CHAPTER
TOOLKIT WINTER EDITION
Calendar of Winter Events
Studying for Regions & SLC
BAA & CSA
Running for Office 101
Chapter Challenges: Action Awareness FBLA-PBL Week
Career & Technical Education Month Keeping up with Membership Retention & Involvement Fundraising During the Holidays
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March of Dimes
Lead2Feed: Student Leadership Program Middle Level Chapter Management
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Letter from the National President
Dear FBLA Members and Advisers, I hope you’ve enjoyed our Fall Chapter Toolkit! It’s been amazing to hear about all the ways they have helped members and chapters all across the country! I am more than excited to welcome you to the 2018-19 FBLA Winter Chapter Toolkit! In the past few months, our organization has accomplished impressive feats. We are growing in membership and members are creating, leading, and inspiring by growing their local chapters, participating in FBLA programs, and serving their communities. The incredible strides we have taken together is why I am so honored to serve our extraordinary membership. I sincerely hope that you will continue the remarkable progress you have made in the coming months, and I hope that the Winter Toolkit can help propel each chapter to achieve their maximum potential. This winter edition details upcoming events, Action Awareness, FBLA-PBL week, and more. We provide ways to continue your successes in membership recruitment, chapter engagement, and fundraising. We also explore paths to success in competitions, office elections, and FBLA programs. In the pursuit to maximize every member’s potential, I hope that you find the FBLA Winter Chapter Toolkit to be the ultimate resource guide for your chapter. We look forward to helping your chapter Create, Lead and Inspire throughout the year. Best,
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Eu Ro Wang FBLA National President
CALENDAR OF WINTER EVENTS
DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY 15. Dues deadline to receive winter publication | Fall Stock Market Game ends
1. Action Awareness begins 11-13. State Leadership Summit 15. March of Dimes Grant Applications due
22. Spring Stock Market Game begins 28. LifeSmarts Spring Competition begins
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NATIONAL CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION MONTH
1. Lead to Feed Deadline 3-9. FBLA-PBL Week 3. Share your FBLA-PBL Story Day 4. Webinar: National Presidents’ Forum 5. Each One Reach One Day 6. Adviser Appreciation Day/ Professional Attire Day 7. Career Awareness Day 8. FBLA-PBL Spirit Day
4. Virtual Business Finance Spring Challenge competitive event begins | Virtual Business Management Spring Challenge competitive event begins 19. Spring Stock Market Game Registration deadline 21. Tomorrow’s Business Leader — spring issue copy deadline 22. LifeSmarts Spring Competition ends
O
ne of the best ways to prepare for competitive events is collaborating with your chapter! Leading up to regionals and the State Leadership Conference, you can host study sessions in the fall. Study sessions will give members the motivation to study and will allow them to help one another. You can schedule study sessions before school, after school, or during a free period. As a chapter officer, your task is to provide resources and helpful study materials while still making the event fun for members. Here are some tips for hosting helpful, fun study sessions:
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Come up with an organized format for running study sessions. Will upperclassmen help underclassmen? Will you group members by their competitive event? Will all events occur on the same day or will you schedule different days for each event? At study sessions, provide members with practice questions either online or printed out, so that they will have a place to start their studying. Be sure to accommodate members who are doing performance events as well! You can show them the rubric for their competitive event and watch them practice their presentation. Make study sessions interactive! You can create friendly competition by playing Jeopardy or Kahoot.
If you need to incentivize members to attend, you can offer points or bring a food item to the study session. Clearly communicate when and where your study session(s) will be! You can use email, social media, or other platforms to give your members a schedule of when they can come study!
There is an abundance of online resources to study for objective tests. To start, look up your competitive event on the FBLA National Website. Here, you can find practice tests and look at the competencies for your competitive event. Additionally, you can simply search your competitive event on Quizlet.com and review using their flashcards.
