Membership Info

Membership Dues

Dear Club Presidents and Club Treasurers:

The Garden Club of New Jersey membership dues, insurance fees and membership lists are due to the state Membership Chairman by April 15th each year. In order to be registered and insured, this deadline must be met. Therefore, your dues and fees should be mailed to the Membership Chairperson by April 15 of each year. Your timely response is greatly appreciated!

Membership dues: $7.00 per individual member
Insurance fees: $5.00 per individual member
TOTAL: $12.00 PER INDIVIDUAL MEMBER

*Please Note: Send ONE club check for the total of both club membership and club insurance fees.

Dues to GCNJ are based on Individual Membership. If a club has a husband and wife membership, you are required by the Bylaws of the GCNJ to pay $7.00 per individual. Insurance coverage is also based on each individual member.

GCNJ has moved back to Constant Contact for both communication and database contacts. A note was sent out for clubs to utilize a specific form for DUES from the Membership chair, Ellen Preissler to facilitate uploading information easily to the system.

Membership Benefits

Benefits to Your Garden Club As a Member of The Garden Club of New Jersey

Dear Friend,
The Garden Club of New Jersey (“GCNJ”) has played a significant role in helping to protect and conserve New Jersey’s natural resources, as well as encouraging civic and roadside beauty. Additionally, GCNJ offers scholarships for teachers and college students to promote interest in conservation of wildlife and the environment.

The GCNJ is a federation of Garden Clubs founded in 1925 and is a charter member of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. The GCNJ serves over 4,500 members throughout the state.

We hope you will take this opportunity to join GCNJ and benefit by the following:

Access to our recommended Program/Speaker List;
Heightened publicity of your club through our website, resulting in increased membership;
Posting of announcements for your club fundraisers (tours, flower shows and plant sales, etc.) on our website, free of charge;
Obtain affordable club insurance;
Guidance through the 501(c) (3) process, qualifying your club as a charitable organization;
Advice in planning flower shows, and selecting qualified judges from our directory to judge your flower shows;
Evaluation of your club projects for exclusive GCNJ awards;
Borrow materials from our extensive list of Properties to aid in flower shows and other club projects;
Purchase garden related supplies from “Club Sales”;
Use of the GCNJ Headquarters, “Holly House” within the beautiful grounds of Rutgers Gardens for your club meeting once per year;
Receipt of our quarterly newsletter… News Leaf;
Access to our Directory of member garden clubs in New Jersey, including president’s contact information;
Attend National, Regional and District Conferences and GCNJ state meetings;Attend GCNJ sponsored schools and workshops (for credit or non-credit). Past offerings have included:
Flower Show School | Gardening Study School | Landscape Design School | Environmental Studies School | Symposiums (Floral Design)
Attend state sponsored projects, field trips, workshops, meetings and tours.

An example of the programs GCNJ has offered in the past includes such subjects as: Youth, Environmental, Garden Education, Garden Therapy, Horticulture and Scholarships

Membership dues are $12.00 per year per member. The dues are requested by April 15th of the year. New Clubs and additional members may be added any time during the year. If you have any questions, please send them to the email provided below.
membership.gcnj@gmail.com

AFFILIATE MEMBERSHIP IN GCNJ

Dear Friend,

The Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc. (GCNJ) has played a significant role in helping to protect and conserve New Jersey’s natural resources, as well as encouraging civic and roadside beauty. Additionally, GCNJ offers scholarships for teachers and college students to promote interest in conservation of wildlife and the environment.

The GCNJ is a federation of Garden Clubs founded in 1925 and is a charter member of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. The GCNJ serves over 4,500 members throughout the state.

We hope you will take this opportunity to join GCNJ as an Affiliate Member and benefit by the following:

Your group will be published in our recommended program/speaker list
You may post announcements on our Website free of charge
Receive our quarterly newsletter … “News Leaf”
Receive a directory of garden clubs in New Jersey
Attend Fall Conference and the Annual Meeting
Attend GCNJ sponsored schools and workshops:

Flower Show School
Gardening Consultants
Landscape Design School
Environmental Studies School

Affiliate Membership dues are $30.00 per year. The dues are requested by April 15th of the year. If you have any questions, please send them to the email provided below.
membership.gcnj@gmail.com

Affiliate Member Form – click here

GCNJ Insurance/501(C)(3)

ATTENTION CLUB PRESIDENTS

The Garden Club of New Jersey provides insurance for your club after the club has paid its membership dues and insurance fees. The insurance, brokered through Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and provided by Hartford Insurance Company is not an accident policy. It is a policy to cover negligence and includes the following:

Liability insurance for the members of your club.
Liability insurance for third party participants at club sanctioned functions.
Property insurance for Holly House.
Special events insurance.

