The Amos W. Butler Audubon Society of central Indiana (2200 members) has come up with a solution, offering a new approach to the division of labor within the committee structure of Audubon chapters by establishing a centralized "Information Committee."

This chapter's Information Committee runs computerized programs that (a) automate, across the board, most of the chapter's record-keeping and clerical tasks and (b) set up a framework for organizing the people-power to realize the rest. The committee makes its services available to all of its chapter officers, directors and chairs, but utilization is not mandatory.

Pete Drum, board member, Information Committee chair, and a self-proclaimed "Chief Nerd" ("Utilize your Nerds!" says Pete), designed and helped his chapter activate this sophisticated and efficient, centralized committee. He has developed computer programs and spreadsheets to handle functions in two primary areas, as follows:

Data Acquisition and Maintenance
The Data Acquisition and Maintenance task areas revolve around data and record-keeping. These functions track and provide printouts of written and graphed reports on all aspects of chapter memberships (new, renewals, transfers, etc.); donors, donations and fundraisers (e.g., bird-seed sales, annual dinner); other volunteers; and other organizations, agencies, or sets of people pertinent to chapter activities (e.g., media, schools, government, libraries, environmental); and on the status, activities and needs of chapter leaders and other chapter committees.

Communications Infrastructure
The Communications Infrastructure task areas facilitate electronic and other communications within the chapter, and between the chapter and the "outside world." These task areas include bulk email and faxing, listserves, the chapter's Web site, voice mail, their U.S. mail P.O. box, and all "outgoing" communications functions, including address labels, bulk mail, mail-merge letters, thank-yous, and various other printed-in-volume materials such as sign-up sheets, name tags and chapter "business cards."

While it is true that most of us do not have Pete's level of computer expertise to offer our chapters (it took him about 5 years to design and implement his system), the conceptual frameworks and organizational ideas that underlie the functioning of his Information Committee are applicable and could be adapted by any Audubon chapter, large or small. Pete estimates that he volunteers about 80 hours per month, all told, on the various aspects of chapter computer communications -- just think of the time that his centralized system saves the chapter's other committee chairs and members (membership data entry alone, for example, consumes 15 to 30 hours of that time)!

Pete is willing to share his experiences with interested chapter leaders; please contact him as noted below. He has also developed a spiral-bound booklet that presents samples of the data and communications information available from his committee. To borrow a copy of the booklet from the NAS Chapter Services office, call 800/542-2748.