NAHB NOW

Advocacy: What Matters Most. A. Overview and Guiding Principles B. Bylaw Changes 1. Reduce the size of the Executive Committee 2. Create a meaningful role for State Reps and NACs 3. Streamline the committee and council structure and appointments 4. Alter the board functions to a corporate structure 5. Add an associate member to the Senior Officer Team 6. EOC reform to align with the principles

Submitted by: Matt Morrow, HBA of Greater Springfield, MO Pam Perri, BA of Minnesota Susan Ritter, HBA of Tennessee

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t

he nationwide membership poll conducted by Opinion Research Specialists in 2011 for the

Alternatives for the Future Task Force asked NAHB members to prioritize the most important functions provided by NAHB. Consistently, members’ first, second, third and fourth priorities identified the core advocacy functions of NAHB (see attached NAHB Membership Survey pages 18 to 24). Whatever outstanding products and services NAHB provides, members clearly expect NAHB – far and away above all else - to advocate on their behalf in the regulatory, legislative, political, and legal arenas. It is the ONLY function that the local and state associations cannot easily provide for themselves and its provision by NAHB is the fundamental basis and justification for the federation's existence. What follows is a set of “guiding principles” and bylaw changes recommended by the Executive Officers Council to help committees, councils and other subgroups focus programs, products and services on supporting this central expectation members have of NAHB – the federation must do whatever is necessary to become highly-focused and highly - effective in its core advocacy role. These bylaw changes are being submitted by a member to NAHB for discussion at the IBS Board of Directors meeting. NAHB’s effectiveness as chief advocate on behalf of its members is severely and publicly compromised by declining membership, budget and financial reserves. Its effectiveness is further impaired by NAHB’s own outdated and overgrown governance structure, which in many cases prevents or endlessly delays the very fortifications that are necessary for the federation to become a highly effective regulatory, legislative, political and legal advocate on behalf of its members. It should be noted that analogous analyses and actions to those discussed in this document either have been done or are in some stage of being undertaken by almost every state and local association within the NAHB federation. Consequences of Inaction or Further Delay 1. The long-term viability and effectiveness of NAHB as chief advocate on behalf of its members is at peril without fundamental reform.

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2. Additionally, NAHB faces immediate and urgent financial crisis and potential near-term financial collapse without fundamental reform. At its current revenue and expenditure pace, NAHB will have exhausted all financial resources and reserves by the end of 2014. Guiding Principles 1.

NAHB’s core advocacy functions are by far the most critical role the federation must fulfill on behalf of its members. Core Advocacy function means any committee, council, program, or product that serves as the federation’s principal means for directly advancing the interests of members in one or more of these areas:

o

Regulatory Advocacy: NAHB's regulatory advocacy includes working within the regulatory bureaucracy for positive change. Examples of regulatory advocacy include working closely with administration officials and officials of federal government agencies, non-governmental, or quasi-governmental bodies that establish standards for regulatory implementation at all levels of government (EPA, OSHA, FDIC, ICC, etc.).

o

Legislative Advocacy: NAHB's legislative advocacy involves working with elected officials to adopt beneficial legislation and to defeat destructive legislation. It is the type of advocacy aimed at persuading people who have been elected to public office and who ultimately cast a vote on whether and which changes to make to existing law. Examples of legislative advocacy include lobbying members of Congress to maintain the Mortgage Interest Deduction and reform lending requirements.

o

Political Advocacy: NAHB's political advocacy involves working to help elect to federal office men and women who understand the important role residential construction and remodeling plays in our overall economy and quality of life. It can include campaign contributions and grassroots campaign support and management. NAHB is a nonpartisan political advocate. Using its political action committee (BUILD-PAC), NAHB evaluates and supports candidates for office strictly on the basis of how the candidate aligns with the priorities of the building industry. Political advocacy is considered by many to be the key to all other forms of advocacy in which NAHB engages. Successful political advocacy ensures reasonable audiences will hear NAHB's arguments when engaging in regulatory and legislative advocacy. Also, it greatly reduces the potential need to engage in costly and high-stakes legal advocacy.