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To start preparing for presentation events, begin by looking at the rubric for your event on the FBLA National Website. Be sure to meet all of the requirements for your performance event, including any materials you need to make and bring to your competition. If you plan on creating a powerpoint for your presentation, use templates on Canva. com or SlidesCarnival.com to make your presentation more eye-catching and unique from competitors. Another tip is to have past presentation event winners look over your content and offer style suggestions. After you prepare the materials for your presentation, start practicing in front of other people! Make sure you become comfortable with presenting your topic to anyone; ask your friends, parents, or chapter officers to take time to listen to your presentation and give feedback. You can dedicate an entire study session to practicing performance events and scoring each other against a rubric. The more you practice, the more confident and prepared you will feel to give your performance!
BAA CSA Participating in FBLA National Programs is a great way for regular members to become involved in the organization.
The FBLA Business Achievement Awards (BAA) is a program focused on classroom education and developing students as leaders both inside and outside of school. Emphasizing three words on the FBLA Crest: Service, Education, and Progress, the program allows students to showcase their accomplishments and knowledge through tasks on each level, ranging from creating a bulletin board advertising your chapter to conducting community service projects. The four levels of achievement are Future, Business, Leader, and America. Completion of any level is rewarded with a pin; members who complete the America level are recognized on stage at the National Leadership Conference. Activities for Future, Business, and Leader are due March 1st, and those for America are due April 25th.
The FBLA Community Service Awards (CSA) recognizes members who have dedicated numerous hours to community service projects. There are three levels of Community Service Awards: Community, Service, and Achievement. To achieve the Community level, a member must complete 50 hours of community service. To reach Service, a member must complete 200 hours of community service. Finally, to reach the Achievement level, a member must complete 500 cumulative hours of community service. Community and Service award winners will receive a certificate, and Achievement award winners will receive a pin at the National Leadership Conference! For the Community Service Awards, Community and Service levels must be submitted by March 1st. The Achievement level must be submitted no later than April 25th.
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To learn more about the BAA, visit the National website.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
As a way to increase member involvement in Community Service Awards and Business Achievement Awards, your chapter can offer incentives to members who complete them. For example, your chapter can host a raffle for a $10 gift card to a popular restaurant. Everyone who completes a BAA and CSA level will have their name added to the raffle. This will encourage members to complete BAA and CSA levels. Also, at the end of the year, you can recognize members who’ve completed the top levels of each program: America and Achievement.
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RUNNING
FOR
OFFICE
Have you ever considered running for FBLA elected office? Now is the time to begin preparing for your campaign! Running for local and state office requires a lot of dedication but it is highly rewarding. First, you need to ask yourself why. Why would you like to serve in an elected office? Perhaps it’s because you saw a desire to help improve your chapter, or maybe it’s because you have several ideas you’d like to see implemented. This is the most important phase in the process. With a clear understanding of why you want to run, you’ll have a clear outline of your vision, narrative, and ultimately, your platform. Once you’ve answered “Why?,” it’s now officially time to complete an application to run for state/local office. First, to run a successful campaign, you need to select a dedicated campaign staff. Your campaign staff should consist of a Campaign Manager and other advisers who can assist you with your campaign. Your staff should be responsible for helping you prepare for your speech, talking to voters about your candidacy, and doing anything possible to help you have a successful outcome. Campaign staff are important, behind-thescenes people who play an insurmountable role. Do not underestimate the power of your campaign staff! Now, it’s time to come up with a platform. Think of ideas that you want to implement and what you want your campaign to really focus on. Perhaps your campaign is about providing more resources to members or making the FBLA experience more innovative. Your strong and consistent platform with unique ideas should stem from your narrative or why you want to run for office, which will ensure that your campaign has a specific and fluid focus. Ultimately, your platform should be focused on helping members in your own unique way. Then, you should come up with a theme/slogan. Your theme/slogan will reflect your platform in a unique and memorable way. Your theme and slogan is often what most voters remember, so be sure to make it creative and representative of your platform!
