Tau Beta Pi

Requirements of an Active Alumni Chapter

1. Submit annual chapter dues to HQ by January 1.
2. Hold officer election and report officers to HQ each year.
3. Keep chapter bylaws updated.

Annual Reports

All of the following reports are to be submitted in the online reporting system. Please contact the if you need the login and password for your chapter.

Report of Officer Election

Submit a Report of Officer Election within two weeks of your election. Once logged into the online reporting system, click on Election. Click on Selection of Officers. You should be able to click on the dropdown menu. There should be a "new" option to start a new report.

Click on Election Information. Remember to update the dates.

Add each Officer with their position. If a member is not able to be selected as an officer, please contact the Director of Alumni Affairs or HQ, so the alum can be added to the chapter's member list and then can be selected as an officer. Additionally, make sure that everyone has phone numbers listed. The system will not let you submit the report if someone doesn't have a phone number. It is a known and reported bug where you as an officer can't add the phone numbers, but tell the Director of Alumni Affairs or HQ and they can add them for you.

You will also need to submit an Officer Signatures form that you can find in that same Election menu. You can download the form here. The President and Secretary will need to sign. Then after the signatures have been uploaded and the rest of the report is filled out, the Submit to HQ button should appear and then you can click that to finish submitting.

Convention Credentials

Each alumni chapter is highly encouraged to send a member as its chapter's voting delegate to Convention each year. This delegate may serve on a committee and discuss the business charged to that committee as well as meet other alumni chapter delegates and exchange ideas. Convention credentials are required to be submitted by June 1. Convention credentials for alumni chapters are now submitted online via the online reporting system.

At this time, the on-site expenses (registration, meals, and lodging in a double-occupancy room) for an alumni chapter voting delegate are covered by the Association. Travel expenses (airfare or mileage) are usually covered by the delegate and/or the alumni chapter. They are not covered by the Association. After submitting Convention credentials, travel arrangements should be made. Travel plans must be submitted online usually a month before the start of Convention. This enables us to secure a room for your delegate.

Additional alumni may attend the Convention at their own expense.

View the latest Convention information. Any questions about attending Convention can be routed to the .

Ratification Ballot

One part of official business at Convention is to consider changes to Tau Beta Pi's Constitution and Bylaws, its governing documents. If a change to the Constitution is passed at Convention, it must first be ratified by the chapters before it is adopted. HQ will send out the ballot along with instructions on completing the ballot, and it is due, with absolutely no exceptions, on April 1st. Completing the ballot requires holding a chapter vote on each change within the ballot, and so this is the one report that is not possible to complete the night it is due without any planning.

IRS 990-N

Chapters are required to visit the IRS website to submit this online only report no later than the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of the chapter's fiscal year. (Example: chapter fiscal year ends May 31; 990-N is due by October 15.) See filing deadlines here or in the online reporting system. Please note that the IRS fiscal year information may differ from your chapter's bylaws.

Failure to file a 990-N for three consecutive years will result in a chapter losing its tax exempt status. This means your chapter will have to collect taxes on initiation fees and other money earned by the chapter!

If you have received a letter from the IRS saying that you did not file a required annual tax return, click here to see how to respond. If you have questions, call (865) 546-4578 or .

Important IRS 990-N Resources:

Interacting with Local Collegiate Chapters

One important reason that an alumni chapter exists is arguably to foster next generation engineers and inspire engineering excellence. While this vision is bold, one can try to achieve it by connecting with students and student leaders. Interacting with your local collegiate chapter(s) is a great way to give back to the community while strengthening the image of your chapter by exemplifying good character and showcasing your chapter to future engineering alumni. Here are some tips on how your chapter can start working with local collegiate chapter(s):

• View the list of local collegiate chapters by districts and determine collegiate chapters that you can reach out to based on proximity and convenience.
• Using the contact information found in the above link, reach out to its president or secretary to introduce your alumni chapter. Invite them to your activities. Invite them to one of your officer and general meetings.
• Ask collegiate chapter officers if you could attend their initiation and speak about alumni chapters, including your own, afterward.
• Offer to collaborate with their future events which may include community services, networking events, resume workshop, graduate school vs industry panel, college and industry tours, guest speaker events.
• Consider having one of your other officers or Directors serve as a liaison to one or more of the local collegiate chapters.

Going Above & Beyond

Here are some tips on how your chapter can go above and beyond and exceed the expectations of a successful chapter:

• Plan ahead and schedule your activities on your chapter's Google calendar. Aim to offer at least 1 activity every quarter for your members. Feel free to go above and offer more!
• Survey your members to gauge what activities would be of interest and what date/time work best for a meeting. Also see if they have any suggestions on how to improve your chapter operations and communications.
• Encourage your members to attend Tau Talks given by special guests.
• Collaborate with local collegiate chapters or other alumni chapters on joint-activities.
• Attend an initiation ceremony of a local collegiate chapter, congratulate the initiates, and tell students about your chapter.
• Attend in-person or remote activities and events hosted by other alumni chapters.
• Attend Alumni special ICE session offered by the Chapter Development Committee. Obtain good tips from other chapters and offer insights to other chapters.
• Plan to attend the Convention and your local District Conference.