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o

Legal Advocacy: Legal advocacy is when an unfavorable or abusive law or enforcement method must be challenged in court via lawsuit. NAHB's legal advocacy is the last line of defense for the industry. In rare instances, when all other forms of advocacy fail, laws or regulations that are severely damaging to the industry may be adopted or implemented over the objections of the best arguments of NAHB. At times, these laws or regulations may actually be illegal or unconstitutional and therefore subject to legal challenge against the government body that enacted the illegal or unconstitutional provision. In such cases, NAHB may file suit against the offending government body. Legal advocacy can be very expensive, and the outcome is unpredictable. That is why NAHB engages so actively in regulatory, legislative and political advocacy. Still, when the only remedy that remains is legal action, NAHB remains the chief advocate for its members and the industry.

2. All NAHB functions and expenditures should be measured by the level to which they support or advance core advocacy objectives, and any functions that are “Non-Central” should not divert valuable and limited NAHB resources away from its core advocacy objectives. For purposes of this analysis, the following conceptual framework is recommended: o

Advocacy Support: Tools, resources and services which are directly necessary and indispensable to the advancement of the above advocacy functions. Committees and councils should evaluate each of their functions based on how centrally focused they are on this advocacy support function.

o

Operational: Purely “operational” functions are those that are neither “advocacy support” nor “non-central” but are necessary for the basic operations of the federation. A certain portion of human and financial resources always will be necessary for basic operational support. But to the extent the priorities of the federation are properly aligned with member advocacy priorities, these operational expenses will be more tightly related to a smaller and more focused set of priorities.

o

Non-Central: Any functions not centrally-focused on advocacy support, by definition, draw human and financial resources away from the federation’s core role as chief industry advocate. Non-central functions should be considered for immediate elimination or suspension. Any non-central functions that are judged important enough to continue should be immediately required to self-sustain and generate revenues from the function substantial enough to support the advocacy function. Such a requirement is necessary in

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order to prevent non-central functions from drawing scarce financial and human resources away from the core advocacy role of the federation. Alignment to Guiding Principles: This package of recommendations entitled NAHB:Advocacy Matters Most includes fundamental reform of NAHB. Some reforms are technical and are centered on getting NAHB’s governance model “out of its own way,” positioning NAHB to effectively and consistently deliver on the core advocacy promise of the federation. This package is not meant to be an exhaustive index of all needed reforms. Recent reports completed by the Alternatives for the Future Task Force (I and II), Jurisdictional Task Force, Andrew Lang & Associates and others provide thoughtful and well-reasoned reform recommendations that are ready to be “pulled off the shelf” and implemented as their need becomes more apparent in the process of fundamental reform. Vote for the following bylaw and policy changes to achieve the guiding principles: 1.

Bylaw change to reduce the size of the Executive Committee.

2.

Bylaw change to streamline the role of State Representatives and National Area Chairs through transparent and accountable responsibilities. They should be the voice of the membership on the executive committee level.

3.

Bylaw change to streamline the committee and council structure to align with the guiding principle that Advocacy Matters Most.

4.

Bylaw change to reduce the number of NAHB board meetings to preserve and direct staff efforts and financial resources at all levels of the federation on the job of advocacy and research.

5.

Bylaw change to add an associate member to the Senior Officer team to recognize and reflect the critical role associates play in the federation.

6.

Policy change to put a three-year moratorium on all programs, services and expenditures that do not serve the advocacy function.

7.

Policy change to amend the function of NAHB’s Executive Officers Council to align with the guiding principles and to further NAHB’s mission and best utilize the federation’s resources.

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Bylaw Change 1 Reduce the size of the Executive Committee from 106+ to 57 members Objective Create a governance system that allows the NAHB Board and NAHB Executive Committee to function as efficiently as possible. The NAHB Executive Committee role is to approve a budget, finalize policy and provide staff oversight utilizing the guiding principles of Advocacy Matters Most. State Representatives and National Area Chairs are the critical and directly accountable voice of the membership at the leadership level. Background As of 2003, the NAHB Executive Committee is made up of the following (NAHB bylaws Article V): Chair, First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair, Third Vice Chair and Immediate Past Chair (5) National Area Chairs (15), State Representatives (51) including PR, First Vice Chair of the Budget Committee (1), Special voting members by virtue of 10,000 member status, committees and councils (Associate, Association Planning, Audit, Budget/F, Building Products, Business Management, Codes, Construction Safety and Health, Convention, Custom Home Builders, Design, Education, Environmental, Federal GR, Housing Finance, Land Development, Legal Action, Membership, Suppliers, Housing Center, Nominations, Past Chairmen, Public Affairs, Resolutions, Single Family Production, Single Family Small Volume, State and Local GR, + Councils) (27++), Non-voting members of the Executive committee (? + 6) (includes Past Chairmen of the Board or Presidents, Chair of EOC, NHE, BUILD-PAC, HBI, Research, NAHB CEO) Bylaw Change 1:

The NAHB Executive Committee is made up of 57 members to include: Senior Officers: Chair, First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair, Third Vice Chair Associate Chair and Immediate Past Chair, (6) State Reps/NAC (51) See Bylaw recommendation #2 where all NACs are elected from existing State Reps.

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Supporting Rationale for bylaw Change #1: Reduce the size of the executive committee to provide a nimble, well informed group of members who are representative and accountable to the grassroots membership to provide oversight of the budget and approve policy for the association addressing the guiding principle: Advocacy Matters Most. There are two primary problems with the existing structure of the current executive committee. The first is the size. There are simply too many members to hold a dialogue discussion. Second, committee and council chairs serving on the executive committee further concentrate the leadership away from the grassroots members into a smaller group of members who, in order to remain on the executive committee, rotate chairmanships, whether they have actual expertise in the committee function or not. Chairmanships are awarded based on support of leadership rather than expertise and knowledge. Any and all past presidents serving on the executive committee further stifles debate. Neither of these groups is accountable to the membership in any way. While the intention of adding committee chairs and past presidents to the executive committee may have been for better communication and alignment of association work, it has not achieved that objective. A smaller and member-elected executive committee is better suited to provide leadership for the organization in a rapidly changing environment. Members are not beholden to the leadership, they are beholden to the state and local associations who send them to the meetings and many of whom are paying their way. This democratized group can keep the work of the committees directed towards the primary mission of NAHB. Corresponding Changes for Bylaw Change 1 This recommendation incorporates the addition of Bylaw Change 2 to streamline the roles of the State Reps and NACS and Bylaw Change 3 to strengthen the committee process. This recommendation differs from the Futures Task Force recommendation in that it does not require a redistricting of the current caucus system.

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Bylaw Change 2 Provide the State Reps and NAC with a meaningful role in decision making.*** Objective Create a governance system that allows the NAHB Board and NAHB Executive Committee to function as efficiently as possible. Utilize the system in place to create an advisory group to the Senior Officers with meaningful responsibilities and accountability to the grassroots. Background What is the current function of State Representatives and National Area Chairs (NAC)? Can they work in tandem with each other without creating overlap and redundancy for governance? These positions have an important role by giving voice to the members from state and local associations. The roles should be formalized and responsibilities made clear via appropriate bylaw changes. These are the positions where state and local associations ought to be sending their best leaders. Recommendation 1. State Representatives are elected from each state for a two-year term. 2. Each caucus will elect the NAC from the sitting State Representatives for a two-year term. 3. The NAC’s serve as the NAHB Budget committee. 4. The State Reps serve as the NAHB Resolution committee. Supporting Rationale Serving as a State Rep needs to be meaningful to the association and respectful of the time spent by the members committing themselves to the association’s business. A mere supporting role is not enough. Local and state associations are spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel for these members to attend meetings and represent the industry to the best of their ability. Their time and members’ financial resources should not be wasted. The budget and resolutions committee are the core function running the association and it is the most meaningful place for the member-elected representation to provide advice and guidance to the Senior Officers. Corresponding Bylaw 2 Changes This recommendation incorporates the recommendation to reduce the size of the Executive Committee (see Bylaw Change 1) to streamline the committee structure (Bylaw Change 3) and to alter the Board Functions (Bylaw Change 4). ***This recommendation is NOT in the Futures Task Force report nor was it in any previous report.

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Bylaw Change 3 Streamline the Committee Structure/Appointment Process according to the recommendations by the Exploring Alternatives for the Future Task Force Objective Create a system that allows members to engage in NAHB. Member voices and input create the basis from which advocacy positions and actions are taken on behalf of the association. They also serve to provide oversight to operations that are created to serve the advocacy function. Input from the entire membership is necessary. The new system is to be implemented in 2013. Background There are too many committees and councils with a myriad of subcommittees and while staff has been reduced by over 30% and no decisions have been made to reduce the infrastructure of the organization. All current committees and councils have importance to the industry but some are more important and vital to the mission of the organization than others. The membership has been clear through the polling data that government relations and regulatory work

must be NAHB’s number one priority, yet all committees are given the same weight in terms of leadership and staffing. The committee system should be in line with the current needs of the association and rank and file members’ expectations. The NAHB committee and council system is antiquated. There are no guiding principles to determine the definition of a committee and a council. The system was built by adding services and developing specialty meeting groups as resources and income to the association increased. The Futures report defines the difference between the two this way: Councils: Member organizations focused on serving industry segments through member networking. Councils may provide policy development recommendations. Council Chairs do not serve on the Executive Committee. Committees: Members groups focused on serving the Association in the areas of association operations and policy service implementation that are core to the mission of

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the organization. Committee chairs serve on the Executive Committee and are appointed by Senior Officers. COMMITTEES Committees serve the primary objectives of the association; not reward or recognize constituency groups within the membership. Appointments are made according to the guidelines outlined in the Futures Task Force Report. With the needs of individual industry segments addressed through the Councils, the NAHB Committee structure would be refocused on the Operations of the Association and the Policy

Service/Implementation requirements of the Federation. In-person meetings should take place twice per year.

Operations Committees

Service/Implementation Committees:

Association Planning Committee* Audit *

Education (Education, Business

Management and Information Technology) Budget [Compensation Subcommittee*]

Legal Advocacy (Legal Action)*

Hall of Fame Board of Governors*

Legislative Advocacy (Federal Government

Affairs, State and Local Government Affairs) Nominations*

Membership Services (Membership

Recruitment/Retention, Communications, NAHB.org) Non-Dues Revenue

Regulatory Advocacy (Environmental Issues,

(To Include All Non-Dues Revenue, currently

Construction Safety and Health,

consisting of Conventions & Meetings, Affinity

Construction Codes, Housing Finance)

Programs, Sponsorships) Resolutions * Denotes separate appointment processes constructed to comply either with association best

practices efforts or specialized committee qualification requirements. The structure and operations of the current “Legal Action Committee” would be maintained as documented in the current NAHB Bylaws (Amended January 14, 2011). Currently there are 28 Standing Committees named and charged within the NAHB Bylaws. The 28 standing committees should be collapsed into the 12 above noted committees. The addition of the 3 new councils (Associates, Developers, Single Family) mentioned in the next section result in a total reduction of 13 separate standing committees.

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1. Committee Applicants & Appointees: •

Any member applying for a committee appointment will release access to their application, the status of their application and their contact details for the review of all those involved in the NAHB committee selection process (EOs, National Area Chairs, Officers, and Committee Leadership).

•

Should a member applicant be appointed to serve on a committee, the member agrees to make available to the membership of the organization their contact information (e-mail, phone and address) allowing the individual members to easily provide policy input directly to the committees.

•

This information will be made available and transparent to all NAHB member participants through the nahb.org website.

2. Committee Composition:

•

Committees can be comprised of up to 32 (thirty-two) NAHB voting members in good standing.

•

No more than 6 (six) members of the committee would be appointed by the rising Senior Officers (Second Vice Chairman, First Vice Chairman, Chairman of the Board) in consultation with the Associate Vice Chair; 2 appointees per rising Officer.

•

The remaining appointments would be selected by the NAHB Senior Officers from among nominations forwarded by the individual caucuses as facilitated by the National Area Chairs.

•

1 (one) Associate Member would be appointed to each committee by the Associate Vice Chair from among nominations provided by the Associates Council.

•

1 (one) EO liaison to be designated by the Executive Officers Network (EON) Leadership Team (Non-Voting).

•

Committee chairs would be elected by rising Senior Officers (Second Vice Chairman, First Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the Board) from among the appointed Committee membership. The chairs must demonstrate relevant experience to the purpose of the committee to serve as chair.

3. Committee Participation Guidelines: •

In an effort to encourage a broader number of participants at the leadership level, a member would not be able to serve on more than two rungs of the leadership ladder in any given leadership year (Committee Chair, Committee Vice Chair, or Committee First Vice Chair).

•

Committee terms would continue to be 1 (one) year in duration.

•

Members would be limited to serving only 3 (three) consecutive terms unless serving as Vice Chair or Chair; 2 (two) additional years would be provided for leadership participation resulting in no more than 5 (five) consecutive committee terms (years) of service in total.

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•

Members must rotate off a minimum of 1 (one) leadership term (one year) before they are appointed again to another three-year term for the same committee.

•

A full term of service will be recognized should a member serve the appointment for a full year or for a partial year as a replacement appointment.

•

Members will be limited to serving on 2 (two) NAHB Committees in any given leadership year.

•

A member can serve as a chair of a given committee only once in every 6 (six) consecutive terms (years).

COUNCILS Councils supporting the NAHB industry segments will operate by the following guidelines: •

Council chairs are elected by the membership within the council.

•

Council chairs do not serve on the executive Committee.

•

Councils meet once per year at the IBS Show and virtually as needed.

•

Councils address housing industry segments, therefore members who are interested in a particular building discipline or interest group would be beneficial both to the individual members and to NAHB.

•

Allow members --- whether Single Family Builders, Remodelers, Developers, Associate Members, etc -- to actively and equally share in dynamic membership opportunities furthering all segments of the industry. This is critical to building a successful association of the future. It allows the priorities of all industry participants to have representation and participation options.

•

Members will have the opportunity to participate in member networking sessions (virtually and in-person) and share experiences with other colleagues interested in their chosen building discipline.

•

The association will have the opportunity to market to a broader group of members, specialized services and proprietary high quality information.

•

Additionally, as the number of identified members participating in the councils grows, it is anticipated that so too will the potential sponsor and business opportunities pertaining to each council.

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Councils supporting the NAHB industry segments will now include the following: 50+ Council

Multifamily Council

Associates Council*

NAHB Leading Suppliers Council

Building Systems Council

NAHB Remodelers

Commercial Builders Council

Professional Women in Building

Developers Council *

Sales & Marketing Council Single Family Council*(Design/Single Family

SmallVolume/SingleFamilyProduction/Custom) *Currently no dues schedule accompanies these noted Councils. It should be noted, that some of these councils did not exist previously (specifically the Associates Council, the Developers Council, and the Single Family Council). The needs of these industry segments currently are being addressed in part through the committee structure. With the creation of these councils the need for the corresponding is eliminated. The EOC is not a Council. This proposal refers to the EOC as the Executive Officer Network (EON). Additionally, the newly contemplated councils do not have a dues structure supporting a member’s participation in or the operations of the council. It is the relevant networking component motivating the broader membership to get involved. This structure makes this critical offering accessible to all members through the elimination of dues will go a long way in furthering the NAHB “value” proposition to the individual member. All NAHB members are then provided the opportunity to participate in any and ALL councils in which they have an interest and in which they meet the appropriate membership requirements. Within the existing traditional NAHB council structure, there are groups of members that pay for and receive enhanced membership services (such as the Multifamily Leadership Board, Housing Credit Group and the Leading Suppliers Council). Though the recommendations suggested here would provide for a similar minimum level of service and support to be provided to all industry segments, it does not prohibit the continuation or creation of specialized, enhanced services which can be made available to interested members for an additional fee. In fact such specialized services are certain to be requested by growing an active council membership base and may be offered by the Association as new sources of revenue. Council Chair Appointees: •

Any member applying for a Council Chair Appointment will release access to their application, the status of their application and their contact details for the review of all those

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involved in the NAHB Committee process (EOs, National Area Chairs, Officers, and Committee Leadership). •

Should a member applicant be appointed to serve as a council chair, the member agrees to make available to the membership of the organization their contact information (e-mail, phone and address) allowing the individual members to easily provide policy input to the Committees.

•

This information will be made available and transparent to all NAHB member participants through the nahb.org website.

•

NAHB Senior Officers appoint the Chair and Vice Chair of each council from a recommendation from the council members.

Council Chair Responsibilities Council Chairs report once per year at a meeting of the NAHB Senior Officers to provide leadership with a state of the industry segment report and make policy and/or advocacy recommendations as necessary.

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Bylaw Change 4 Board Function and Meetings Objective Create a governance system that allows the NAHB Board and NAHB Executive Committee to function as efficiently as possible. Background In light of the overall changes recommended in this package, the role of the board is altered to have two primary functions; to elect officers and approve bylaw changes to lead the organization. Similar to a functioning corporate board, the board members become “shareholders” in the overall direction of the organization, leaving the management of the association to the Senior Officers, Executive Committee and committees. Recommendation 1. The NAHB Board meets twice per year: Once at an annual meeting concurrent with IBS. A second meeting is to be held in conjunction with an advocacy or regulatory event. 2. The role of the Board is to elect officers and make bylaw changes. 3. The Executive Committee’s role is to create and approve a budget. Supporting Rationale With a functioning Executive Committee and key committees comprised of the membership, board meetings should be similar to annual shareholder meetings with similar functions. Not only will this be a savings for NAHB but every local association and member as well. It is estimated that local associations collectively spend approximately $1,000,000 per meeting in travel expenses.

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Bylaw Change 5 Add an Associate Member to the Senior Officer Team Objective Create a governance system representative of the association membership. Background Associate members represent the 73% of NAHB members. They should have a seat at the Senior Officer table. Unlike the Futures Task Force Report, this recommendation adds a member to the Senior Officer Team and it does not remove a member. As a result there are 6 Senior Officers in this proposal. Recommendation The NAHB Executive Committee is made up of the following: •

Chair

•

First Vice Chair

•

Second Vice Chair

•

Third Vice Chair

•

Immediate Past Chair, (6)**

•

Associate Chair - The position would be non-voting with no ascension on the ladder of officers and would hold a term of two years.

Supporting Rationale Associate members comprise 73% of the NAHB’s membership and are officers at many local and state associations. Associate members are a vital and active part of the home building industry and provide key support to the regulatory and legislative initiatives of NAHB.

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Bylaw Change 6 Reforming the EOC to continue to serve state and local Executive Officers and participate in the NAHB advocacy mission. Objective 1: To properly align the EOC’s name with its core function. Unlike member councils, which function as specialized forums for segments of the industry, the EOC serves local and state EO’s as a support network for association professionals. Following the objective of creating clarity and purpose for NAHB’s councils and committees, the EOC should change its name and clarify its function. Bylaw Recommendation 1: 1. Change the name of the Executive Officer Council to the Executive Officer Network (EONet) 2. Maintain the role of the EON which is to educate, train and support the professional staff of the state and local associations. Objective 2: To recognize the resources EO’s can offer to assist NAHB with the overall advocacy objective. Not all political resources reside in Washington, DC. Among state and local EO’s and their professional staff, the federation has well over 100 lobbyists and key grassroots contacts outside of Washington DC. NAHB need only appropriately figure out a way to use those lobbyists effectively. Policy Recommendation 1: The EON’s function should be enhanced by establishing an EO Advocacy Team. This new function would supplement the EON’s current state and local EO support responsibilities. The EON and EO Advocacy Team would have the following responsibilities: A. An EO Advocacy Team should be designated by the EON, consisting of: 1. The State EO, or their designee, in states where a state association exists because virtually all state EOs are or have on staff professional lobbyists; and 2. Any Local EO who is or has a professional lobbyist on staff or has a relationship with a member of Congress or their aides.

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B. The members of the advocacy team should be specifically charged with the obligation of accepting responsibility for timely follow-through on: 1. Grassroots activations and calls to action; 2. In-district meetings with members of Congress 3. Fundraising or other campaign support issues C. These new roles should be made part of any affiliation agreement between NAHB and its state and local associations, and should be communicated to state and local leadership. D. NAHB advocacy staff should use the EON leadership to vet all advocacy email, contacts and strategy to maximize members’ time. E. A role for state or local Eos, or state or local lobbyists, should be created within both the federal government affairs committee and the BUILD-PAC subcommittee to take advantage of the experience and contacts that exist within the Federation at the staff level.

Supporting Rationale: Current NAHB policy implicitly or explicitly directs most, if not all, grassroots and direct lobbying requests through either the NAHB State Rep or the BUILD-PAC Trustee, but in many cases, the members in these positions were selected for reasons that had nothing to do with their political acumen, interest or contacts. Executive Officers (either state or local) are included in grassroots or direct lobbying efforts sporadically at best. Given that most state Executive Officers and many EO’s at the local level either are lobbyists, have been lobbyists or hire lobbyists, and most have developed grassroots advocacy networks that are significantly more responsive than the NAHB system of calls-to-action, the EON and its recommended Advocacy Team should be considered THE grassroots advocacy strategy arm of the Association.

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ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Overall Satisfaction with the National Association of Home Builders More than 80% of respondents (in all three groups) reported being either “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with the NAHB. Leaders were slightly more likely than rank and file members to report being “very satisfied.” Telephone R&F Online R&F Leadership

26 30 35

%Very Satisfied

%Somewhat Satisfied

61 53

11 14 11

52 %Somewhat Dissatisfied

2 3 2

%Very Dissatisfied

Rating the Importance of NAHB Primary Services Members were asked to rate the importance of each of four NAHB primary services on a five-point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “very unimportant.” Responses were converted to means (averages), ranging from 1 to 5 and reported below. Promoting legislative, regulatory, and judicial policies favorable to the housing industry received the highest rating by all three groups of respondents, followed by access to industry information/data, industry-related educational opportunities, and networking. Leaders were more likely than rank and file members to place greater importance on each of the four primary services offered by the NAHB. NAHB Services

Phone R&F

Online R&F

Leadership

Promoting legislative, regulatory, & judicial policies at the national, state, & local levels that are favorable to the housing industry

4.16

4.31

4.59

Access to industry information & data

3.85

3.96

4.01

Industry-related educational opportunities such as professional designation programs, class seminars, & online information

3.44

3.73

3.81

Networking opportunities with peers across the country

3.11

3.21

3.68

Significant Demographic Findings (telephone survey only): For all four of the NAHB primary services, officers/directors of state or local HBAs gave significantly higher ratings than non-officers/non-directors. Industry-related educational opportunities were rated much higher by builders than associates. New NAHB members placed greater importance on industry-related educational opportunities and networking opportunities than did long-time members. 18

ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Rating the Importance of NAHB Primary Services, Cont’d Responses to the importance of the four NAHB primary services (using a five-point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “very unimportant”) were also converted to percentages and are reported below. As previously mentioned, promoting legislative, regulatory, and judicial policies favorable to the housing industry received the highest rating by all three groups of respondents. Notably, 80% of leaders rated this service as “very important,” compared to 60% of online R&F, and 51% of telephone R&F. Telephone Rank and File A

51

B

36

C D

27 32

27

20

25

25

20

21 %V. Important

14

%SW Important

12

16

%Neutral

6

6 11

25

4

4

18

%SW Unimportant

%V. Unimportant

Online Rank and File A

60

B

36

C D

20

35

31

24

31 21

22 %V. Important

10

22

%Neutral

4

6

3

10

26

%SW Important

4

18 %SW Unimportant

4 13

%V. Unimportant

Leadership A B C D

8

80 40

32

32

%V. Important

20

35

35

%Neutral

17 %SW Unimportant

2 4 6

20

27 %SW Important

6

8 14

2 5 7

%V. Unimportant

A = Promoting legislative, regulatory, and judicial policies at the national, state, and local ! levels that are favorable to the housing industry. B =!Access to industry information and data. ! C =!Industry-related educational opportunities such as professional designation programs, ! class seminars, and online information. D =!Networking opportunities with peers across the country. 19

ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Rating the Importance of NAHB Functions Members were also asked to rate the importance of each of the following 11 specific functions of the NAHB on a five-point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “very unimportant.” Responses were converted to means (averages), ranging from 1 to 5 and reported below. For all three groups of respondents, the most important functions identified were supporting builder-friendly legislation and regulations, electing builder-friendly people to Congress, and representing pro-housing interests in the courts. Online networking with peers across the country was considered the least important. NAHB Functions

Phone R&F

Online R&F

Leadership

Supporting builder-friendly legislation in Congress, while opposing legislation harmful to the industry

4.20

4.36

4.68

Supporting builder-friendly regulations issued by federal agencies such as OSHA & the EPA, while opposing regulations harmful to the industry

4.19

4.37

4.67

Working to elect builder-friendly people to Congress

3.99

4.18

4.36

Representing pro-housing interests in the courts through lawsuits, legal briefs, & other legal strategies

3.91

4.14

4.33

Access to regional information such as economic forecasting & home building trends