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Along with the theme/slogan, your campaign speech is the another very important aspect of running for local/ state office. The campaign speech is usually the first time voters will officially hear from you, so it is extremely important to make a great first impression. Campaign speeches are sometimes limited to 2 minutes. Potential things to do in your campaign speech include: introducing yourself, talking about your campaign platform, goals, and visions, discuss your experience in FBLA and qualifications, and have an effective conclusion. Your speech needs to be as personable and inspiring as possible. You should rehearse your speech as much as possible to ensure it fits within the allotted time. An impressive speech will win many votes. Your campaign booth will also be important during the campaign process. Your campaign booth should be welcoming and inviting for members to come over and talk to you. If you are busy talking to members, your campaign team should talk to other members who may want to speak with you to ensure no-one feels left out or excluded. Campaigning at your booth is the time for members to get to know you and your policies, but it is also time for you to get to know them. Ask them questions about their local chapter, their experience in FBLA, and what they think can be changed to improve FBLA. If you are elected, your members will be your constituents and you should try to make personal connections with them. Always keep a smile on your face during campaigning. Nobody wants a candidate with a frown! Be yourself, be natural, talk about your experience in FBLA, and emphasis why you are running for office. Voters genuinely appreciate this campaigning time because it is their time to personally interact with the candidates.
CHAPTER CHALLENGES:
ACTION
AWARENESS
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Action Awareness is the third and final part of the National Chapter Challenge program. Similar to Super Sweeps and Nonstop November, the first two parts of the Challenge, Action Awareness encourages chapters to participate in FBLA-PBL week, CTE month, and FBLA programs. The tasks range from planning activities each day of FBLA-PBL week to inviting a guest speaker to recording an audio podcast or video blog. In order to stay organized and complete all activities by the deadline, it is a good idea to appoint a Student Manager or create committees to divide and conquer activities. The competition runs from January 1st through March 1st. For more information on Action Awareness, you can visit bit.ly/ActionAwareness.
FBLA-PBL WEEK
FBLA-PBL Week is the perfect time to get your community involved in what FBLA does! FBLA-PBL Week takes place during the second week of February, so your chapter officers should start planning for it now! You should try to plan one fun activity for each day of the week to celebrate FBLA-PBL.
SHARE YOUR FBLA-PBL STORY DAY Encourage all of your Encou chapter members to release a video or a post sharing their experience in FBLA!
Chapter members posting about their experience and story in FBLA can really help inspire students to join FBLA!
NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S FORUM & FIGHT TO THE FINISH Join the FBLA FB National President for a live Internet broadcast that will kick off FBLA-PBL Week!
EACH ONE REACH ONE DAY On Tuesday, encourage every chapter member to talk to non-FBLA members about the benefits of FBLA and encourage them to join FBLA! FB
FBLA-PBL SPIRIT DAY
COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY
Connect with community members and learn more about their careers. Host a roundtable with your chapter and learn about everyone’s career plans. ca
Have your chapter members wear their FBLA attire and upload a group picture to social media!
Your chapter should participate in a community service project! Contact a local March of Dimes Representative to see how your chapter can help out. ou
Wear your best professional attire and show your adviser that you appreciate him/her! Your chapter can surprise your adviser with an appreciation card and a cake during ca an after-school meeting.
A LOOK IN THE WEEK
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CAREER AWARENESS DAY
PROFESSIONAL ATTIRE DAY/ ADVISER APPRECIATION DAY
FBLA-PBL WEEK FBLA-PBL Week is also a great time to contact your governor or mayor and ask them to sign a proclamation declaring the second week in February “FBLA-PBL Week.” It is recommended that you contact your executive branch member at least one month ahead of time. This proclamation will give your chapter and FBLA tremendous exposure and highlight FBLA’s integral role in preparing students for careers in business.
SAMPLE PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit educational organization whose first chapter was established in Johnson City, Tennessee, in 1942; and
WHEREAS, this organization has grown now to encompass over 250,000 members and advisers nationwide in middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities, career and technical schools, and private business schools; and
WHEREAS, FBLA-PBL inspires and prepares students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences; and
WHEREAS, members perform community service activities and strive to build a student’s understanding of the realities of the modern business world; and
WHEREAS, FBLA teaches high school students basic business and leadership principles; and PBL helps university, college, technical, and business school students to make the transition from school to work;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, (your governor’s/mayor’s name here), Governor of the State of (your state’s name
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here)/Mayor of the City of (your city’s name here), do hereby proclaim the second week in February, as NATIONAL FBLA-PBL WEEK in the State of (your state’s name here)/City of (your city’s name here).
