EFA is a national not-for-profit —501(c)6— organization, headquartered in New York City, run almost entirely by volunteers. Its members, experienced in a wide range of professional skills, live and work in forty-five of the United States and in Canada, England, France, India, Ireland, Israel, and Japan.
Members
More than half of EFA members are from outside the New York tristate region and thus, because they don't usually attend NYC-area events, enjoy lower membership dues. Wherever they are, members benefit significantly from EFA's members-only e-mail discussion list, Job List service, newsletter, publications, online education courses, and benefits programs. General meetings, affinity group meetings, and regional chapter events are written up in the newsletter.
Regional chapters outside New York City address freelance issues. Members nationwide network with each other on the e-mail discussion list, which is moderated. Participation in the list is not automatic with membership; you must request it. See the Membership section for more information.
Our membership includes —
- abstractors
- copyeditors
- designers
- desktop publishing experts
- editors
- indexers
- manuscript evaluators
- picture researchers
- project managers
- proofreaders
- researchers
- textbook development editors
- translators
- writers
Operations
As noted, EFA is run almost entirely by volunteers, all of whom are also full-time freelancers. The Board of Governors oversees EFA's operations and keeps the membership informed of important developments within the association.
The officers include the two co-executives, the secretary, and the treasurer. The co-executives manage the day-to-day business of running EFA. They also preside over board meetings and represent EFA in most business dealings. The secretary keeps the minutes of board and annual meetings and handles business correspondence for EFA. The treasurer sets the annual budget, keeps track of what is spent, and informs the Board regularly of EFA's financial picture.
The committee chairs handle the day-to-day business of the various activities sponsored by EFA. These may include programs, publications, the newsletter, the website, publicity, chapter development, membership, and education. Committee chairs work with the Officers and with the rest of EFA's membership to ensure the highest level of services. The members at large help set policy at EFA board meetings. They also serve as representatives of EFA, providing outreach to new and potential members. Often, members at large serve on one or more committees.
The office administrator, EFA's only paid employee, runs the office. This encompasses answering the phones and mail, keeping membership records updated, answering member questions, updating the Job List records, keeping track of supplies, coordinating meeting schedules, and offering all manner of member support as needed. The office manager's regular hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.