Transferring a Chapter

Draft

Sometimes a chapter doesn't need to close, it just needs new leadership. Transferring keeps the community, brand presence, and momentum intact while responsibility moves to a new organizer or team.

When to Transfer Instead of Offboarding

• An organizer is stepping down but at least one other active organizer (or a willing replacement) can continue.
• The whole team wants to step back, but a new team from within the community is ready to take over.
• The chapter is healthy and active: only the people running it are changing.

Transfer Process

1. Identify a successor. The outgoing organizer(s) nominate one or more incoming organizers, ideally people already engaged in the chapter (co-organizers, active volunteers, regular attendees).
   • Minimum of two organizers must be in place after the transfer, per the standard chapter requirement.
2. Notify leadership. Email support@globalai.community (or post in the chapter lead Discord channel) with:
   • Outgoing organizer(s) name(s)
   • Incoming organizer(s) name(s) and contact details
   • Reason for transfer and desired timeline
3. Leadership review. Global AI Community leadership confirms the incoming organizer(s) understand and accept the chapter responsibilities and Code of Conduct.
4. Handover checklist:
   • @globalai.community email credentials reset and passed to the new organizer(s)
   • Meetup group admin/organizer roles updated
   • Discord chapter-lead channel access updated; old organizer removed, new organizer added
   • LinkedIn Showcase page admin access updated
   • Chapter Dashboard organizer list updated (profile, photo, socials)
   • Any Azure subscription or other benefit ownership reassigned
   • Sponsor/partner contacts (if any) informed of the new point of contact
5. Transition period. Where possible, the outgoing organizer stays available for a short overlap window (suggested: 2–4 weeks) to answer questions and introduce the new organizer(s) to the community.
6. Announce the change. Post an announcement on the chapter's Meetup/socials introducing the new organizer(s) and thanking the outgoing one(s).

Partial Transfers

If only one organizer of a multi-person team is leaving and at least one remains active, this is a simpler organizer change, not a full transfer:

• Notify leadership of the team change (already required under chapter requirements)
• Update the Chapter Dashboard, Meetup, Discord, and LinkedIn access accordingly
• No wind-down or successor-approval step is required