[MR] NonMember Charges

[Arthur Donadio]

Hi everyone.  I just came online and saw all the talk and would like to 
clarify some things, if I can.  Back in May the BoD was asking the Kingdoms 
to be creative in encouraging membership while telling us that reinstatement 
of the $3 non-member surcharge was not being considered at the national 
level.  So TRM in consultation with the Seneschal, and with us, decided to 
give members in Atlantia a $3 discount effective July 2002.  Then, in 
October, after telling us the non-member surcharge was not coming back, the 
BoD made us look a little silly by voting to reinstate it effective January 
2003.  So we will hold a curia at November Crown whereat we will put a 
December 31, 2002 sunset provision on the discount, and a January 1, 2002 
effective date on the BoD mandated non-member surcharge.  We were discussing 
keeping both, but that plan seems unwieldy in the extreme for autocrats 
budgeting events, and a little unfair to non-members.  So basically, fair 
Atlantia will give no discount and not keep the extra $3 from non-members, 
and the national will get the $3.  I am a little disappointed at the BoD's 
reasoning that it is OK to reinstate the surcharge because some people 
suggested it, because they fail to take into account the effect of their 
announcement that the surcharge option was not on the table.  In other 
words, had the BoD said the surcharge was a possibility, how many people 
would have actively opposed it?  We will never know.  Anyway, whatever your 
feelings on membership, if you are not a member after January 1, 2003, you 
will pay an extra $3 at the gate; over that we have no control.

Cuan Princeps


>From: "Gorm Of Berra"<gormofberra at earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: gormofberra at earthlink.net
>To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
>Subject: RE: [MR] NonMember Charges
>Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 12:27:04 -0700
>
>Your Majesty,
>
>I do not dispute that the BoD has the "right" to institute a tax, they do 
>have
>that right by the virtue of the way things are governed (ie they wrote the
>rules, and gave themselves the power).
>
>However, I do dispute the wisdom of the decision.
>
>While it is true that most groups require membership to gain the benefits 
>of
>membership, it is not true that participating in an event incurs a cost 
>upon
>the Corporation which must be made up.
>
>Last I checked (and subject to the BoD's changing the rules since then),
>paying Milpitas gives me a very few benefits:
>
>1.  The right to hold an office, and therefore work harder than the 
>"average"
>member.
>
>Yes, service is a backbone of the Society, and one which I, and many 
>others,
>undertake willingly, however I don't see how someone not having this right
>penalizes the group as a whole.
>
>2.  A subscription to Tournaments Illuminated and my Kingdom newsletter
>
>This, IMO, is a benefit, most definetely.  But one who is not a member does
>not get these items, and therefore does not cost the Society anything.
>
>3.  The right to fight in a Crown Tournament
>
>This is a benefit the vast majority of members never take advantage of.
>Again, a person who is not a member does not have this benefit, so how is 
>the
>society harmed?
>
>4.  The right to receive pollings on matters of group concern (Baronial
>pollings, etc).
>
>Again, if I am not a member, I don't get the pollings, therefore the
>Corporation incurred no expense.
>
>On the other hand, a Non-Member can add much to the Society by their
>attendance:
>
>1.  Their site fee contributes to the defrayment of expenses of the local
>group (which never sees any of the $35/year sent to California).
>
>2.  Their voluntary service in the kitchens, cleaning the site, working at
>Troll, or any of the hundreds of other ways in which an event is 
>successfully
>run makes the event more pleasant for everyone.
>
>3.  Their goodwill towards the SCA as a whole can be incalculably valuable,
>particularly in this age of ever-tightening site availability, cost, and
>restrictions on use.
>
>4.  Their skills they bring from the outside world in areas of research can 
>do
>much to increase our ability to reinact events in a more period fashion.
>
>I fail to see how any of these require a tithe to a Corporation.
>
>If someone could actually explain how a non-member's attendance at an event 
>is
>more costly to the hosting group than a member's attendance, then I could
>perhaps be persuaded otherwise.  However, I don't see it.
>
>Yes, it is likely that a card-carrying member is more likely to volunteer 
>to
>work at an event than a visitor...but is that a bad thing?  We are in a
>membership crunch, we aren't growing at all.  If anything, we're losing
>members.  Which of these scenarios is more likely to stem that tide:
>
>1.  A new person is invited to attend an event by a friend, he shows up, 
>pays
>the same fees as everyone else, enjoys the atmosphere and activities, eats
>feast and goes home happy.  Then a few days later, in speaking with the
>friend, he asks "When is the next event?" and is told "Well, we have one in 
>a
>few weeks at X, but if you want to know more, the best way might be to 
>become
>a member, then you'll get the newsletter and..."
>
>or
>
>2.  A new person is invited to attend an event by a friend.  He shows up, 
>is
>told "Since you're not a member, you must pay $6 more than your friend just
>did (under the current rules this seems to be the case)...oh, and sign this
>waiver while you're at it...", he watches the activities and enjoys them, 
>eats
>feast and goes home.  He calls up the friend and says "When is the next
>event?", and is told "It's in a few weeks, and really, if you want to come,
>you need to join the SCA, Inc. and start helping out with things".
>
>If we want more members of the SCA, Inc, the Board must investigate ways to
>make Membership seem to be an economic benefit.  Things like the Magazine 
>and
>newsletter help.  Esoteric arguments about standardization of the rules of 
>the
>list don't (especially not when there is no standardization).
>
>There have been several independant folks who have made suggestions on 
>reform
>over the past 5 years (that I know of).  To the best of my (admittedly
>incomplete) knowledge, no substantive changes have occurred in the 
>financial
>policies of the Corporation.
>
>Again, I find it amazing that the Corporation is losing money while the 
>local
>groups in sum total are making money.  This tells me that the "Game" is
>healthy, but the "Corporation" is not.
>
>I used to be a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA...model
>airplane flyers).  They had about the same membership base as we do 
>(~35,000 -
>50,000 active participants), and they charged about the same in dues 
>annually
>($25 back then, equivalent to about $40 nowadays).
>
>In return for that, I received comprehensive insurance against injury 
>incurred
>as a result of a dangerous activity (up to $2Million), a 200+ page magazine
>monthly (which was profitable, mostly due to advertisers), a coherent and
>understandable set of rules for competition which I could be assured would 
>be
>followed across the U.S.A. should I want to compete, the right to 
>participate
>in National Championships, active lobbying with the FCC and other 
>governmental
>groups for protection of the radio spectrum we used, a National Museum, and
>the right to vote on the By-laws and rules of the organization.
>
>That's value for money spent.  IF the SCA was able to duplicate those
>benefits, I would expect that we wouldn't be having a membership crisis.
>
>Alan MacNeill
>Again, speaking outside the Game.
>
>On Wed, 21 Aug 2002 14:18:37 -0400 Logan <dukelogan at directvinternet.com>
>wrote:
>
> > im not sure why anyone would have a problem
> > with non-members paying a little
> > bit to defer the costs that the society as a
> > whole incurs due, in part, to
> > their attendance at events while they
> > contribute nothing.
>========================================================================
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