AFTNJ Higher Education
New Member Organizing Program
Fiscal Year 2021-22

Submitted by: Susanna Tardi, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President

1. Any higher education local/chapter that submits an organizing plan in narrative form to the division’s executive vice president shall receive $500 for submitting an organizing plan, if the plan is approved. This is a one-time-only grant. Locals who revise their plans will not receive a second grant.

If you are not sure if your local/chapter has applied and received this one-time grant, please contact Krista Sweeney at the AFTNJ office: (732) 661-9393.

2. Based on the new member recruitment specifications below, AFTNJ shall reimburse locals/chapters for the recruitment expenses expended by the respective local/chapter on a matching basis.

Maximum New Member Reimbursement

Number of new members                                  Matching Reimbursement

       1-10                                                                   up to $2,500

      11 or more                                                      up to $3,000*

* The reimbursement figures assume that every local/chapter will apply for the maximum reimbursement. If this is not the case, and some locals have good membership recruitment success rates and can substantiate expenditures beyond the maximum match, the division will reconsider maximum reimbursement. This will be determined at the end of the reimbursement cycle.  

3. Any local/chapter requesting new member matching reimbursement is required to submit the following in order:

• A completed Organizing Membership Recruitment Reimbursement Application Form
• Worksheet indicating all organizing expenditures paid by the respective chapter/local
• Receipts to prove organizing expenditures paid by the respective chapter/local
• Total number of new members and copies of the new member cards 

Chapters/locals may submit for organizing reimbursement at any time from July 1, 2021, to July 15, 2022. Organizing reimbursement requests outside of that timeframe will not be eligible for reimbursement.

4. No local/chapter is permitted to “double dip.” If you are reimbursed for organizing/recruiting from another source, that amount of money must be deducted from the amount expended.

5. Recruitment expenses can include stipends for organizers/recruiters who are not members of the local/chapter executive board; recruitment lunches, dinners, snacks, not part of  regularly scheduled Union meetings; recruitment giveaways; media costs, etc.