s Entertainment!

  • The Lake Area (Fla.) Chapter hires a musical group and hosts three annual musical variety shows to raise money for Operation Helping Hand, a program started by members of the Tampa (Fla.) Chapter that assists wounded warriors and their families. The chapter prices the tickets so they will sell—yet still makes a profit. The 106-member chapter nets about $12,000 a year through this effort, holding two shows during one evening to reduce overhead costs.

 

Advertising and Sponsors

  • An increasing number of chapters are accepting advertising or sponsors to help offset the costs of publishing their chapter’s newsletter.
  • Review our list of Frequently Asked Questions on this topic to learn more about how this works.

 

Do Your Homework

 

Display of Service Flags

The proper order for displaying the American flag alongside service flags (looking from left to right) is

  • the U.S. flag,
  • the U.S. Army flag,
  • the U.S. Marine Corps flag,
  • the U.S. Navy flag,
  • the U.S. Air Force flag,
  • the U.S. Space Force flag,
  • the U.S. Coast Guard flag,
  • the U.S. Public Health Service flag, and finally
  • the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration flag.

 

 

MOAA Store and MOAA On Demand 

Visit the MOAA Store here. 

MOAA On Demand allows each chapter an opportunity to promote and purchase embroidered apparel with their chapter insignia. The purpose is to encourage and recognize individual chapters within MOAA.

Instructions: 

  • Click the "On Demand" link on the left-hand menu of the MOAA Store page (link above).
  • If your chapter name does not appear, click "Other."
  • At the prompt, add your chapter name and region.
  • Production time is five to seven days.

Freight charges and taxes are not reflected in the cost per item. If you have questions, contact Doni O’Connor (doni@tmgroup.com, (443) 738-3106) or Julie Barrow (jbarrow@tmgroup.com, (443) 738-3108).


Chapter Rosters

National MOAA prefers chapters to submit their membership rosters in Excel. Columns may be left blank if specific information, such as birth date, is not available.

Roster processing is meant to serve as an accurate accounting for chapter membership. The update process will fill in missing information on an individual’s member record, but it will not replace existing information with new information. For example, if we have a blank email record for a member and the roster submission lists an email address in the appropriate column, this email address will be added to the record. If we already have another email on file, no update will be made. Therefore, the roster process cannot be treated as an information update. All address, email, rank/service updates must be made through the MOAA Member Service Center at (800) 234-MOAA (6622) or msc@moaa.org or online at www.moaa.org.

Scholarship Options

OPTION 1: THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND OF MOAA

The easiest way for a chapter to establish a scholarship is to use the Scholarship Fund of MOAA. This fund was started in 1948 as a means of helping children from military families afford a college education. Driven by a change in tax law that affected the deductibility of contributions, it was established as a separate corporation from the national association and has been declared tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. A contribution to a Section 501(c)(3) organization is deductible by the donor.

As a separate corporation, the Scholarship Fund of MOAA is under the direction of its own board of directors. Members of this board of directors also serve as members of the national MOAA board of directors and its Educational Assistance Committee. Directors of the Scholarship Fund of MOAA are charged by the corporation’s bylaws to “manage, supervise, and control the business, property, and affairs of the fund … [including] but not limited to the board’s functioning as a committee to select students to receive scholarship loans and grants.”

The amount of educational assistance to be provided each year is determined by the fund’s board of directors and is awarded based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, work and volunteer activities, leadership, and financial need. Applicants are expected to have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.

The Scholarship Fund of MOAA offers a Designated Scholarship program in which individuals, chapters, or councils may participate. Funding for the program comes from contributions of at least $25,000. If a chapter establishes a Designated Scholarship within the Scholarship Fund of MOAA, the scholarship generally is awarded to a resident of the chapter’s state or a student attending a college or university in the chapter’s state. Designated Scholarships are awarded annually, in perpetuity. A chapter plays no role in the selection of recipients.

If a chapter wishes to establish a Designated Scholarship but is unable to donate the entire $25,000 at once, an initial payment of $5,000 can be made, along with the chapter’s promise to make four additional $5,000 payments, one in each of the following four years. Under this installment plan, a chapter’s Designated Scholarship will be established in the year the initial payment is made. All contributions received from chapter members during the installment period automatically are credited to their chapter’s Designated Scholarship, with the exception of funds received from an estate, bequest, or trust or that establish an individual Designated Scholarship.

