ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Affiliate Membership
Affiliate membership in NPHC shall include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and any other affiliate organization of the NPHC as may, from time to time, be granted membership. No other organization shall have the right to sit on, or have a voice in, a local undergraduate or alumni council of NPHC, and may not be considered for membership on the local level. Affiliate membership shall also include local undergraduate and alumni councils chartered by the NPHC.

Section 2. Associate Membership.
Associate Membership in the NPHC may be accorded to an individual, a firm, an association, a partnership, a corporation, an officer or an employee of a corporation, or a member or employee of a partnership actively engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling, distributing, or providing supplies, products or services to affiliate fraternities and/or sororities. Election to Associate Membership shall be by majority vote of the Executive Board of Directors. Associate Membership shall be without vote.

Section 3. Active Members.
Active members shall be the members who have paid all required dues and assessments.

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ARTICLE I - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Councils.
Undergraduate and alumni councils of the NPHC must be chartered where there is representation of at least two local affiliate chapters, with the approval of the Executive Director, unless otherwise prohibited by a college or university.

Section 2.
Undergraduate councils shall be established as college/university councils and shall be comprised of representatives of the local undergraduate chapters of affiliate organizations who are matriculating at an accredited college or university that recognizes and supports the concepts and ideals of the NPHC. Once established, a council with fewer than two affiliate organizations participating must request and receive special dispensation from the Executive Director and that college/university, to function in a given fiscal year.

a. Each Undergraduate council shall have at least one advisor from the local Alumni council. If no local Alumni council exists, a financial member of an affiliate organization in the area may be appointed by the Regional Director. All Alumni council advisors must be approved by their respective council and Regional Director.
b. The undergraduate council shall have input in the selection of a campus and Alumni council advisor. The Alumni council advisor must be approved by the Regional Director.
c. Alumni council advisors must be financial and active with their respective local chapter of an affiliate organization and the chapter financial and active with the local council.

Section 3.
Alumni councils shall be established in a geographical area (city/county)
and shall be comprised of representatives of at least two affiliate organizations. Once established, a local council with fewer than two affiliate organizations participating must request and receive special dispensation from the Executive Director, to function in a given fiscal year.

Section 4.
Multiple local chapters of one affiliate organization may belong to the same local council. The bylaws of the local council must determine an equitable voting structure to accommodate such membership.

Section 5. A local chapter of an affiliate organization may hold membership in only one local council at a time.

Section 6. Undergraduate and alumni councils of the NPHC shall be comprised of representatives of chapters that are financial and active with their respective national affiliate organization and whose respective national organization is a financial member of the NPHC.

Section 7. Non-financial councils may not operate under the NPHC name nor use the organization’s logo.

Section 8. Eligibility for Affiliate Membership. To be eligible for affiliate membership in NPHC, a fraternity or sorority which did not hold membership prior to December 1995 must meet the following requirements. The fraternity or sorority shall:

a. Be devoted to general fraternity or sorority ideals and be in conformity with the NPHC Constitution and Bylaws and the NPHC Mission Statement.
b. Have been in existence for at least fifteen (15) years and shall have been incorporated in the United States of America.
c. Be national in scope and consist of a total of no less than one hundred (100) undergraduate and alumni chapters, which have a current financial membership of at least five (5) persons. Of the aforesaid 100 undergraduate and alumni chapters, a total of no less than fifty (50) must have been a part of the fraternity or sorority for at least ten (10) years.
d. Have constitutional provisions for a national convention, with interim authority vested in trustees, a board of directors or the officers who supervise the affairs of the fraternity or sorority.
e. Have undergraduate chapters recognized by and be in good standing with accredited four-year colleges or universities which offer at least a baccalaureate degree.

For the purpose of this section “accredited” shall mean institutions in the United States which are accredited by one of the regional accrediting agencies in the American Council of Education. Institutions located outside of the United States shall be accredited by the appropriate agency/organization in that locale.
For the purpose of this section, an undergraduate chapter is recognized by an institution, if its membership is drawn from students enrolled at such institution, and formal agreement with or recognition by such institution is required or implied.

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Alumni Councils - comprised of two or more affiliate organization chapters. Members of the local NPHC council must be financial with their respective affiliate chapter and international organizations.

Undergraduate Councils - comprised of two or more affiliate chapters located on college/university campuses. The members of the campus NPHC are undergraduate students who are financial members with their respective affiliate chapter and international organizations.

Naming Your Council
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Alumni Council - The local Alumni council of NPHC shall be designated as the National Pan-Hellenic Council of the name of the city/town/area. (Example: “National Pan-Hellenic Council of Fresno”)

Undergraduate Council - The undergraduate council is designated as the National Pan-Hellenic Council of the college/university name. (Example: “National Pan-Hellenic Council of the University of Arizona”)

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MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT

In instances of National Pan-Hellenic Council members’ difficulties, all chapters involved shall do their utmost to restore harmony and prevent adverse publicity.

Councils will not impose any rule or penalty, which will violate any established policy or procedure of one, or more of the NPHC affiliate organizations.

Undergraduate NPHC councils must work with college/university administrators in an effort to build a constructive working relationship, which will lead to the furtherance of their joint objectives.

Graduate/Alumni councils must work with undergraduate councils in their respective communities in order to assist those students with constructive efforts both in the community and on their campuses. Additionally, graduate councils must cooperate with other community service organizations in their localities toward the goal of bringing about positive programs of benefit to the area.

Councils will actively recruit chapters in their immediate area that are inactive with respect to NPHC.

Councils will insure that each NPHC affiliate chapter is granted equitable voting privileges within the established council.

Councils will pay all dues and assessments to local, regional, and national levels in a timely manner.

The Fiscal year of operation for the NPHC is from January 1 to December 31.

Councils agree to abide by all the provisions of the NPHC Constitution.

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SUMMARY OF THE NPHC TASK FORCE
APPROVED AND ADOPTED RECOMMENDATIONS
October, 1999

RECOMMENDATION 9. All undergraduate chapters and graduate chapters MUST belong to the appropriate local council of NPHC and show evidence yearly to their international office that they are in good standing with their collegiate or graduate council. If there is no council and two or more NPHC organization chapters exist at that location, then those chapters must form a council. The international member affiliate organizations will notify their respective chapters of this official mandate through official publications including their respective official publication organs.

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