BASIC CHAPTER REQUIREMENTS
- Provide a contact phone number and email to be listed on the website and in our publications.
- Maintain minimum of 13 BFA members.
- Provide BFA materials to inquirers, and make available as appropriate in local health food stores, farm supply stores, libraries and service organizations and to health care practitioners.
- Provide a yearly report of your local chapter activities.
- Be a member in good standing in the BFA.
- Sign a contract on the use of the BFA name and trademark.
- Read the Chapter Handbook and attend Chapter Leader training.
By signing up to be a local chapter, you are agreeing to the following basic activities:
Contact Information
Chapter leaders must provide contact information to be posted on our website and published in our newsletters and other materials. Contact information consists of an email address and phone number. If your chapter has a website or email discussion group, we will post the link to these along with your contact information.
We request that you keep your contact information up to date. Please make sure to check the information we have posted on the BFA website quarterly and promptly report any errors or changes.
Chapter Inquiry
Since we are a member-based organization, please try to have someone promptly respond to any inquiries you receive. If you are contacted by an organization or individual that would like information in more depth than you can provide, please forward the inquiry to the national association headquarters. While we realize that you are all volunteers and your time is limited, please try to at least acknowledge receipt of inquiries promptly and follow up in detail if necessary.
Try to encourage people to check out the available resources like the Bionutrient Food Association website and local chapter website (if applicable), rather than individually answering detailed questions. If you often receive the same questions and requests from people, please pass that information along to other chapter leaders and the headquarters - especially if we have not already provided appropriate answers and resources to address those questions and requests.
And remember to please be courteous in your interactions, as you may very likely be the first point of contact people will have with the organization and their initial thoughts about the association will be formed based on you.
Local Farms List
To do.... This is something that needs to be looked at in depth...
A very important activity local chapters can do is to compile a list of farms producing or working towards producing high bionutrient levels in their crops. We would like information forms filled out for any farm that is included in the list. The information to be gathered is:
- soil fertility practices
- organic certified? Yes or no. If no, do you follow organic practices? If not, please list what non-compliant practices or products you use and an explanation of how and why.
- what foods do you produce?
- where can your produce be purchased?
- etc. etc.
We would also like you to verify as much of the information as possible through visits to the farm.
It would also be great to take Brix readings of a sample of produce and repeat periodically. This can tie into small-scale research that chapters can help with.
Distribution of Materials
Another basic chapter activity is to provide Bionutrient Food Association materials to inquirers, and help make them available in the community.
Encourage Membership
As a member-based association, recruitment is an important part of growing and supporting the organization and is an important part of what local chapters can do. Please ask people to join the Association so they can receive the benefits of membership and support us in the important work that we do.
Annual Chapter Report
All chapters need to send in an annual report of chapter activities. We will try to remind chapter leaders to send this, and provide a form to assist in the process, in January of each year.
- Approximate number of inquiries received during the year.
- Do you have a Local Farm List? (If so, please attach it or share the link. If not, please make one.)
- How have you distributed any handouts or newsletters and to what organizations?
- Can you estimate how many new members signed up during the year due to your efforts?
- Has your chapter organized or participated in any optional activities? (If so, please list and describe on a separate sheet.)
- Do you have any suggestions about how to make our chapter system work better? (If so, please list and describe on a separate sheet.)
Membership in BFA
All chapter leaders must be active members in good standing of the Bionutrient Food Association. If not, your chapter will not be listed in the directory. If membership poses a financial hardship, please contact the office for assistance.
Use of the BFA Trademark and Logo
Use of the BFA trademark, logos, graphics and marketing materials must comply with the following guidelines. Failure to comply can get your chapter listing and membership revoked.
- Materials must be used only in a manner consistent with the goals of the organization and cannot be used for commercial purposes or for any non-association dealings
- Any use of the trademark, logo, or other BFA graphics in a way that could be reasonably thought to imply an endorsement for a product, service, or company must obtain approval from headquarters. Obviously business sponsors of events, and businesses that have become members of the the BFA can appear alongside the BFA logo and materials, but every effort must be made to maintain a distinct separation and not imply an endorsement for those companies, services, or products on the part of the BFA organization.
- Chapters should not be in the business of criticizing, but in the event that the BFA trademark is used to criticize a product, organization or business, the parent organization must also approve this criticism in advance. A trademark owner may be held liable for any false or misleading advertising claims or claims of libel associated with this criticism.
- Use of the BFA trademark to incur debt or enter into legal agreement is not permitted without the express written approval of the Association headquarters.
Please use the logos, trademarks, and other graphics as they are provided and in a manner consistent with the guidelines.
Local Chapter Logos
We would prefer that local chapters use some version of the BFA logo or banner on their local chapter materials.