Expansion Committee

We are delighted that you are considering the prospect of bringing your community into the international family of CISV. We believe you will enjoy what CISV has to offer. Learning from the experiences of those who have preceded you, we expect that you will find this a challenging but exhilarating endeavor. The rewards of your work will be enjoyed by many families in the years to come.

The purpose of this page is to offer some information about CISV and the requirements for its Chapters and Steering Committees. For the sake of brevity, it will not attempt to cover every detail, but it should give you an overall view of what it takes to become operational.

Each local unit organizes a program of activities based on themes related to Peace Education, according to its own culture, resources, and members. The Mosaic Committee is responsible for the overseeing, developing, and administering of Mosaic in the United States. It cooperates with other North American Chapters of CISV in the development and administration of Youth meetings in North America.

CISV is a "grassroots" organization and is not the product of any government, corporation, foundation, union, church, or other special intere~t group. It is composed of individuals from many of these, but its only common bonds the ideals of CISV. The governing bodies are composed of parents of children who have participated in the CISV experience, alumni, and other interested citizens. The regu lations and guidelines are the result of learning aquired over more than 40 years of experience of C ISV work. While CISV has found that it is necessary to have structure and rules to ensure the quality of the CISV experience, the emphasis is in encouraging the fullest participation of all and not excluding anyone willing to uphold the standards set.

The Chapter is the basic unit of CISV in each locale. New CISV organizations are called Steering Committees until they achieve fu llfiedged Chapter status.

Since there are a considerable number of steps to take before becoming a steering committee and eventually a chapter, many questions should be asked before making the commitment to join CISV.

Questions and Remarks

Do you understand the goals and purposes of CISV? Read carefully the information about CISV, its structure, programs, etc.

Can you gather a nucleus of interested people who would be willing to build a local organization which will endure beyond the initial stages and become an ongoing part of your community? Would you have people with sufficient enthusiasm and leadership ability to start a CISV organization? Would you have people willing to work on such things as fund raising, recruitment, newsletter, publicity, host village, etc.? Does this group show an interest in the purposes of CISV, much deeper than just getting one's own child into the program?

Do you know what geographical areas you would encompass? Why? Does this geographical community have a broad basis for membership and the capability to support the four program areas and fund raising activities? Is there a suitable site in your area in which you could host a CISV Vi llage?

Do you fully understand the requirements to establish a Steering Committee of CISV? a. Attendance of a representative(s) of the proposed Steering Committee applicant at the annual National Board Meeting is mandatory prior to submitting an application for Steering Committee status.

The above mentioned application must, at a minimum, include:

A description of the demographics of the area, i.e. geographic area, etc.

A list of other international organization programs and the size of the organizations in this geographic area.

A list of the names, addresses, and occupations of all those interested in working for or helping the CISV Steering Committee. A minimum of ten families are required.

Documentation of what has been done in the area of public relations.

A philosophy of the community.

A statement that the Steering Committee, if approved, agrees to abide by the Code of Regulations and Operating Procedures of CISV, Inc. at all times.

Do you realize that a Steering Committee has financial responsibilities to the National Organization?

$200+ per year - Steering Committee Support

$400 approximately per participant - Participation Fee (for Village and Interchange)

$100 per year - Mosaic Fee

Do you realize that a Steering Committee must have officers, such as president, secretary, treasurer, and two Trustees to the National Board? Do you realize that Committees must be established with chairpersons, 3uch as village, interchange, seminar camp, local work, public relations, membership, recruitment, fund raising, selection, insurance, etc.?

Do you realize that you must develop a Constitution andlor Bylaws for your Steering Committee?

Do you understand that a Steering Committee is expected to participate in the four programs?

Village: Can you recruit 11-year-old children to attend a CISV Village in another part of the United States or the world? Can you recruit an adult to be the leader for each Village delegation who would be trained, coordinate group activities and meetings, travel with the delegation, and be responsible for the youth?

Interchange: Can you recruit youth, age 12-15, to participate in this two-year program? Can you recruit an adult to be the leader for each interchange delegation who would be trained , would coordinate group activities and meetings during the two-year program, would travel with the delegation, and would be responsible for the youth?

Seminar Camp: Would you have youth, age 17 and 18, who would be interested in attending a three-week camp in different locations around the world?

Mosaic: Would you have the personnel to conduct ongoing educational programs in your community to make others aware of CISV and to assist other community organizations in their goals and activities?

Would you be able to successfully hold fund raising activities to cover expenses for your Steering Committee and begin maintaining financial records? Do you realize that membership dues in your local Steering Committee would not be sufficient funds to support expenses? Would your area support the cost of hosting a Village locally, having a budget of approximately $15,000 and upward? Could you raise that amount of money from local businesses, organizations, individuals, grants, etc.?

Can you see increased membership once the nucleus group has begun its public relations contacts, program recruiting , fund raising activities, etc.?

Do you realize the importance of good public relations (publicity) in order to promote CISV and reach all peoples of your geographic area? Do you have access to good PR contacts?

Do you understand the calendar for the progression of Steering Committee to Chapter status?

You MUST remain a Steering Committee for two years (from date of application to become a Steering Committee).

You may apply for Chapter status any1ime after two years as a Steering Committee.

You MUST apply for Chapter status by four years (from date of application to become a Steering Committee). If after four yearn, you have not yet made application for Chapter status, you would forfeit your sta tus as a Steering Committee.

Once you become a Chapter of CISV, having submitted a copy of your proposed Chapter Constitu tion to the Board of Trustees, the following requirements, among others, would be expected:

$1500 per year - Chapter support

$400 approximately per participant -Participation Fee (for Village and Interchange)

$100 p'2r year - Mosaic Fee

Other National Special Fees, such as for Scholarship

Participation in all CISV programs: Village, Interchange, Seminar Camp, Mosaic.

Hosting a Village, cost ranging from $15,000 and upward . If your Interest Group concludes that you have the capability to sustain a CISV Steering Committee, then you are ready to work toward applying for Steering Committee status. Contact the National Expansion Committee Chairperson for more specific information and details.