National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month is recognized in February. CTE Month is a public awareness campaign that seeks to celebrate the value of Career and Technical Education in the classroom and the Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) such as FBLA-PBL. Similar to an FBLA-PBL Week Proclamation, your chapter can request your governor or mayor sign a Career and Technical Education Month Proclamation. Additionally, during CTE month your chapter can invite local legislators and community members to your meetings and highlight the benefits of career and technical education. During this month, invite a local newspaper to your school and talk to them about CTE. Your chapter can launch a social media campaign for the entire month of February. On your social media accounts, different members of FBLA can talk about what skills they’ve learned from career and technical education.
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CTE Month, ultimately, is the perfect time to spread awareness for career and technical education. This can simply be done by just talking to as many people as possible about your experience in FBLA and how that experience will allow you to succeed later in life! Your chapter can partner with other CTSOs and host a CTE dinner banquet; you can invite business, community, and state leaders and advocate for career and technical education during the event. When planning it, think about how each CTSO can contribute. Maybe FCCLA would like to create sweets or appetizers, DECA might like to create invitations, etc. This can really showcase your organization’s strengths and will be sure to impress the attendees. During the event, make sure to promote your successes, talk about your goals, and discuss how they may be able to help you achieve them. Organize a social between CTSOs to find out more about how other organizations like FBLA have helped others thrive.
Keeping up with
MEMBERSHIP RETENTION AND INVOLVEMENT During the winter, it is important to upkeep the point system and
incentives that you promised members when they first joined. To keep members actively involved in your chapter, integrate the point system into as many chapter activities as you can, from workshops to community service events. A fun social event during the winter season is a Holiday Social. Invite your chapter members to wear their favorite holiday sweater to a dinner banquet where they can network with chapter alumni. In addition to gathering a list of past alumni for this event, you should also contact local restaurants to sponsor food. Or, have members bring in their own baked goods and host a bake-off! A social event like a Holiday Social is a fun way to have members relax during the competitive event season, while also keeping them engaged in chapter activities.
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One of the most common methods of keeping members involved throughout the year is hosting workshops. Some chapters have traditions of hosting annual workshops, such as an Induction Ceremony or an end of year Awards Ceremony, but we encourage you to create a variety of events for your members. A few workshop ideas are Interview Etiquette and Financial Literacy. Incorporate a mix of educational and fun elements into your workshops to keep members engaged. Workshops can also be about topics that a lot of FBLA members might be curious about that is related to FBLA such as running for office that experienced members can present on. You can even invite local business leaders or alumni to present different workshops! Here is a sample schedule of workshops that you can host:
WORKSHOP 1 WORKSHOP 2 WORKSHOP 3 WORKSHOP 4 WORKSHOP 5
When creating powerpoints for your meetings or workshops, utilizing templates from Canva.com or SlidesCarnival.com can enhance your presentations and make it easier to format your information. This will not only organize your talking points, but it will develop an aesthetically-pleasing visual aid. The establishment and maintenance of social media accounts can greatly benefit your chapter. Keeping your members and other chapters, organizations, and even community members updated on your chapter through daily posts can increase member participation and help your chapter reach a wider audience! Make sure to check out bit.ly/ FBLASocialMediaGraphics for graphics that you can use for your chapter’s social media. You can even find user-friendly templates on Canva.com and Spark.Adobe.com if you would like to customize your own graphics.
HOW TO NETWORK HOW TO LAND ANY JOB (RESUME AND COVER LETTER) HOW TO LAND ANY JOB (INTERVIEW TIPS & TRICKS) LEADERSHIP TECHNIQUES GOAL SETTING AND MAPPING YOUR FUTURE
For a more complete list of workshop ideas, look forward to our upcoming Workshop Database, where we will be releasing guides and workshop information to assist your chapter.
FUNDRAISING DURING THE HOLIDAYS
During the winter month, your chapter can take advantage of the holiday season to fundraise! Some options include selling holiday candy grams, hosting a holiday bake sale, or selling holiday candles. You can even host a Breakfast with Santa for local community members as a way to fundraise! Fundraising during the holidays can be fun and your fundraiser can appeal to people who are doing holiday shopping! You can even visit http://bit.ly/ FundraisingPartners for information on other fundraising activities!
Your chapter can also use the holiday season to participate in fun community service projects. You can host a toy drive for a local community organization, write holiday cards for nursing homes, or volunteer to wrap presents! This is the perfect time to get your chapter members involved with fun and festive community service. Your chapter can also adopt a child/family for the holidays. This program allows your chapter to “adopt” an underprivileged child or family and purchase gifts for them. Finally, your chapter can schedule a nursing home visit and sing holiday songs and bake cookies for the residents! The holidays are the perfect time for your chapter to participate in community service projects.
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To end the year, your chapter should host a holiday party! T his party should celebrate your chapter’s successes and encourage members to remain active in the new year. At the holiday party, it is important to remind members of important deadlines that will come up in the new year, including State Conferences and FBLA-PBL Week. Your chapter can also issue awards at your holiday party. For instance, if there was a member who worked diligently to ensure Super Sweeps and Nonstop November were completed, you can give this member an award at the party. Your Chapter President can also give encouraging remarks at the holiday party.
THE MARCH OF DIMES
Join the march.
Fight for the health of all moms and babies. The March of Dimes is a non-profit organization working towards improving the lives of babies. As FBLA-PBL’s national service partner, the organization offers great opportunities for members, one being grants. Applications for a grant are due by 5 pm EST on January 15th. The March of Dimes grants reward members and chapters with up to $1000 to be used for activities or projects that promote the organization. Entries for the March of Dimes grants are in the form of an online application.
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The application can be found at http://bit.ly/MODApplication.
FBLA proudly partners with Lead2Feed. Lead2Feed is a student leadership program that teaches students leadership skills alongside community service projects. Lead2Feed is designed to teach middle and high school students how to lead and serve others. Students can participate in the Lead2Feed Leadership Challenge by submitting activites and a project that is designed to solve a community need. Lead2Feed allows students to address a need in their school, local, or global community.
Students will use their leadership skills to complete a beneficial service project. Winning teams are awarded grants for their charity or school. Teams can submit entries all year long. This year, there are two deadlines for entry: February 1st or May 31st. Don’t miss out on this tremendous opportunity to bring about change in your community! Find more information on www.lead2feed.org.
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Empowered to lead. Inspired to serve.
Middle Level CHAPTER MANAGEMENT A
fter establishing your Middle Level FBLA Chapter, it’s important to start managing the rest of your year. Educate new, inexperienced members on the best ways to maximize their FBLA experience. Encourage members to also participate in Middle Level-specific competitive events and attend as many conferences as possible. As far as local Middle Level chapter management, it’s a good idea to elect a team of trusted officers to assist leading the chapter alongside the adviser. These individuals must be reliable, passionate, and responsible. Start fundraising to build resources for your chapter, either by contacting local businesses for sponsorships or hosting smaller events at your school; bake sales are an easy and great fundraising event to start with. Additionally, begin advertising your Middle Level chapter on social media! Connect with other clubs at your school as well as chapters within your state to attract new members. Some ideas of what to post are updates from the officer team, news about upcoming deadlines, or highlighting an outstanding member in your chapter! Take advantage of social media platforms to showcase your chapter. Your Middle Level chapter officers should encourage other members to participate in the FBLA-Middle Level LEAD Program. There are three levels of LEAD: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The LEAD program allows member to develop their leadership characteristics by completing various activities. Completing the Bronze and Silver levels will allow a student to receive a pin, and completing the Gold level will allow a student to receive a pin and ribbon at the National Leadership Conference! Additionally, your chapter can provide further incentives to encourage members to participate in LEAD.
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Several states allow Middle Level members to serve as a Middle Level State Officer or Representative. Visit your state chapter’s website and see if there are opportunities for Middle Level students to become officers. If so, now is the time to prepare for this exciting journey and opportunity to serve fellow Middle Level members.