Community Associations Institute of Illinois
Community Associations Institute of Illinois is dedicated to the education of Community Association Leaders (Board Members & Homeowners). To foster that education and to help these leaders gain recognition in their communities, CAI has developed the DCAL (Dedicated Community Association Leader) Program. This program offers education, in a classroom setting and online, to ensure current and future association leaders have the tools necessary to run their associations. Courses are designed to satisfy the needs of association bylaws, focusing on fiduciary responsibility and accountability to unit owners. To view upcoming DCAL courses, please click here.
Visit Our Calendar Page To View and Register for Upcoming DCAL Programs
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Those Who Earn their DCAL Designation are Recognized at the Subsequent CAI-IL Conference & Expo in February
- Overview
- Course Details
- Course Registration and Descriptions
- Recognition
- Advanced Education
DCAL Program
- Educate community association volunteers in the daily operations and issues that are faced within an association as well as federal, state and local legislation.
- Recognize Community Association Leaders (Board Members and Directors) for their dedication, hard work and continued service to their community.
- Connect community volunteers to industry experts in a multitude of fields both locally and nationally to enhance their leadership experience by giving them the tools they need to run a successful association.
Course Details
A participant must complete 7 courses to earn the DCAL Designation, in no particular order.
- Rules & Regulations
- Meetings & Elections
- Amendments
- Financial Reporting
- Compliance & Legal Issues
- Association Management
- Community Associations Institute of Illinois (CAI-IL)
- Course fees are free for CAI members, $35 per course for non-members.
- A non-member is welcome to attend courses for educational purposes. However, to obtain the DCAL recognition, an attendee must be an active member of CAI.
- Each course/module is 3 hours in duration, except for the Board Leader Development Workshop, which is a 6-hour course over several days.
* There are two advanced homeowner education classes:
- Diving Deep into Budgets and Monthly & Year-End Financials
- Reserve Studies
These are not required to earn the DCAL designation, but they are recommended to take as a follow-up to the Understanding Financials class.
Course Registration and Descriptions
Click on any of the webinar courses below to read course descriptions
Classroom courses
Registration can be found on the Program & Events page as courses are scheduled:
Online webinar courses
Can be taken at any time. Register for each online course below:
- Governing Your Community Webinar.
- Meetings & Elections Webinar.
- Rules & Regulations Webinar.
- Amendments Webinar.
- Financial Reporting Webinar.
- Compliance & Legal Issues Webinar.
- Association Management Webinar.
- Board Leader Development Workshop Webinar.
Recognition
Once all 7 courses are complete, CAI will:
- Complete the DCAL Application.
- Attend the Board Leader Development Workshop (if applicable).
- Submit the DCAL Application Form.
The DCAL application form can be found on the Program & Events page as courses are scheduled:
Advanced Education
The following advanced homeowner education classes are recommended to take as a follow-up to the Understanding Financials class:
- Diving Deep into Budgets and Monthly & Year-End Financials
- Reserve Studies
"*" indicates required fields
