Charter

(Draft)**

Addiction Professionals Resource Alliance

1. Proposed organizational name:  Addiction Professionals Resource Alliance
2. Missionstatement:  To provide networking and educational opportunities for addiction and mental health professionals.
3. Activities:  What are the activities in which the organization can or will engage?
   • Organize networking events
   • Organize educational events for professionals
   • Organize "field trips" and site visits to existing treatment- recovery agencies
   • Maintain a current mailing list of members / attendees
   • Publish a directory of members (hardcopy)
   • Create an organizational web site to list members, upcoming events, articles, and to provide links to member organizations or professional home pages
   • Promote collaboration between addiction / mental health professionals and educational institutions
   • Develop and maintain a speakers bureau of addiction / mental health professionals who are available for community education presentations
   • Organize an annual event designed to promote service work of member-volunteers that will benefit the community at large
   • Publish a newsletter that informs members about upcoming events, trainings, and other addiction / mental health treatment-related issues
4. Limits / boundaries:  What are the activities in which the organization will not engage?
   • Endorse any specific treatment philosophy or modality
   • Discriminate in membership on the basis of race, age, gender, ethnicity, or treatment philosophy
   • Take a position regarding a political candidate or issue
   • Accept funds or engage in activities that would benefit any one organization or individual member over another
5. Benefits of membership:  What's in it for people or organizations that join?
   • Increased awareness of / knowledge about existing addiction / mental health treatment and recovery resources
   • Increased visibility for members with the possibility of increased referrals
   • Increased access to member organizations through the internet or member directory
   • Increased opportunities for volunteerism, public education and public service
6. Criteria for membership:  Who may become a member?
   • Professionals affiliated with a licensed or accredited addiction treatment, prevention or mental health / psychotherapy organization
   • Licensed or certified practitioners
   • Practitioners or interns in the process of acquiring licensure
   • Students in the process of obtaining a degree in the behavioral sciences
   • Faculty members from college / university behavioral sciences programs
7. Governance:  Do we need officers? If so, how are they chosen? When should that be accomplished?
   • The following officers were nominated by the Steering Committee to serve on a slate to be voted upon by attendees at the next appropriate networking event.
     • President: John Vance
     • Vice President: Mary Sanger
     • Secretary: Marie Krebs
     • Treasurer: Lisa Hinson
     • Members at Large: Seeking volunteers
8. Membership dues:  For what purposes might the organization need money?
   • To cover printing costs for mailing lists, member directories
   • To finance a web site
   • To cover future meeting and food costs for networking and/or educational events
   • To defray administrative costs of maintaining current mailing lists, attendance rosters
   • Proposed amount: $25.00 per year per member or organization
   • Decision about when to begin accepting dues and offering memberships postponed until after January 1, 2010.
   • Membership not required for meeting or event attendance
9. Tax status:  501C3? Benefits of? Costs associated with? Problems associated with?
   • A sub-committee was formed to apply for registration with the state as a non-profit organization. Ultimately APRA was classified as an "unincorporated non-profit organization."

**This Charter is a draft that the Steering Committee created in the early going, and if of interest more as a historical document, reflecting the initial intentions and goals of the organization's founders. For a more accurate representation of APRA's current operating policies and procedures, please refer to The APRA Bylaws, much of which is based upon this document.