8/6/2019 Chapter Loan Policy

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Oxford House ChapterPromissory NoteT ra ditio n S ix o f O xfo rd House

..- .. --.- - _----_._.__._-----------,Ea ch O x fo rd H ou se s ho uld b e fin an cia lly se lf-s up po rtin g a lth ou gh fin an cially s ecu re h ou se smay , with a pp ro va l o r e nc ou ra gem en t o f O x fo rd Ho us e. Inc., p ro v id e n ew o r fin an cia lly n ee dy

houses a loan for a term no t to exceed one year. .

Tradition six has three important pn'nciples : (1) it emphasizes that each house should be se/f-supporting and not need a loan; (2) it recognizes that sometimes new houses or existing houses may need aloan to get on track or back on track with respect to se/f-support, and (3) it recognizes that loan should be for al imited duration (no longer than one year) in order to make sure that some houses do not become dependentupon other houses and not function the way Oxford Houses are supposed to function.To make certain that both the Chapter and the individual house asking for a loan understands theprinciples of Oxford House and the terms of the loan for repayment, the Promissory Note becomes andimportant way to keep things dear.In the rare siluation where a loan is needed to keep or get a house going and is needed in order to protectthe reputation of Oxford House, as a whole, this form should be completed in triplicate - one copy to thehouse getting the loan; one copy to the Chapter and one copy should be sent to Oxford House WorldServ ices, 1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 400, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

P rom is so ry No teChapter on this. day of in the year__ doeshereby loan Oxford House the sum of $ . Loan repay-ments are $ each month and begin the__ day of the month of_____ and are due for __ number of months.Signed Chapter ChairpersonSigned Chapter TreasurerSigned House PresidentSigned House Treasurer

Chapter Form R-20-00 Copyr ight 2000 Oxford House World Services

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8/6/2019 Chapter Loan Policy

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t , C H A P T E R L O A N P O U C Y (S am p le )One of the reasons for belonging to a Chapter is for a house to be able to get financia l assistance i f it g etsin to trouble. A ll the houses in a Chapter are elig ib le for financial assistance, w hen needed, if they m eet thef oll ow in g requ ir emen ts:1 . The house m ust request a loan at a Chapter M eeting and set up an appoin tm ent w ith the Housing

C omm ittee to review th eir fin an cia l b oo ks.2. A t the agreed-upon tim e, the H ousing C om mittee w ill vis it the house and take the fo llow ing actions:

A . C om plete an Audit on the books fur im proprieties (em bezz lem ent)B . C heck the rent receipt book for residents w ho are behind in rentC . C he ck th e b ills fo r u nn ece ss ary e xp en ditu re s (e xce ssive ca ble , p ho ne, e tc.)D . See that the house incom e (ind ividua ls w eekly rent from the residents) is in proportion. to the

h ou se exp en ses a nd req uest th e ho use to raise th e rent if n eed edE . Have the house set up an em ergency fund separa te from House Funds; the Housing

Com mittee w ill w ork w ith house on am ount tha t should be set upF . R eview house lease to check on landlord and Tenant L iab ility for repa irs.

3 . If the House m eets the loan requirem ents for the Chapter, the Housing Com mittee w ill work w ith thehouse on setting the am ount of the loan and the repaym ent p lan . The house m ay request tha t chapter duesb e w aive d d urin g th is re pa yme nt p erio d.

H ou se s in he ritin g lo an s from p rev io us tenants: A house may find itself liab le for a loan in cu rre d b y p rev io us re sid en ts. T his is

particu larly true in the case of start-up-loans from the Sta te. It is im portan t torem em ber that it is the house that ow es the m oney and that a ll past, present and future

residents of tha t h ou se are resp on sib le for rep aym en t o f th ese lo an s.A ll h ouses m ust b e o pera tin g un der th e g uid elin es estab lish ed in th e "O xford H ouse M an ua l". This is not on ly necessary for a house to be elig ib le for financia l assistance from aC hapter, but a lso to m ain ta in its C harter as an O xford H ouse.

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C hapters do not ex ist so lely to provide financial assistance - C hapters are the glue that hold houses in anarea together and gives each house an opportunity to share its experiences (successfu l and unsuccessfu l)w ith others. C hapters provide a sense of security to ind ividua l houses that they are not a lone w hen faced w ithserio us p ro blem s th at so metim es a rise in a n O xfo rd H ou se.C hapters provide qua lity control in m ak ing sure that their O xford H ouses are fo llow ing the conditions of theirc ha rte rs s o th at the Oxford nam e In the area can m ain tain its good repu ta tio n in th e rec ov ery commun ity.C hapters a lso exist to foster the expansion of houses w hen the num ber of recovering ind iv iduals looking forsober housing exceeds the num ber of beds ava ilable in an area.(T hIs p olicy w as a do pte d by Chapter I, DC in 1995 and is sent as a sam ple guideline on ly for chapters who

want to estab lish house loan policies).