Membership to the Handicraft Club
Guest Members are the heart of the Handicraft Club and we welcome prospective members who wish to become part of our organization. We believe the varied interests and backgrounds of our membership are reflected in the classes offered throughout the year.
New Member Application Process
What are the deadlines for submitting membership applications?
The due dates for membership applications this Club Year are: October 15; December 31; May 31.
How do I submit an application?
A proposer and applicant must complete the application form found on the Handicraft Club website (at the bottom of this page) as well as in the back of the Membership Handbook if you are a member. In addition, there must be a letter from the proposer as well as a letter from another member seconding that proposal.
All three of these must be sent together either through the US mail (42 College Street, Providence, RI 02903) or scan and send with email (membership@handicraftclub.org)
Can any member propose and second an applicant?
Any member who has been a member for at least one year can propose and second an applicant. Members who have been members for less than one year can second applicants, but cannot propose them.
Is there a limit on the number of people I can propose or second?
There is no limit to the number of applicants a member can propose or second in one Club Year.
What happens after I submit the application and supporting letters?
After all three pieces of the application (application form, proposing and seconding letters) are submitted by a deadline the Membership Committee Chair(s) present the names to the Board. The names are then posted for 21 days both online (in the Members section of the HC website) and in the clubhouse. Any member who objects to granting membership privileges to an applicant must express that concern in a signed letter to the Membership Chair(s) within that time period. At the conclusion of the posting time the Board votes online or in-person to accept the applicants as members.
New Members and Guest Policies
There are two ways that guests can take classes or workshops and attend programs at the Club.
The first, called simply “Guest Category,” is a good way for an individual to get a “taste” of what the Handicraft Club has to offer. A Guest in this category can enroll in one class or one workshop in a Club Year (July 1-June 30). They pay the regular class fee. Members of the Handicraft Club and Guests with Provisional Status (which will be explained below) will have enrollment priority for classes. There is no application process nor does this guest need to know a member to be a guest.
The second guest category is what we are calling “Guest with Provisional Status (GPS)”. There is no application process nor does this guest need to know a member to be a Guest with Provisional Status.
The GPS can take an unlimited number of classes, workshops as well as Club programs and events during a 12 month period, paying regular class fees. They are given the same priority for enrollment as Club members. To become a GPS an individual makes a $300 nonrefundable payment which after 12 months will be considered as a partial payment of the membership initiation fee, currently, $500, if the GPS chooses to become an Active Member. At the conclusion of the 12 months the GPS has the opportunity to apply for membership in the regular fashion, with a proposer and seconder writing letters and their name being posted for membership review followed by Board vote.
Upon admittance as an Active Member in addition to paying the balance of the initiation fee the new member would pay prorated dues for the remaining balance of the Club Year. Guest with Provisional Status is only for a period of 12 consecutive months and cannot be renewed.
As guests, and not members, neither category of guests can vote however they are welcome to communicate with committee chairs and the Executive Committee about issues that interest them and/or concern them.
We hope that by simplifying the membership application process and expanding our guest policies we will be welcoming many new people among us, family members, neighbors and friends.
Margaret (Lederer), President
Kate (Farrington), Membership Committee Co-Chair
Kim (Worrell), Membership Committee Co-Chair
Guest with Provisional Status (GPS) application HERE.
Membership Application forms are available HERE or at the Club or can be requested by emailing the Membership Chair at: membership@handicraftclub.org
Any other questions, please contact our Office Manager at handicraft42@gmail.com or (401) 831-8339. She will direct you to the right Member to answer your questions.