Federal affirmative action guidelines require that a 4-H club’s membership reflect that of the community which it serves. So, if your club serves the whole county, and your county is 54% white 36% black, 6% Hispanic, and 3% other, then your club membership should be 54% white 36% black, 6% Hispanic, and 3% other. However, this is not always the case. In such instances we use All Reasonable Efforts (ARE) to show that we are making our clubs available to everyone.
ARE are documented efforts that club leaders and members make to diversify their club populations. There are a number of things that you can do, but the following three are required each year by each club who’s membership doesn’t reflect that of the community which it serves:
- · Mass media
- · Personal letters
- · Personal invites
With more than a quarter of the 4-H year over already, it’s time to get ARE documented for your club a
nd reported to your 4-H agent so that he/she can file it in your club folder.
If you are unsure of the demographics of your community or have other questions regarding affirmative action and/or ARE, please feel free to contact your county’s 4-H agent(s).
Follow these links for a helpful ARE reporting tool and a sample personal letter:
ARE Reporting Tool (developed by Heather Kent Northwest District RSA)
Sample Invite Letter – paste on your county letterhead and edit to fit your club
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