[Usittne] USITT new England dues structure

Sun Apr 9 11:46:37 EDT 2006

Crystal,

I'm sure we all believe Ron Dallas should have a strong voice in any change
in the dues business. 

If I understand the discussion, the only real difference for us between
options #2 and #3 is whether section membership would be mandatory. And
maybe how much control we would have over dues-setting. And receiving the
money.

To my mind, Proposal #2 makes the most sense if any change is necessary. It
keeps our autonomy while assisting us with promotion and some clerical. I do
like the idea of marketing section membership with National. I don't like
the idea of charging section membership for people who really have no
interest and we would wind up carrying on the books. But a bit more
promotion from National with one-hit payment would be welcome and probably
result in more members. It also might allow us to continue a kind of
associate membership for targeted people who would not benefit from
membership in National, even though I know that is discouraged. We might do
more with student memberships, for instance. Further, I think there are
Connecticut members of National who are members of the New York section who
might be caught in Option #3.

Just my 2-cents worth.

Arthur

Arthur Dirks

adirks at bridgew.edu

adirks at dirksdesigns.com        

  _____  

From: usittne-bounces at MIT.EDU [mailto:usittne-bounces at MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of
Crystal Tiala
Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 10:51 AM
To: USITTNE listserve
Subject: [Usittne] USITT new england dues structure

Hi all,

Below is information regarding potentional changes in our methods of
collecting regional dues that was proposed at the Chairs meeting in
Louisville.  I would like your input.  Please read the info below and tell
me if you feel one option would benefit or hinder us more than another.
thanks,

Crystal

Dues Structure proposal

Rational for proposals

The sections enjoy their autonomy.  Historically it has been important to
the sections that they are able to do their own planning, to keep track of
their own members and finances, and to leave it up to their members whether
or not to hold national memberships in addition to the section memberships.

There are difficulties though, and not all the sections have been equally
successful in dealing with those difficulties.  Some sections have no
problems maintaining an accurate and useful database of their membership.
Other sections spend a great deal of time and effort on their membership
tracking, or have difficulty transferring information when section officers
change or have difficulty finding officers willing to do the work of
maintaining the membership lists.  Generating and/or sending out renewal
notices can be an additional burden in this area, which can mean that some
sections are carrying members who havent actually renewed for some time.
(Not all sections mind that.)

Whenever these issues are discussed, (usually once a year at the Annual
Conference) the question arises about whether the National office could
handle all memberships.  I have tried to summarize the advantages and
disadvantages of the current system, and the two other systems that are most
typically discussed in the Dues Structure Proposal Summation.  The rest of
this document explains those three systems as 3 possible proposals.

Proposal 1  leave things as they currently are.

No changes.  

To support this:  

*	The VP Members, Sections & Chapters would need to find resources
(program recommendations, training, etc) to help those sections that want or
need it to handle their database issues more effectively.

Proposal 2  Have the National office maintain one master database.  

Membership applications would provide space for national and each of the
regional sections.  Anyone wishing to apply for membership in any of the
organizations would fill out one form, checking boxes for which memberships
they wished to have.  After adding up all the membership fees, one check
would be written.  It would be possible to apply for national alone, a
regional section alone, or any combination of national and regional
sections.  Renewal notices would go out from the USITT office. Sections
would receive their dues from the national office on a regular basis.

To obtain a list of members, officers of a regional section would request
either a set of mailing labels by mail, or a comma delineated list by email
or regular mail. 

All sections would, most likely, have to become official not-for-profit
organizations if they are not already.

To support this:  

*	The USITT Board would need to find additional resources to handle
the additional staff workload.  
*	A process for distribution of section membership monies in an
efficient, timely manner would need to be developed.

Proposal 3  Have section membership be automatic with a national membership

When filling out a membership application for national membership, a member
could check whatever regional sections they wished to be affiliated with at
no additional cost.  National membership renewal would automatically renew
the regional affiliations desired as well.  It would not be possible to be a
member of a regional section only.

To obtain a list of members, officers of a regional section would request
either a set of mailing labels by mail, or a comma delineated list by email
or regular mail. 

All sections would, most likely, have to become official nor-for-profit
organizations if they are not already.

To support this:  

*	The USITT Board would need to find additional resources to handle
the additional staff workload.  
*	The USITT Board, in conjunction with the sections, would have to
determine whether to raise the national membership rates in order to pass
the dues on to the sections, or to keep the fees the same, and make major
changes in the way sections currently finance their activities. 
*	The annual section support process would need to change.

National/Regional Dues structure proposals

No Change

All dues/memberships collected by National           

National dues includes section

Advantages    

Advantages

Advantages

Sections retain immediate control of mailing list, finances

Independence   and autonomy   

of sections retained 

USITT office staff workload unaffected

Standardizes membership processes at both levels        

Allows efficient tracking of memberships, lapses & renewals

Web/mail/fax renewals possible for all

Eases workload on, and technical resources needed for section volunteers

Eases ability to market sections to national members, and national to
section members

Helps members understand that there            are two separate
organizations (Nat & Reg)

Matches member perception of/desire for automatic dual membership at
National and Maintains the wide variety of fee structures in the sections
Regional levels

Standardizes membership processes at both levels        

Allows efficient tracking of memberships, lapses & renewals

Web/mail/fax renewals possible for all

Eases workload on, and technical resources needed for section volunteers

Eases ability to market sections to national members, and national to
section members           

Matches member perception of/desire for automatic dual membership at
National and Maintains the wide variety of fee structures in the sections
Regional levels

No Change

All dues/memberships collected by National           

National dues includes section

Disadvantages

Disadvantages

Disadvantages

Sections must be able to maintain and use data base efficiently  track
memberships, send renewal notices, etc

Sections must have volunteer members willing to maintain data base and
handle business. Turnover problems when volunteers change

Perception difficulties from members who dont understand separate
membership structure

Sections do not have independent access to own member database or collected
dues

Sections will need to request list (by email or in label form) in advance
when needed

No fudge time when memberships expire

Possible increase in USITT office staff workload

Less section independence and autonomy than many desire

Sections do not have independent access to own member database or collected
dues

Sections will need to request list (by email or in label form) in advance
when needed

No fudge time when memberships expire

Possible increase in USITT office staff workload

Sections will have to work with National to re-conceive their financial
structure and funding in light of no formal dues

Not possible to have section members who are not national members

To Solve

Section database issues

To solve

How to get section dues to sections in regular, efficient way

Additional resources to USITT office to handle additional workload

To solve

Additional financial resources to sections who are no longer collecting dues

A way to have non-national section members

Additional resources to USITT office to handle additional workload

Crystal Tiala

tiala at mindspring.com

EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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