I.              MISSION STATEMENT 

The mission of the Chamber Networking Groups (CNG) is to provide structured opportunities for the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce (GACC) members to develop a network of relationships designed to build each other’s business through quality referrals.

 II.             GENERAL INFORMATION 

A. A member or visitor of a CNG must be a member in good standing of the GACC or be employed by a member in good standing of the GACC. (Good standing means renewal paid by due date of membership.) If employed by the member, the member of a CNG must have the formal endorsement of their employer.

B. The membership used to apply for a CNG is the only business a networking group participant may self promote. If a CNG member owns or markets a second business, they may not promote this service at the meetings, unless both businesses are CNG members of that group. 

C. CNG’s meet at the Chamber.  Groups may choose to meet offsite no more than once/month. The Chamber CNG Liaison needs to be notified at least 24 hours in advance when this occurs.

D. Facility Needs – A Chamber staff person should be notified of any equipment needs for each meeting. Coffee, tea, and water will be provided for each meeting.

E. Membership in a CNG is limited to one business type per group. In addition, a Chamber member business may be represented in only one group at any one time. This means a CNG participant may not attend other Chamber networking groups for networking purposes once a commitment has been made to a group.

a. As a corporate member, if there are no competing businesses in another CNG, the member may attend these groups until this seat is filled. Once the seat is filled, the Chair of that group is to notify the corporate member that they can no longer attend their group as a visitor.

1. A visitor is defined as an attendee of the networking group that is not an official member of the group and will not be on the online roster for the group. General Membership Level visitors will only be allowed to attend each networking group twice before deciding on what group is the best fit. A CLC/ELC/PLC member may visit until another business in the same industry would like to officially join the group. We ask that all visitors are respectful to each group.

 III.            MEMBERSHIP

 A. PAPERWORK: All membership applications and a signed copy of the guidelines must be submitted to the Chair of the CNG. The Chair will (1) verify the applicant is a Chamber member in good standing by contacting the Chamber Liaison, (2) review the application for overlap of industries (3) and approve by signing the application. Once approved, the Chair will then submit to Chamber CNG Liaison for their approval, along with payment.

 a. If there is a potential classification conflict, the affected parties, meeting with the CNG Chair, will discuss and resolve classification issues. Applicants will be notified by the CNG Chair of the action taken on the application. Please make this clear on the application if there are businesses in your CNG that are agreeing to divide certain areas that are similar, by defining out in detail how they will be splitting. We discourage this but this is up to the Chair’s judgment.

 B. DUES: CNG dues are $75 annually, in addition to the Chamber membership dues, to cover the costs of administrative expenses. The month a new member joins a CNG, will be their anniversary month to renew each year. They will be invoiced by the Chamber. Members who choose to disregard the timely payment of dues forfeit their place as a member of that group and will be removed from the group until the fee is paid, as which time their seat will be reopened. Corporate Members are not charged CNG fees.

 C. PAYMENT – After all completed paperwork is turned into the Chair, please pay at the GACC accounting department via credit card, check, or cash along with your application. They will make a copy and give you back your original. If you are off-site and want to join, please email application to Chamber CNG Liaison. If paying by check, you may mail or take the application along with the check directly to the GACC accounting department for processing. We ask that you not put your credit card information on the form unless you are handing directly to a Chamber CNG Liaison.

 D. PROSPECTIVE CHAMBER CNG MEMBERS: It is crucial that prospective NWG members be invited regularly to build a solid relationship within the group. Prospective general membership level group members are allowed up to two visits per group, after which they are asked to determine if they would like to join; however, prospective members are not required to wait two visits to make application for group membership. All visitors MUST be current Chamber Members.

IV.           LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP SELECTION

 A. The CNG Chairs are selected to serve one-year terms beginning October 1 – Sept 30. The Chair will accept nominations from their group (for the next year’s Chair and Co-Chair) during the first week of September, with the group voting in the second week. Chamber CNG Liaison will retrieve the votes and announce the nomination with the most votes in each category at the end of the meeting. Current Chairs can be included for re-election.

B. Group Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary are the only group members permitted to send mass communication to the group regarding guidelines and attendance, whilst copying in Chamber Liaison.

C. Group Chairs are expected to attend each quarterly Hybrid meeting. If they are not able to attend, they must send someone from the group in their place, notifying Chamber CNG Liaison.

VI.          MASS COMMUNICATION

A. Any email communication sent, (including solicitation) to the full Networking Group must be distributed by the Networking Group Chair, Vice Chair, Group Secretary, or Chamber Networking Group Liaison.

B. Facebook and Social Media Channels:

1. Networking groups may have PRIVATE Facebook groups to post content to each other and share information. It is required that the Networking Group Liaison and VP of Marketing be invited to join the group and sit as administrators. Networking groups are not permitted to have Facebook Pages or public Facebook groups.

2. Should you like to share content on social – group outings, activities, or volunteering – please share with the Chamber communications team at marketing@arlingtontx.com.

VII.        CONFLICTS

 A. On the occasion a conflict could develop between two group members, the issue should be discussed between the two parties for resolution. In the event the two parties cannot resolve the conflict, the issue should be addressed with the group’s Chair. If the matter still cannot be resolved, the Chair of the group should notify the Chamber CNG Liaison to help provide resolution.

VIII.      ATTTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS

Regular attendance is vital to the success of both the individual and the group. Members are expected to attend 75% of their group’s meetings.

A. A CNG member should not be absent from more than two (2) consecutive meetings without notification to the group leadership prior to the weekly meeting. If possible, notice of excused absence should be given at the previous group meeting. Otherwise, notification by phone or email to the appropriate group member or Chamber staff member is requested.

B. Any member failing to meet minimum attendance expectations will be notified by the CNG Chair in writing, giving member a reminder of the attendance policies. If the attendance requirements are not met a second time, the CNG Chair will notify the Chamber CNG Liaison, who will notify and meet with the member for resolution. Documentation of attendance and email will be required as proof.

IX.         TRACKING GROUP INFORMATION

A. CNG Chair (or designated group member) will document weekly attendance in the Networking Group Binder located at Reception and reviewed by the Chamber CNG Liaison. This will also serve as proof if a member is asked to vacate their seat in the group, due to low attendance.

B. WEBSITE – CNG member’s names will be published on the CNG page on the Chamber website, along with a link to their email, adding more exposure to their business.

Upon failure to comply with these guidelines, first communication with the group chair, following Chamber NWG Liaison, member can and will result in termination from the group.

For a copy of ALL guidelines for CNGs, please email Elena Thaxton at ethaxton@arlingtontx.com