Harvard Law School Alumni

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Dear HLSA Club and Shared Interest Group Leaders,

 

As the fall semester comes to a close in Cambridge, we’d like to take a moment to update you on the required annual HLSA Club/SIG Certification, recent developments and policy changes adopted by the Harvard Law School Association Executive Committee.  Please see the links in the text below or refer to the HLSA Club and SIGs Resources page for detailed information on the policies discussed - https://www.alumni.law.harvard.edu/resources

 

Annual HLSA Club/SIG Certification

 

As always, to remain an active and recognized group, as well as to be eligible to receive any logistical or financial support from the School, all HLSA Clubs and Shared Interest groups are required to:

 

• Complete the annual HLSA Club/SIG Certification survey by March 31, 2017 (see the certification instructions for additional details)
  • As part of the Annual Certification, Clubs/SIGs are required to:
    • Agree to the HLSA Club and SIGs Operating Guidelines
    • Agree to the Harvard University and HLS Logo/Trademark/Use of Name Guidelines
    • Agree to the HLSA Partnership Guidelines
    • Provide a list (with roles) of current Board members/officers
    • Submit your current clubs Bylaws (all HLSA Clubs/SIGs must have updated Bylaws on file with the HLS Alumni Relations Office)
• Host a minimum of 2 events each year for HLS Alumni
• Remain in contact with the HLS Alumni Relations Office and the HLSA President to keep them informed of your regular activities
• Open and/or maintain a bank account (to be eligible to receive any allocation funds from the School)
• Identify an alumni administrator to manage your chapter’s web presence (provided by the HLSA and the Law School)

 

In addition to the above, Clubs & SIGs are encouraged to send a 12 month plan of activities to the HLS Alumni Relations Office – hlsa@law.harvard.edu.

 

By complying with the above, your chapter will:

• Remain recognized as an active HLSA group
• Be listed on the HLS Alumni website and print publications
• Be eligible to receive logistical support from the HLS Alumni Relations Office – including access to any new tools/offerings made available through HLS
• Be eligible to receive the annual stipend from the HLSA and HLS, on the terms discussed below

 

501c3 & Fundraising Policy

 

Effective right away, each Club and SIG may choose whether to continue to receive an annual stipend from HLSA or to raise funds on its own behalf.   Any Club or SIG that decides that it will raise its own funding will no longer be eligible to receive financial support from the HLSA or Harvard Law School for the year in which local fundraising efforts are active.

 

The background for this policy change is as follows:

As some of you may know, when the Harvard Law School Association was formed, it was supported by membership dues and alumni donations.  While this model did make contributions to the HLSA tax deductible by alumni, we were not the all-inclusive organization we are today – only alumni who paid membership dues were part of the HLSA. 

 

In the late 1990s it was decided that the HLSA would eliminate dues, and automatically allow all alumni of Harvard Law School and current students to become members.  By doing so, we created an environment that welcomed all who wished to participate in any HLSA activity, as all alumni are now members.

 

Having taken this step, the HLSA and the Law School, recognizing that local Clubs and Shared Interest Groups would no longer be eligible to collect tax deductible dues to support local programming, began to provide financial support to the local Clubs/SIGs (annually and scalable based on the local alumni population each group served).  See the Annual Allocation policy for additional details.

 

From conversations with many of you this past year, we understand that the annual financial support provided by HLS may not always be enough to support your activities. In fact, several of you have expressed the desire to begin fundraising yourselves.   We appreciate the needs of the local Clubs and SIGs and want to be as supportive of your efforts as possible.  In light of these recent requests, the Harvard Law School Association Executive Committee has met and decided to adopt the change in policy described here.  Note: Regardless of exempt tax status, HLSA Clubs and SIGs may not engage in significant fundraising from individuals or any entities without advance approval and coordination with the HLS Dean for Development and Alumni Relations and his/her designate.

 

Annual Allocation

 

Every HLSA Geographic Club and SIG is eligible to receive from HLSA upon application an annual allocation.  That allocation may or may not be affected by the Club/SIG’s fundraising efforts depending on its level of annual activity. If an HLSA Club/SIG chooses to conduct fundraising beyond the minor in-kind sponsorship for a particular event described in the 501c3 & Fundraising Policy above, then HLS will not provide any additional annual allocation money to that HLSA Club/SIG during the year in which it fundraises.  However, the level of sponsorships may be more advantageous for a very active HLSA Club/SIG than the modest annual allocation from HLSA, which that club may choose not to request and rely on its own fundraising for funding its many activities.

 

Effective March 31, 2017, all HLSA Clubs and Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) must have established a bank account and provide the necessary paperwork (W9) to the HLS Alumni Relations Office to be eligible to receive any funding. HLSA funding will not be sent to personal bank accounts.  After March 31, 2017, the HLS Alumni Relations Office will no longer process payment directly to vendors on behalf of the HLSA Clubs/SIGs.

 

The event(s) to be organized in order to apply the above criteria has to be addressed to alumni organized in the prior academic year (running from July 1st to June 30th).  A Committee/Board event will not qualify for the purpose of the fund allocation.

 

The Allocation Fund policy will be retroactively applicable July 1st, 2016. All requests for funding must be made in writing to hlsa@law.harvard.edu  prior to March 31st to be processed for the current fiscal year.

 

In January 2017, we will be scheduling conference calls for anyone wishing to discuss these changes further.  In the meantime, if you do have any questions, please email us at hlsa@law.harvard.edu.

 

As always, we truly appreciate all that you do for Harvard Law School, the HLSA and your local alumni population.  Thank you for remaining engaged and connected with alumni in your local regions.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Karen Chance Mercurius,

Director of Alumni Relations

 

 

Pete Mumma,

Associate Director of Alumni Relations