Membership
Member Qualifications
The Board of Directors of VACCR has established the following criteria for membership in the Association – The criteria are intended to encourage organizations to aspire to the best standards of community service. A printable version in PDF Format is available too.
Member community mediation centers have the following characteristics:
- Organized as a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, ascribing to the mission, vision and goals of the Association;
- Having a governing or advisory board that sets policy and direction for the organization and hiring and firing authority for the Executive Director;
- Providing mediation and conflict resolution services primarily to an identified local geographic area and only secondarily to broader areas of Virginia;
- Having goals to serve diverse populations, types of disputes and sources of referral;
- Using governing or advisory boards, staff and mediators who represent the diversity of the community served;
- Using trained community volunteers, who are not required to have academic or professional credentials, as the primary providers of mediation services;
- Providing direct access to the public through self-referral and striving to reduce barriers to service, including physical, linguistic, cultural, programmatic and economic barriers;
- Providing mediation and conflict resolution services to clients regardless of their ability to pay (e.g. free, low cost or sliding scale fees);
- Initiating, facilitating and educating for collaborative community relationships to effect positive change;
- Engaging in public awareness campaigns and educational activities about the values and practices of mediation;
- Providing a forum for dispute resolution at the earliest stage of a conflict;
- Providing a variety of mediation and conflict resolution processes through one or more programs to serve the needs of the community; and
- Providing an alternative to the judicial system at any stage of a conflict.
Application Process
An important VACCR goal is to help develop new centers – so please feel free to contact us for anything we can do to help in your application process.
The application process involves the following:
- Designate one person from your organization to be the application contact for VACCR;
- Complete the application form and indicate your contact person’s name and contact information in the appropriate spaces. There are two versions of the application form:
- Send your first draft and any questions to VACCR by email at info@vaccr.org;
- Someone from the VACCR Membership Committee will contact you to discuss your application, answer any questions, etc. so that you can complete a final draft;
- Once your application is finalized with the Membership Committee, the Committee will bring it before the VACCR Board where it will be reviewed and a site visit authorized;
- Once a site visit has been completed, the Membership Committee will present it’s findings and your completed application to the full VACCR Board for a vote. Every organization that meets the requirements will be admitted to full membership.