OPTION 2: A SEPARATE SECTION 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION

Under this option, a chapter sets up its own scholarship fund, like the Scholarship Fund of MOAA, as a separate organization and secures an Internal Revenue Service determination letter establishing the fund as tax-exempt in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Here’s how to do it:

  • First, chapters are strongly encouraged to incorporate their scholarship fund (a matter of state law). Incorporation usually is an inexpensive process and can be accomplished by following guidance provided by the appropriate state office. Note: States usually require all corporations — including nonprofit corporations — to comply with various requirements, such as appointing officers, keeping minutes of meetings, and filing an annual report. (IRS regulations only require that an organization have “articles of organization.” There are many tax-exempt organizations that are not incorporated that have constitutions and bylaws as their only organizational documents. Incorporation is preferable, however, because state statutes governing corporations provide rules for structure and governance and make it easier to maintain corporate formalities.)
  • Second, chapters should get and refer to IRS Publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization. For publications and forms, call the IRS Forms Distribution Center at (800) 829-3676 or visit www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html, and click on Tax Publications. Publication 557 explains how to obtain and submit an IRS Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax purposes. (The EIN is required even if a fund has no employees.) Once an EIN is obtained, a chapter should complete and submit two additional forms:
    • an IRS Form 8718 User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter Request, which must be filed if a scholarship fund “is a new organization that anticipates gross receipts averaging not more than $10,000 during its first four years.”
    • an IRS Form 1023 Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This is a lengthy form, but most questions do not apply to chapter scholarship funds. If the IRS approves the Form 1023, it will issue a determination letter. This document is an important corporate document and must be safeguarded because it proves that donors to a scholarship fund can deduct their contributions.
  • Third, once a chapter establishes a separate, tax-exempt corporation, the scholarship corporation that has been established must file an income tax return. An annual informational tax return, IRS Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, is required from corporations whose annual revenue is more than $25,000.
OPTION 3: AN ALTERNATIVE FOR SMALLER SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS

If the prospect of applying for tax exemption for a chapter scholarship is too daunting, a chapter might consider a different legal mechanism Congress established for smaller charitable organizations. Section 508(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code permits a chapter to set up an incorporated scholarship fund (see above note about articles of organization) and to run it in such a manner that it could meet the requirements to be declared tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3). A chapter can take advantage of this technique as long as the fund does not have annual gross receipts of more than $5,000. (IRS regulations go into detail concerning the total gross receipts a fund might have in its first, second, and subsequent years of qualification and actually permit gross receipts to exceed $5,000 in some years.)

This provision allows a chapter to avoid having to submit Form 8718 (with its accompanying user fee of about $300) and IRS Form 1023 but still requires a chapter to comply with the other requirements for running a separate, nonprofit corporation. A chapter must keep careful records to comply with Section 501(c)(3) and ensure the continued deductibility of contributions by donors.

OPTION 4: THE WAR VETERANS OPTION

The war veterans option allows a chapter to avoid having to set up a separate organization to run its scholarship fund because contributions to the chapter itself are tax-deductible. This option is available to chapters that have been declared tax-exempt as a veterans’ organization under Section 501(c)(19) (see IRS Publication 557) and have at least 90 percent of their membership as war veterans.

The IRS defines a war veteran as someone who has served in the U.S. armed forces during a period of war. [IRS Publication 3386 Tax Guide — Veterans’ Organizations, available for download from www.irs.gov, defines a war veteran as a person who has served in the U.S. armed forces during the following periods: World War II (Dec. 7, 1941, through Dec. 31, 1946), the Korean War (June 27, 1950, through Jan. 31, 1955), the Vietnam War (Feb. 28, 1961, through May 7,1975, in the case of a veteran who did not serve in the Republic of Vietnam during that period), and Desert Storm (Aug. 2, 1990, until a date yet to be determined by presidential proclamation or law).] Therefore, contributions to a MOAA chapter that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(19) are deductible only if a chapter meets the 90-percent rule. A chapter should be able to prove this to the IRS if asked to do so.

Note: National MOAA is unable to meet the 90-percent rule because surviving spouse members account for more than 10 percent of its total membership; the Scholarship Fund of MOAA is a separate corporation.

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