Our liability coverage excludes the use of alcohol. Clubs may not sell, serve or provide alcohol at their functions. It also excludes athletic participants, which is especially important to keep in mind with the Junior Clubs. In addition, the policy provides for a cap on losses due to instances of certified terrorism. You must report the occurrence of any member or public incident to our agent at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., as soon as possible after the incident. Please have all facts of the incident available. Should there ever be a claim, the telephone number to report the claim is 800-327-3636.

Insurance Broker Contact Information:
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: Dana Ellis
200 Jefferson Park, Whippany, NJ 07981
(973) 921-8064 / Fax: (973) 921-2876
Email address: dana_ellis@ajg.com

A number of clubs have had questions concerning youth groups that they sponsor. As long as the Junior Clubs are acting on behalf of the Garden Club of New Jersey (fulfilling GCNJ goals and objectives) and have adult club sponsorship and adult club supervision, they are covered. It is recommended that at the beginning of each fiscal year in your club,a permission slip be signed by each parent or guardian. This allows the participation of all in your youth activities. You must also obtain permission slips for each off-premises trip and it is advisable to keep a youth roster with updated contacts and medical information, as necessary. The goal is to have our Junior Club leaders well prepared with information readily available for each child.

All club presidents should be in possession of their club’s Certificate of Insurance. If you do not have one, contact the insurance agent listed above. In case you should receive an “out of office” message, you can send an email to select_certificates@ajg.com . The Certificate may be copied. For specific questions concerning your club’s coverage or an unusual special event, you may also contact the insurance agent for your answers.

Insurance policies are very specific, and you must try to have needed information from our agent before an event or situation arises that may fall outside the parameters of our policy.

Incorporation and 501 (c) (3) Charitable Organization Registration

INCORPORATION and 501 (c) (3) CHARITABLE REGISTRATION

ATTENTION CLUB PRESIDENTS AND TREASURERS

Many of our clubs have had questions concerning incorporation and charitable organization registration. Please investigate this classification for your club if you have not already done so. There are many benefits that may be derived from incorporating under the state and federal charitable organization criteria, of which the tax exempt designation is a very important one for your garden club. You may not and should not be using the GCNJ’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) to exempt your club from state and federal taxes. If you are already registered as a nonprofit, please check current reporting requirements at both the state and federal government websites. There have been changes over the past few years.

The first step recommended to clubs that are still unincorporated and unregistered is to visit the New Jersey state government website at www.nj.gov and search in the upper right hand corner the words “charitable registration” and, separately, “nonprofit” (no hyphen). This will lead you to an informative booklet type presentation, “Starting a Non profit Organization in New Jersey – Questions and Answers” which introduces the steps involved for your club along with links for further information.

The IRS also has a number of informative publications available on line pertaining to charitable organizations, filing status, and required annual reporting documents. That web site may be reached at www.IRS.gov click on Charities and Non-profits in the header then click on Charitable Orgs. You will be presented with a choice of online informational documents concerning 501 (c) (3) organizations and federal requirements for registering and reporting. Keep in mind that it is the federal tax exempt designation of your organization that the state of New Jersey recognizes.

After perusing these web sites and the many resources they provide, your first contact should be a knowledgeable attorney familiar with nonprofit organizations. He or she will be able to explain the steps necessary to incorporate and file for your garden club, explain the advantages, if any, to your organization and give you an estimate of costs involved. Although it may be possible to incorporate and register without an attorney, it is strongly suggested that you save yourself time and trouble by hiring an expert.

Specific questions concerning incorporation and charitable organization registration should be addressed with your attorney or a state tax or federal IRS representative. Federal and state addresses and phone numbers are available from the respective web sites.

If you have any questions, please contact us and I will attempt to steer you to information that might be helpful to you and your local organization.