3.82

3.83

3.70

Information & educational seminars on code changes & regulatory compliance

3.63

3.89

3.77

Offering professional designation programs

3.25

3.44

3.16

Sales & marketing classes & seminars

3.04

3.22

3.01

Business & financial management classes & seminars

3.02

3.26

3.16

Face-to-face networking with peers across the country

2.94

3.08

3.52

Online networking with peers across the country

2.84

2.97

2.85 20

ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Rating the Importance of NAHB Functions, Cont’d Responses to the importance of the NAHB functions (using a five-point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “very unimportant”) were also converted to percentages and are reported below. For telephone rank and file respondents, promoting legislative, regulatory, and judicial policies favorable to the housing industry as well as electing builder-friendly people to Congress were the most important NAHB functions identified. Telephone Rank and File Support/oppose legislation

51

28

14

3 4

Support/oppose regulations

51

27

15

4 3

Elect people to Congress

45

Represent interests in the courts

40

Access to regional information

Sales/marketing classes & seminars

16

Business/financial management classes

15

Face-to-face networking

15

%V. Important

13

22

28

20

31

19

29

19

%SW Important

28

%Neutral

5

%SW Unimportant

13

16

17

16

17

19

19

6

10

13

29

21

6

8

30

22

6

7

23

24

5

20

30

31

Professional designation programs

17

29

35

Info/courses on codes/compliance

Online networking

27

18

21

%V. Unimportant

21

ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Rating the Importance of NAHB Functions, Cont’d Responses to the importance of the NAHB functions (using a five-point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “very unimportant”) were also converted to percentages and are reported below. For online rank and file respondents, promoting legislative, regulatory, and judicial policies favorable to the housing industry as well as electing builder-friendly people to Congress were the most important NAHB functions identified. Online Rank and File Support/oppose legislation

62

22

9

4 3

Support/oppose regulations

62

22

10

3 3

Elect people to Congress

52

Represent interests in the courts

49

Info/courses on codes/compliance

33

32

Professional designation programs

19

Business/financial management classes

18

Sales/marketing classes & seminars

17

Face-to-face networking

16

%V. Important

29

35

Access to regional information

Online networking

26

11

14

5

3

7

30

32

9

18

21

22

%SW Unimportant

7

16

31

21

4

12

32

25

4

9

30

25

%Neutral

4

21

32

%SW Important

4

21

34

22

14

9

12

13

%V. Unimportant

22

ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Rating the Importance of NAHB Functions, Cont’d Responses to the importance of the NAHB functions (using a five-point scale where 5 means “very important” and 1 means “very unimportant”) were also converted to percentages and are reported below. For leadership respondents, promoting legislative, regulatory, and judicial policies favorable to the housing industry as well as electing builder-friendly people to Congress were the most important NAHB functions identified. Leadership Support/oppose legislation

80

Support/oppose regulations

78

Elect people to Congress

32

29

Access to regional information

27

Business/financial management classes

16

22

Professional designation programs

15

23

%V. Important

12

9

%SW Important

27

%Neutral

13

21

22

%SW Unimportant

4

21

34

35

7

9

37

19

4

15

32

22

3 2

8

27

33

2

2 3

8

25

22

6

11

32

31

Face-to-face networking

Online networking

22

55

Info/courses on codes/compliance

4 22

14

62

Represent interests in the courts

Sales/marketing classes & seminars

12

9

12

12

15

%V. Unimportant

23

ATTACHMENT

Pages 18-24 of the NAHB Membership Survey

Rating the Importance of NAHB Functions, Cont’d Significant Demographic Findings (telephone survey only): Builders gave considerably higher ratings than associates to the importance of having the NAHB provide information and educational seminars on code changes and regulatory compliance as well as offering professional designation programs.

Officers/directors of state or local HBAs placed greater significance than non-officers and non-directors regarding NAHB support for builder-friendly regulations, working to elect builder-friendly people to Congress, representing pro-housing interests in the courts, as well as offering sales and marketing classes/seminars.

NAHB council members placed greater importance on NAHB sponsored professional designation programs as well as sales/marketing classes and seminars than respondents who were not council members.

NAHB access to regional information (e.g., economic forecasting and home building trends) as well as offering professional designation programs were of greater importance to younger respondents.

Younger respondents placed greater importance on face-to-face networking with peers across the country than older respondents.

Sales/marketing classes (or seminars) and accessing regional information were rated more important to new NAHB members than to long-time members.

24