210-1. Finance Committee
210-1.1 The Finance Committee shall be composed of seven voting members and up to seven non-voting members. Of the voting members, two shall be elected each year for terms of three years, one slate shall be drawn from current Council members or Finance Committee members who have served within the previous seven years (including outgoing members of the Finance Committee); the second slate shall be drawn from APA members who have demonstrated interest and expertise in organizational financial policies and operations . No member may serve more than two consecutive terms. The seventh voting member of the Committee is the APA Treasurer, who shall serve as its Chair.
The non- voting members shall be representatives from the investment community (up to four) and the accounting/financial community (up to three) and are not usually psychologists. The non-voting members will be recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Board of Directors for terms of three years, which may be renewed at the recommendation of the Finance Committee and approval of the Board of Directors.
210-2. Budget
210 2.1 Council delegates to the Board the authority for decision-making related to budget and financial matters. At least annually, a report on the Association’s budget and finances will provided to Council on behalf of the Board of Directors.
This section shall be reviewed by Council at three-year intervals beginning the first meeting of Council in 2023.
210 2.2 The overall financial goals of the APA should be considered with APA’s commitment to providing programs and services that meet the scientific and charitable mission and the changing priorities of the association.
Financial plans shall be made with the aim of insuring that only necessary expenses shall be incurred in carrying out policies and programs of the Association and that those expenses are consistent with the need to maintain a reasonable standard of performance. With respect to income, financial plans shall maximize income from all sources other than dues and shall support programs consistent with the basic objectives and professional standards of the APA. It shall be the goal to present a balanced integrated1 budget annually (after consideration of the cash flow from building operations and a draw of up to 5% from the long-term investment portfolio2) and manage operations during the year to produce a positive integrated budget operating margin over a rolling three-year period.
210 2.3 To achieve these goals, the chief executive officer (CEO) shall be responsible for developing the Association's annual budgets to be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. These budgets shall be reviewed, modified, and approved first by the Finance Committee and then the Board of Directors prior to submission as information to Council. Council approval is required for any single, unbudgeted item that exceeds $3 million or sale of Association real estate. The strategic planning process should represent the avenue by which the Association’s priorities are set and new initiatives are approved.
This section shall be reviewed by Council at three-year intervals beginning the first meeting of Council in 2023.
210 2.4 In order that this policy can be adequately carried out, the financial records of the APA shall be so maintained as to permit a matching of direct income and direct expenses plus allocated expenses by program. The annual budget shall be developed in such a way that the projected difference between income and expenses, by program, can be readily determined.
210-2.5 Presidential Activities Fund
A budget shall be established for presidential activities and should be spent during the first two years of the three-year cycle of each President. The Finance Committee shall be responsible for setting the presidential activities budget limit. Presidential activities funded by the Association must be consistent with the Strategic Plan and approved by the Board of Directors. The CEO shall facilitate completion of presidential activities by the end of the year of presidency and within the budget limit. The Board must approve any presidential activities that extend beyond the first two years of the Presidential cycle.
210-3. Organizational Financial Health
On a continuing basis, the Association shall strive to maintain organizational financial health, which shall be measured as follows:
Short-term financial health.
The Association shall strive to maintain cash on hand as of December 31st equal to at least three months of annual operating expenses and three months of the current portion of long-term debt.
Long-term financial health.
The Association shall strive to maintain financial health. The long-term financial health of the Association will be measured/monitored in several ways:
- Maintaining a long-term investment portfolio equal to at least 30% of total annual operating expenses.
- Acknowledging a conservative estimate of fair market value (FMV) of equity in buildings as a point of reference3.
- Maintaining Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Bond Rating BBB or higher.
- Complying with debt covenants, as applicable.
210-4. Forecast
210-4.1 Council delegates to the Board the authority for decision-making related to budget and financial matters.
This section shall be reviewed by Council at three-year intervals beginning the first meeting of Council in 2023.
210-4.2 Consistent with the mission of the Finance Committee set forth in Article XI, section 3 of the APA Bylaws, the Finance Committee shall work with the CEO and the CFO in the development of an annual financial forecast (up to three years) to be presented to Council as part of the report provided in Association Rule 210-2.1. The Finance Committee shall recommend to the Board of Directors overall long-range financial goals for the Association, which will be provided to Council as information. Upon approval of these goals by the Board of Directors, the CEO will proceed to develop budgets to achieve the organizational financial health requirements covered in Rule 210-3.
This section shall be reviewed by Council at three-year intervals beginning the first meeting of Council in 2023.
210-5. Dues
210-5.1 In preparing the annual budget, the Finance Committee shall recommend necessary changes in dues rates. The Finance Committee's recommendation will be reviewed by the Board of Directors and submitted to Council as information. Recommendations for dues increases will be submitted to Council for approval.
This section shall be reviewed by Council at three-year intervals beginning the first meeting of Council in 2023.
