[MR] Fw: From the Board of Directors

[Rowanwald Central]

And again...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aine" <motherkat at si.rr.com>
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 1:36 PM
Subject: From the Board of Directors


> Forwarded from: Megan nic Alister of Thornwood (West Kingdom Seneschal)
>
> Greetings to the West Kingdom,
> I have been asked to post this letter from the Board of Directors to as
> many places as I can and encourage, plead and beg for commentary. The
> chart part comes across slightly skewed by my e-mail program so if you
want
> the original, I can send it as an attachment to individuals. Please send
> your comments, pro and con. The Board does not want to work in a vacumn,
> but if they only get 5 comments, they have to do what they think is
> best. Also don't just write if you don't like something, write that you
> like something as well. If all the comments are negative (because you
> people who like something don't bother to write), then you won't be happy
> when the changes aren't made the way you want.
> Please post this to any other lists. Print it out for those who don't
> have internet access. Discuss it at your local meetings.
> Read and send you comments,
>
> **********************************************************
>
> Greetings to the Membership of the Society for Creative Anachronism from
> the Board of Directors:
>
> We come before you for consultation concerning the issue of a possible
> membership rate increase for the SCA.
>
> The SCA's membership rates have not changed since 1994. During the
> intervening years, many of the costs associated with operations of the
> Society have increased. For example, rents, printing, postage, and paper
> expenses are up, and this trend is likely to continue. Our insurance costs
> will rise by 17% in 2002. The stipend for newsletter production was raised
> 14% three years ago with no corresponding increase in revenue; the postage
> portion of the stipend has been increased several times in response to
> increases in postage rates. (Note that stipends are intended to cover the
> costs of producing and mailing a two-ounce, simple newsletter, produced
> largely with volunteer labor. Kingdoms that desire a fancier or larger
> publication, or want to have the binding done professionally, need to
raise
> funds to cover the increased costs of those improvements.) The Directors
> and officers have done their best to hold down the expenses they can
> directly control, often by donating the expenses involved in performing
> their duties, but that is a small percentage of the budget, and of course
> items like those mentioned above are to a large degree outside of our
> control. Membership numbers have not kept pace with these increases in
> costs, especially sustaining memberships, as can be seen from the fact
> that, while membership numbers are up, membership revenue is down.
> Membership fees are the Corporation's primary source of revenue. The
number
> of paid members of the Society has remained fairly constant over the past
> several years. It is easy to see that when revenue remains constant and
> expenses increase, the financial picture is not good. Following is a
> summary of revenue and expenses for the past five years (all figures below
> rounded to nearest dollar; % change compares 1997 to 2001):
>
> REVENUE 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 % chg
> Number of  Members 23,814 23,832 23,802 24,400 24,988 + 5%
> (includes all membership categories; annual average)
> Membership Revenue $790,246 $621,768 $744,279 $761,633 $750,701 - 5%
> Other revenue $145,932 $104,462 $94,277 $98,606 $87,741 - 40%
> (includes Stock Clerk income, interest and dividends, TI advertising
> revenue)
> TOTAL REVENUE $936,178 $726,230 $838,556 $860,240 $838,442 - 10%
> EXPENSES 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 % chg
> Kingdom Newsletters $187,409 $189,421 $213,750 $209,789 $198,985 + 6%
> Staff Salaries $172,693 $194,087 $219,253 $201,695 $221,680 + 28%
> (includes cost of benefits and payroll taxes)
> Corp Office Expenses $143,437 $115,817 $141,355 $134,165 $155,835 + 9%
> Meetings/conferences $36,996 $44,566 $46,625 $37,176 $42,822 + 10%
> Board member expenses $4,230 $1,644 $2,625 $841 $355 - 92%
> Officer expenses $18,610 $9,717 $12,195 $10,671 $13,747 - 26%
> Other Expenses $267,794 $265,971 $255,808 $257,638 $206,230 - 23%
> (includes stock clerk costs, insurance, professional services, other
> publications, and capital expenditures)
> TOTAL EXPENSES $831,168 $812,222 $891,611 $851,976 $839,654 + 1%
> NET INCOME(LOSS) $105,010 ($85,992) ($53,055) $8,264 ($1,212)
> 2001's final revenue figures are skewed because of a very generous,
> one-time, unbudgeted donation of $40,000, which was earmarked by the donor
> for a specific purpose (so it is not general revenue). The 2002 budget
> projects a loss of approximately $66,000. Despite the budget shortfalls
