Why become a Verified Attendee?

• In order to attend Private Events held here at the FMALC, you must first take the step to become Verified. The benefit of being a Verified Attendee means that not only will it open doors to attend more closed groups, it will promote safety of the communities as a whole and a mutual understanding of privacy. Topics covered at Private Events may be of a sensitive or vulnerable nature, and we wish to make our various communities safer by eliminating the potential of predators. Additionally, we want to ensure that those who may attend Private Events are aware that some topics may not be for everyone, and to limit the possibility of taking anyone by surprise or making those in attendance uncomfortable with the topic at hand.
  
  
  What is the difference between a Public and Private Event?
  
  

• Public Events should be considered just that - Public. Anyone can go, and the address and Event Information is publicly known. These classes and events may center around introductory education, outreach, or general public social events. These are what we consider to be the 'face' of FMALC. You can see a list of all Public Events on our Events Calendar.

• Private Events are reserved for classes and events that may be limited to personal or closed topics. Because of the vulnerable or sensitive nature of these meetings, attendance is limited to those who have been approved by the Host, and furthermore you *must* be a Verified Attendee.

  
  

What information do you collect?

• When you apply, we ask for a variety of information, such as legal name, state(s) of residence, date of birth, and a copy of your photo ID. Our administrator runs a 50 state criminal background check upon receiving your application through a third party background checking service. Once that happens, the results are noted as follows: for minor traffic violations, "MINOR TRAFFIC" is noted. For other violations, the verbatim charge will be noted. If it has been determined that you are approved to be a Verified Attendee, the administrator then removes any information that is no longer needed (such as photo ID) before saving your information into our database. After approval, a couple of things happen. The database will generate a 'Membership ID' for you, activate your account, and send you an email informing you that you have been approved.
  
  

• During the application process, our administrator will have access to all of the information you submit.  Your information is stored on our cloud database hosted by WIld Apricot. Wild Apricot offers membership management software for a variety of small businesses, non-profits, chambers of commerce, and trade associations. Wild Apricot has been rated as the #1 membership management system by Capterra since 2012.
  Upon approval, Hosts will have access your FMALC Membership ID #, and the results of your criminal background check. Hosts will not be given access to your legal name - this is a privacy precaution we have implemented to protect our Verified Attendee's sensitive information. Upon arrival to a Private Event, you will give your Membership ID # to the Host in order for them to confirm that you are indeed a Verified Attendee, and give them the option of looking up your criminal history if they desire. This way, your information remains anonymous to any Host whose events you choose not to attend, and no one must know your legal name if you choose to keep that private.
  
  

What are the standards that need to be met in order to be Verified?

• In order to be approved to be a Verified Attendee, we look for a couple of things through the application process.
  First, we look at criminal history. Those who have sexual offenses are not allowed to attend any events at the FMALC. Other determinations based on criminal history are left up to the discretion of the Host putting on the event. We want to leave those decisions up to the respective communities.
  The second thing we look for is if there is any subject matter that may come up in a support group, meeting, or class that may be of an offensive nature to the individual. It is okay to have a subject matter not be of interest to you, or have it be "not your thing". We do however have a broad spectrum of different alternative lifestyle groups that utilize our center, and we wish to avoid any potential for causing undue conflict for those alternative lifestyle groups, or undue stress for those with differing sensibilities.
  
  

• FMALC is only open to adults. While some minors might be interested in the topics we discuss here, we encourage them to reach out to other groups and resources in the Fargo-Moorhead area that are more appropriate for their stage of life.
  
  

• If you have an event idea, all you have to do is ask! Feel free to Contact Us. In order to Host an event, you must first become a Verified Attendee, and then after approval, you may apply to become a Host. For help in going through this process, or if you simply have an idea for an event that you would like to see happen, please reach out to us!
  
  

• In most circumstances, yes - however there are special exceptions to this. There are some closed events what would have a limited guest list, and would not require going through the extra steps of becoming Verified. Some examples include: wedding receptions, birthday parties/anniversaries, closed photography sessions, etc. Please ask us if your event would be a special exception before submitting an Event request. For all events however, all attendees must sign the venue Liability and Admittance Waivers.