Units Cautioned Against Misuse of Lists

AFA Headquarters makes membership lists available to selected chapter, state, and region officers solely for the purposes of assisting them in basic administrative functions and to facilitate their keeping in touch with their members for mission-related information and events. In no case should any AFA unit officer or member give, rent, or sell the list to another person (in or out of the chapter) or give the appearance of having done so, for any other organization or for personal benefit.

Abuses of this policy in the past have ranged from the use of the chapter list to directly solicit business for a private company or for other nonprofit causes, to chapter officers promoting and advertising their business services as part of their “official” duties, and to allowing invited guest speakers to directly address chapter members through letters or e-mails, ostensibly to asses interest in an upcoming presentation but which also provide business contact details in what amounts to a solicitation.

Granted, the lines are not always clearly drawn, but AFA volunteers at each level are enjoined to fully participate in AFA’s commitment to its members to safeguard their privacy by limiting the use of membership lists to authorized purposes.