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Once every biennium, each chapter has the opportunity to adjust the renewal and new-member fees charged to members. In order to process requests for adjustments, the form can be submitted between 4 January and 15 March in the Chapter Management System. The new amounts take effect 1 July of the year the form was submitted.

Although the form is available annually, chapters wishing to increase their chapter renewal fees are restricted by Sigma bylaws to one increase per biennium, not to exceed the cumulative Consumer Price Index (CPI) percentage rate in their respective country. Keep in mind that each member is also charged the Sigma international fee, which cannot be changed by chapters.

You will submit revised fees for three separate membership types: regular members, life members, and new members:

• Regular member - a regular member is any non-life or new member
• Life member - Life membership was offered at the chapter level until 1976. Every chapter must set this fee even to accommodate any life members who may transfer into the chapter in the future.
• New member - This gives chapters the option of assessing new inductees a lesser amount at the time of induction than the regular member amount. This amount does not include ceremony or additional costs. This lower amount allows the chapter to make induction costs more affordable to new inductees.

When chapters need to adjust fees to cover the increased cost of benefits currently being offered for reasons such as increased postage, higher printing costs, or rising meeting space rental costs, the board should first consider:

• Is there another way to deliver current services to members?
• Are there other vendors that may be able to offer a better price for the same services?
• Does alternative meeting space exist that is less costly?

If the chapter plans to introduce new benefits, the following should be considered:

• Are the proposed benefits desired by the chapter membership?
• Would fundraising efforts be more effective?
• Should increased program expenses be covered by increasing the registration cost?

It may seem odd at first, but there are circumstances that could lead a chapter to reducing its amounts. For instance, if the school of nursing at a given chapter closes and the chapter decides to become an alumni chapter, the chapter's board may determine that some benefits will no longer be relevant. 

Once the form is available, notices will be sent to chapter leaders via Leader Lines, the monthly e-newsletter for Sigma chapter leaders. If you have additional questions about the verification of fees form please contact us at chapserv@sigmanursing.org or 888.634.7575 (U.S./Canada toll free) and +1.317.634.8171 (International).