[Usittne] USITT new england dues structure

Mon Apr 10 10:36:14 EDT 2006

Crystal,

As mentioned in the letter, this has come up almost annually at the USITT
meeting. I know
it came up when I attended a Chairs meeting and that was a very long time
ago.  It would be
interesting to know if this is coming from the National office or from one
or more sections. If it
is from a section, what problems to they currently have that would be
solved by this?

As to the proposals-
#1 is the current state of things.  We (USITT-NE) do not have a problem
with our current
system which works well with the small size of the section. I have a
multipage EXCEL
spreadsheet that contains the member info, the bank account ledger, and a
financial report.
There are some cross checks and summary generation built into the sheet and
it would be
easy to transfer to a new person.

#2 and #3 may require sections to be non-profit organizations. While this
is not a problem
for USITT-NE since we are already a non-profit, it may be for other
sections.  The topic of
non-profit status and whether sections come under the umbrella of the
National non-
profit status has come up at prior Section Chairs meetings.  A key
requirement of umbrella
coverage is financial accountability and financial control by the parent
over the child.  If
either of these two proposals are seriously considered, the idea of
umbrella coverage
should also be considered.

Some sections may not want, or have the resources, to become non-profits.
If they do
become non-profits, they need to have resources to handle the various
annual reports
necessary.  It seems that we are trading membership management for legal
reporting
management, at least for groups that are not currently non-profit
organizations.

Proposal #2 allows sections to have members that are NOT National members.
Some
sections prefer this and I think this is an important feature of sections.
Proposal #3 does
not allow for section only memberships.

How would "membership" funds be assigned to sections in proposal #3? No
additional
money is collected and members can select multiple sections.  Do the basic
dues have
to go up to support this.

My vote on these 3 proposals is that only #1 is viable. The others seem to
require
section non-profit status and I would not want to force that on a section.
Proposal #3 is
particularly bad in that there can not be independent section members.

I propose an additional option.  The National office provides software to
the sections
for membership and account management.  This has the benefit of a standard
system
for these functions that has support when the section officers change.  By
tailoring the
software to USITT needs and functions, it can generate annual section
reports and
facilitate the exchange of information between the sections and the
national organization.
Sections would still have to do their own data entry and cash management,
but the
national office could provide training and help as needed to the section,
especially
when officers change.  With good communications between the section and
national
office software, it is possible that the national office could handle
mailing of renewal
notices for the sections.

---------------------------
Ron Dallas
Design Technology Group, Teradyne, Inc.
ph: 617-422-2585
e-mail: ron.dallas at teradyne.com

usittne-bounces at mit.edu wrote on 04/09/2006 10:50:59 AM:

> 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 haven’t
> 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.
>
>
[Section showing comparison table deleted - rfd]
>
> Crystal Tiala
> tiala at mindspring.com
> EarthLink Revolves Around You.
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