210-5.2 The annual dues of Members, including Fellows, and Associate Members shall be established on a ramp up schedule based on years of membership.
Dues for Members and Associate members who have reached both 65 years of age and 25 years of membership, and have advised Central Office of their choice to begin the dues-reduction process, shall be based on the following schedule. At any step in the process where dues are less than the current subscription price/servicing fee, the latter shall prevail.
- Step 1 (first year) – 90% of regular dues
- Step 2 (second year) – 70% of regular dues
- Step 3 (third year) – 50 % of regular dues
- Step 4 (fourth year) – 30 % of regular dues
- Step 5 (fifth year) – full dues exemption
When full dues exemption is attained, the subscription price/servicing fee option becomes available.
This section shall be reviewed by Council at three-year intervals beginning the first meeting of Council in 2023.
210-6. Canadian Psychological Association
210-6.1 A Fellow, Member, or Associate member residing in Canada, who also belongs to the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and pays full dues to that Association, is eligible for a reduction of 50% in his or her dues payable to the American Psychological Association. Conversely, a Fellow, Member, or Associate member who resides in the United States and also belongs to the Canadian Psychological Association and who pays full dues to APA is eligible for a 50% reduction in dues payable to CPA.
210-7. Fees
210-7.1 The Finance Committee shall be responsible for recommending the fees for the following categories: (a) Members; (b) late payment of dues; (c) International Affiliates; (d) High School Teacher Affiliates; (e) Student Affiliates; and (f) 2-Year College Teacher Affiliates.
210-8. Convention Registration Fees
210-8.1 The convention registration fees shall be set annually by the Board of Directors after recommendation from the Board of Convention Affairs. This shall normally be done no later than January of the year for which the fees are set. The fees should be set at levels consistent with the goals set forth for direct service programs covered in Rule 210-2.1.
210-9. Reduced Fees Status
210-0.1 Any Fellow, Member or Associate member may request reduced dues status by so indicating on the annual dues statement and submitting a written request to the Central Office.
There shall be an annual APA membership maintenance fee for reduced dues status, set by the Membership Board. This fee applies to APA dues and assessments. The fee will ordinarily be lower than full dues, with the amount to be determined by the Membership Board. Reduced dues status is limited to a total of five years and must be renewed annually, on the member dues statement. Those members requesting reduced dues status may continue to subscribe to APA journals, purchase APA books, and register for the annual convention at the member prices or rates.
210-10. Journal Subscription Prices
210-10.1 The APA's subscription prices for journals shall be set in such a way as to encourage the widest practicable distribution of high quality journals to individuals and institutions needing them. The prices shall be set consistent with the goals set forth for direct service programs covered in Rule 210-2.1. Costs to be recovered must include the direct costs to produce and service publications as well as a proportionate share of allocated expenses. In general, subscription prices will be set with a view toward fairness to subscribers, both members and non-members. Prices charged to members should normally be lower than the prices charged to non-members, but not necessarily in a fixed proportion. It is the responsibility of the Publications and Communications Board to anticipate the need for subscription price changes and recommend these to the Board of Directors for approval. The Board of Directors shall report its actions to Council.
210-10.2 The chief executive officer (CEO) may accept subscriptions at member rates from nonprofit scientific foundations for donation to foreign subscribers when such donations are in the best interest of the APA.
210-10.3 The chief executive officer (CEO) shall set prices for single issues, foreign subscriptions, back issues, and other publications as appropriate.
210-11. Subscriptions Included in Dues and Household Credit
210-11.1 Each member shall receive a subscription to the American Psychologist and the APA Monitor on Psychology.
If APA members reside in the same household, one member may claim the dues amount allocated for the American Psychologist and the APA Monitor on Psychology as a credit toward current year dues in lieu of receiving duplicate subscriptions to these periodicals.
Members exempt from dues under the provisions of Article XIX, Section 6 of the APA Bylaws may receive the American Psychologist and the APA Monitor on Psychology at a charge determined by Council and may subscribe to other APA journals at member rates.
210-12. Division Dues and Assessment
Divisions may vote to make special assessments to be collected as part of the APA dues or collected separately by the divisions. All divisions must inform the Central Office in writing of the amount of their special assessments for the next calendar year by June 1 each year.
210-13. Psychology Defense Fund
210-13.1 The Psychology Defense Fund shall operate in accordance with policy adopted by Council at its January 18-20, 1980, meeting and published in the June 1980 American Psychologist. The Council shall receive an annual report of grants awarded by the Fund.
210-14. Meetings of Committees and Boards and Reimbursement of Funds
210-14.1 All meetings of APA boards, committees, ad hoc committees, task forces and the like that are funded by APA will be held in the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, unless there is a valid reason for holding the meetings in another city. This does not pertain to meetings held in cities at the time of the annual convention. A different location for a meeting requires the advance approval of the chief executive officer (CEO) or his or her designee. Except under unusual circumstances, APA does not pay travel or per diem expenses for board or committee meetings scheduled during the annual convention.