SBRG General Directives

SBRG Front Office has final authority related to SBRG Directives, Policies, and Guidelines. Membership Councils have authority to put any Member on probation or open a Member’s classification for that Member’s failure to comply with Member Directives and Guidelines.

1. Within SBRG Chapters, each business classification is exclusive. There may be only one Member currently representing each classification within each SBRG Chapter. Each Member may only hold one SBRG classification in an SBRG Chapter. See the SBRG RPG (Referral Partner Group) list for available classifications.
2. Members who have paid the application fee and annual membership fee, but who are not placed into a chapter are put into a waiting list in chronological order of the date of full membership payment. When the classification the unplaced member is seeking comes available, the unplaced members seeking the open classification will be given first right of refusal for the open classification. If the first waiting member declines the open classification, the next unplaced member waiting for that classification is eligible to be placed, and so on.
3. SBRG Members are strongly encouraged to maintain engagement in their respective SBRG Chapters by attending weekly meetings, by bringing qualified referrals to other SBRG members, by scheduling H&H (Handshake and Hello) meetings with SBRG members outside of regular weekly meetings, and by inviting visitors to weekly meetings.
4. Regular weekly attendance is strongly recommended for all Members. Attendance is key to building strong relationships. This leads to greater trust and, therefore better quality referrals. Attendance and engagement is also necessary for the health of the Chapter as a whole. Members who are not engaged and active within the chapter will cause a Chapter to suffer, therefore maintaining attendance and engagement is the hallmark of a healthy chapter.
5. If a Member is unable to attend, the Member is strongly encouraged to schedule a person to serve as a Substitute in the Member’s place for the weekly meeting.
6. SBRG Weekly Meeting Attendance Incentive:
   1. Members who are absent from the weekly SBRG meeting no more than six times within their 12-month membership period are guaranteed a price lock for their next year’s membership dues. This incentive is available to all Members annually.
   2. Weeks in which a Member is absent, but has a Substitute attending on their behalf, shall not count as absences for the purpose of this policy
7. Non-member visitors may attend SBRG Chapter meetings up to two times prior to deciding to either join or not join as a paying, active member of SBRG.
8. Only SBRG Members in good standing may set forth Feature Presentations or participate in Interview Spotlights during the SBRG Meetings.
9. Multi-level marketing members of SBRG shall represent their products and services and not the business opportunity element of their business unless specifically asked to do so.

Directives are subject to change. 

All proposed directive changes need to be reviewed for approval by the Front Office.

 SBRG Administrative Policies

1. There is a one-time initial application fee to join SBRG. Membership fees are paid annually. For renewals, SBRG Front Office will send a statement of amount due and date due, along with payment instructions via email.
2. SBRG may establish Chapters in every city or community with people interested in membership. In addition, SBRG reserves the right to open more than one Chapter per community or city where demand of additional SBRG Chapters is desired.
3. Membership renewal emails are sent out 30 days prior to the membership renewal due date and monies are due upon receipt. Any Members not paid within 10 days of their membership expiration date will have their membership officially Terminated by SBRG.
4. SBRG has a strict policy on returned checks. If a Member passes a second non-sufficient funds check, that Member will be subject to immediate termination and shall be required to pay all returned check fees incurred by SBRG.
5. All fees are non-refundable.
6. An individual may hold a maximum of two Memberships within SBRG. They have the option to promote the same business in both chapters or choose to promote a second business in the second Chapter. If an individual holds more than one Membership, the meeting locations of the two Chapters must be separated by more than ten miles.
7. Members who wish to change their SBRG classification must complete a “Change of Member Classification Form” and submit the form for approval to the RT. The Classification change is active only when approved by the Membership Council.
8. A Member requesting a transfer from their current Chapter to a different Chapter will be required to submit a completed new Member application to the RT and Membership Council of the new Chapter. In addition, the member requesting transfer must submit a transfer fee of $49 to the Front office. The Front office, along with the RT, reserve the right to transfer a term of membership from one chapter to another in this instance.  Each transfer request will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If the transfer request is approved, but the desired classification is unavailable, the transferring member will be put onto the waiting list as described in the SBRG General Directives, item #2. The date to be used in the chronological ordering shall be the date of approval of the transfer request.
9. Any remaining term of membership may not be transferred from one person to another without consent of the RT. Companies holding more than one membership may transfer inactive terms of membership from one member to another through using the “Membership Transfer Form.”
10. SBRG is a marketing service and reserves the right to discontinue a Member’s participation in the SBRG program without cause, in the best interest of all SBRG members.
11. In the event of a catastrophic pandemic or similar, SBRG reserves the right to assign any and all memberships to temporary dormant status until the health threat has passed. This policy is designed to preserve the remaining time of each Membership until meetings are resumed.  

Policies are subject to change. 

All proposed policy changes need to be reviewed for approval by the Front Office.

SBRG Membership Guidelines

1. Each membership within SBRG expires at the end of its term. Members are eligible to apply for renewal. Upon submission of a renewal application, approval by the Membership Council, and payment of annual fees, the membership term will be extended. The decision to renew any membership rests solely with the Membership Council. In the event of a tie vote, the RT shall cast the tie-breaking vote. If membership renewal is not approved, the membership will terminate, and the Member has no recourse to challenge this decision.
2. A business that has paid the membership fee for their Membership has the right to replace the person representing their company. If the business has a Membership vacancy and does not have a company representative in place to serve as a replacement Member within 21 days of the cessation of the current representative’s participation in SBRG, the Classification in the Chapter is subject to being opened by the Membership Council.
3. Each Chapter is an integral part of SBRG’s operation and is the primary Tool available to Members, and is the sole intellectual property of SBRG. All property of a Chapter is the sole property of SBRG. A Chapter is not a legal entity. The Members of a Chapter must not register a business name, register a domain name, enter into a contract or do anything else in the name of or for or on behalf of a Chapter. A Chapter may open a bank account with the express consent of the SBRG Front Office.
4. Members are not agents of SBRG, but are permitted by SBRG to be a Member of, and be involved in a Chapter and use the SBRG Tools strictly under the Terms of Service, the Directives, the Policies, and the Guidelines, and only while a Member.
5. All Members are encouraged to contribute to the Chapter by accepting nominations to serve at least one term as an elected official in the Chapter.
6. Each Member agrees not to take any action or make any claim against any Member of the Chapter or RT for any matter relating to SBRG’s business. If a Member does so, they agree their Membership of SBRG may be immediately terminated.
7. Each Member will indemnify SBRG against any and all liability for statements or actions the Member may make or take that result in liability for SBRG.
8. Leaves of absence are granted for certain extenuating circumstances (e.g., extended medical issue, and is at the discretion of the Membership Council and through approval of the RT.)
9. SBRG retains the right to limit the number of Multi level marketing business Members per chapter
10. SBRG retains the right to limit the number of Not for Profit “Business” Members per chapter

Guidelines are subject to change. 

All proposed Guideline changes need to be reviewed for approval by the Front Office.

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