> over three of the past five years, this is not an emergency situation. At
> present there is enough money to cover our subscription liability and the
> Society's immediate expenses. But, looking into the future, clearly that
> situation will not continue forever. The Board is strongly of the opinion
> that an adjustment is needed to cover increases in operating expenses that
> will inevitably occur in the coming years. It is our feeling that a single
> increase designed to last several years is preferable to smaller, more
> frequent increases, though we are open to argument on that point.
> As Directors, we have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the
> corporation has resources adequate to continue its operations. To that
end,
> the Board of several years ago instituted the Non-Member Surcharge (NMS),
> which allowed the accumulation of an operating reserve. Once that reserve
> was established, the Board repealed the NMS. That operating reserve, which
> was fueled by the NMS, has been funding budget shortfalls at the Corporate
> level for some years now. It would not be financially prudent to spend all
> of the operating reserve with no plan to replace those funds.
> We ask that members consider the following suggestions on how to increase
> revenues so that expenses can be met into the future. We realize that
these
> suggestions are by no means the only options available. Please send us
your
> comments on these options and your alternative suggestions. The Board is
> seeking a consensus from the membership on how to proceed. At present no
> decisions have been made except that something must be done. We request
> and highly encourage your suggestions and assistance. Note that
> International memberships are not specifically addressed here. Those rates
> may need to increase proportionately to any other rate increases that
occur.
>
> OPTION 1 - Tournaments Illuminated optional
> Basic Membership: $35/year 3rd class; $42/year 1st class (Drachenwald and
> Ealdormere available 1st class only). Includes member's own Kingdom
> newsletter.
> Dependent membership: $15/year (with a family cap of $70/year) available
> only to immediate family members of a Basic member
> Tournaments Illuminated: $10/year.
> Additional publications, including any additional Kingdom newsletters and
> Compleat Anachronist (per publication): $10/year 3rd class; $17/year 1st
> class
> Board Proceedings: $17/year (available 1st class only; includes Board
> meeting minutes and Society Seneschal's report)
>
> OPTION 2 - all publications optional
> Basic membership: $25/year
> Dependent membership: $15/year (family cap of $60/year) available only to
> immediate family members of a Basic member
> Publications, including all kingdom newsletters and Compleat Anachronist
> (per publication): $10/year 3rd class; $17/year 1st class (Drachenwald and
> Ealdormere available 1st class only).
> Tournaments Illuminated: $10/year
> Board Proceedings: $17/year (available 1st class only; includes Board
> meeting minutes and Society Seneschal's report)
> Alternate option for Board proceedings in both Options 1 and 2: Board
> meeting minutes posted to the SCA web site. In this case the option to
> subscribe to the Proceedings would be dropped. The Society Seneschal's
> report would be dropped.
> Under either of the above options the membership categories would be
> reduced to two: Basic and Dependent (aka Family).
>
> OPTION 3 - A general increase in the price of membership.
> Membership categories and included publications would remain the same as
> they are today. The price of each type of membership would increase by $5
> to $10.
>
> OPTION 4 A significant increase in the number of paid Society members.
> We are NOT suggesting "pay to play". We would be very interested in
> suggestions for ways to encourage more of our participants to become paid
> members of the Society. Obviously, with more paid members to share the
> costs, each member's share of those costs is reduced.
>
> OTHER OPTIONS
> Other options that have been discussed include reinstating the Non-Member
> Surcharge, or designating a percentage of the gate from each event to go
to
> the Corporation. Undoubtedly there are many, many other possibilities that
> have not yet been brought to the table.
> Again, the Board asks for your comments and suggestions. "Unbundling" the
> publications from membership and/or increasing the cost of memberships are
> undoubtedly not the only options. There may well be other answers. Nothing
> will be done until after input from the members and Kingdoms is received
> and carefully considered. The membership will be kept informed on the
> status of this endeavor.
>
> Please send your comments no later than June 15, 2002 to:
> Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
> PO Box 360789
> Milpitas CA 95036-0789
> Or electronically to: comments at sca.org
> Sincerely yours,
> The SCA, Inc. Board of Directors