Delegates and Admins

Delegates & Admins

Your Organization and NGS

When your organization became a member of NGS it became eligible to participate in programs and receive services and benefits. But how does an “organization” participate? Well . . . through its people of course.

Every organization has two primary contacts with NGS: the delegate and the administrator. Those people are the primary conduits for the relationship of your organization with NGS. We hope you and others in your organization find the information below helpful with understanding the roles of delegate and administrator. (Check out the downloadable Society & Organization Member Benefits brochure to learn more about specific resources administrators and delegates access for your organization.)

What are Delegates and Administrators?

Your organization will assign a delegate and an administrator to your account with NGS. Each one of these people has an important role to play.

Being a delegate to NGS is an important job. As a delegate, you are the official representative of your organization to NGS, and are the primary contact for all issues related to your organization’s rights and responsibilities in NGS. As the official representative of your organization to NGS, you represent your organization’s needs. You cast your organization’s votes for the Board of Directors and other elections. You also are a member of the Delegate Council (see below), an advisory body to the NGS Board.

As an administrator, you are the person in your organization assigned to manage your membership account with NGS, including submitting and updating the delegate’s name, and maintaining all contact information in the NGS database. Many of the organization member benefits, especially items on the NGS website, are delivered and maintained through your administrator account link (this is accessed through your personal account after you log in to the NGS website).

The delegate and administrator should be different people but can be the same person in extraordinary circumstances.

What is the Delegate Council?

As part of the agreement to merge, the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and NGS agreed to establish an advisory committee for member organizations. We chose to create a group of delegates similar to the way FGS operated for over 40 years. That group is the Delegate Council. The purpose of the Council is “Building the Community of Genealogy Organizations through Collaboration, Communication, and Counsel.” The Council is responsible for:

  • providing advice on genealogy and family history issues to the Board of Directors
  • providing advice to the Board on how NGS can best serve genealogy and family history organizations
  • implementing programs that are delegated to it by the Board (such as some award selections).

The Council is authorized in the NGS Bylaws, Article XIII Section 4. The delegates meet annually in conjunction with the NGS Family History Conference. There also are meetings held online via Zoom on a quarterly basis. The delegates establish their own procedures subject to approval by the Board. A chair and chair-elect (who serves as vice chair) are elected from among the delegates.

The Board recruited Dawn Carey Henry and Sam Williams to serve as the initial chair and vice chair, and an organizing workshop/training was held in May 2021. A steering committee is now in place to work with the elected leadership and guide the work of the Council. The available recordings from the May 2021 workshop and other Delegate Council events can be found on the NGS YouTube channel.

Why Does Your Organization Need a Delegate?

Your organization has a “voice” in NGS through the Delegate Council. Every NGS member organization has one vote in the Council on motions and resolutions, and as the delegate you cast that vote. You also vote on the leaders of the Council itself.

As a delegate, you also facilitate communication with NGS. You act as the main voice for your organization in NGS. You bring news from NGS (conference news, RPAC issues, webinars, and so on) to your home organization as appropriate. NGS news and announcements can be made at your meetings, in your newsletters, as a part of your website or blog, or in your organization’s email blasts. You are also tasked with keeping NGS up-to-date on your organization’s activities, announcements, meeting information and so on by sharing your newsletter or other communications with NGS (we will comb through these to share society announcements in the FORUM section of NGS Magazine). You also coordinate with your organization’s account administrator to make sure your organization is making the most of its membership in NGS.

Delegate Job Description

To sum it up, a delegate’s job includes:

  1. being the primary advocate in your organization for NGS
  2. encouraging members of your organization to support national, state, local, and specialty genealogy societies
  3. attending delegate meetings, especially the one in-person meeting with the Family History Conference if at all possible, and the NGS Annual Membership Meeting
  4. voting in all NGS elections and on motions and resolutions during delegate meetings
  5. disseminating information about NGS conferences to your organization
  6. reading the NGS magazine for tips, ideas, news, and other information and encouraging your board members to read the magazine by sharing what you’ve read (the admin will need to assist with this if the delegate is not an individual member of NGS)
  7. participating in webinars and other forums on topics related to genealogy organization management and encouraging your board or appropriate leadership for your organization to participate as well

Why Does Your Organization Need an Administrator?

Someone from your organization has to maintain your membership account. We also need a person to receive your organization’s member benefits and services. That person is your organization’s account administrator.

We need a primary point of contact for distributing programs, benefits, and services to your organization. For instance, we need to know who is eligible to submit your organization’s newsletter or bylaws for review by NGS volunteers. We also need to know who is responsible for receiving your organization’s dues invoice each year. As the account administrator, that person is you.

Administrator Job Description

The administrator’s job includes:

  1. maintaining your organization’s membership account with NGS and accessing most benefits on behalf of the organization
  2. ensuring that your delegate is identified and their contact information is correct and regularly updated in the membership account
  3. facilitating nominations of your organization’s members and leaders for awards that recognize their hard work
  4. ensuring your organization’s profile is current and making changes as needed
  5. submitting your organization’s activities to the events calendar
  6. submitting your society’s newsletter, bylaws, or website for a reviews and suggestions.

If you have any questions regarding delegate or administrator duties or your organization’s membership, please don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected]