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DIR Return to: 2020-12-08 Executive Meeting
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#Post#: 150--------------------------------------------------
Return to Voluntary Donation Funding for Regular Member Type
By: rhandom Date: November 10, 2020, 4:07 am
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Per "Town Hall", return to a voluntary donation funding model:
- Voluntary donations to be submitted to the club treasurer via
e-transfer
- Voluntary donations will be collected and submitted by event
coordinators only if agreed to by the coordinator and club
member
- “Twenty Smacker” parties – season kick-off/wrap-up where you
may (but are not obligated to) submit a donation (and/or other
biannual "solicitation" of donations)
#Post#: 151--------------------------------------------------
Re: Return to Voluntary Donation Funding for Regular Member Type
By: rhandom Date: November 10, 2020, 4:07 am
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Some thoughts that I shared with a coordinator who asked "What's
the big deal about paying a $15 membership fee?":
1) We are not proposing to return to the "ask for $2 at the
start of an event" model. That was always problematic, and it
is even MORE problematic in a Covid world. We want to retain
the "suggested donation of $2/event to a max of $20/year" but
we're going to collect donations differently (not the toonie at
the event thing). People will be encouraged twice a year to
make a donation via e-transfer to Leonard based on the value
they received in the previous season, or the value they
anticipate receiving in the upcoming season. We used to do this
back in the day as well with our "Twenty-Smacker Parties".
2) When I started the COC, I didn't want to charge membership
fees. I had looked at many clubs and balked at joining them
because they were all charging fees and I didn't know which
one(s) I wanted to join. It would have been a really expensive
exercise to pay membership fees to each of them before I figured
out which one(s) I actually would get some value out of.
Especially since most of them at the time were hiding their
event lists so you didn't even know what you were going to get
for your money. When people are looking for a club they want to
go through a period of "discovery" where they find out if that's
the right club for them. An up-front fee takes away that
option.
3) Back when I was super involved with the club I heard over,
and over (and over) again from people that:
a) They joined the COC because it was free - they didn't
want to pay the up-front fee of other clubs;
b) They really appreciated our "pay as you go" model which
allowed them to pay according to how much they attended.
4) Back in the day, the $2/event donation was generally applied
only to certain events: out-of-town events that didn't carry
any additional fees. Applying a yearly membership fee applies
the same "solution" to different membership scenarios. Now
people have to pay regardless of their "attendance style".
5) The COC used to have very strong offerings of lots of event
types that do not lend themselves to payment. We had events
that carried extra fees (i.e., court fees), and events that are
easily accessible "just right over there". Why would you pay to
go on an urban hike with the COC when you can go on one for free
with a Meetup? Again, membership fees apply the same "solution"
to different event preferences.
6) Not being able/willing to pay $15 doesn't have anything to do
with how "into" the club you are. People who could afford to
make a donation were always more than happy to do so. But, we
often would get immigrants and students who appreciated the club
SO MUCH because they were able to get out and join a community
without having to pay for the opportunity. They would often
express that they felt bad that they couldn't afford to cough up
the $2 when everyone else was and we always assured them that it
was ok. They could make a donation someday when they could
better afford it.
7) The COC is having a lot of its events siphoned off by Meetups
right now, which are free to join. Being free to join was our
own "differentiator" back in the day when we had people leaving
clubs like EVCC and the Ramblers to come over to us. They
preferred our model. Now we're hemorrhaging members to other
organizations that are offering a model that is more similar to
how we used to operate when we were the ones "stealing" members.
#Post#: 153--------------------------------------------------
Re: Return to Voluntary Donation Funding for Regular Member Type
By: rhandom Date: November 10, 2020, 8:52 am
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Additional conversation with the same coordinator:
COORDINATOR:
What you're saying is that having no up-front fees took away the
barrier to entry. Which I get. I understand that students and
immigrants might not have a lot of money.
My counter argument to all that is you have to be clear if
you're running an organization or running a charity. The club
needs money to run (hosting the web-site, etc) , and it has to
get it from somewhere.
In the biking community, there are organizations that are shy in
collecting money (I'll use CMBA example of this) and
organizations that do collect money (EVCC, Greater Bragg Creek
Trail Association, Mouse Mountain Biking Alliance). Overall the
organizations that collect money seem to do better and have
better long term survivability - they're able to "do" more.
I also think that contributing $10-$20 a year should not be an
issue - we're talking about the cost of a few latte's.
Some counter arguments I have is that meetups cost money too.
If you're an organizer you have to pay the meetup fee. Meetups
also seem to be transient and don't last long.
I think If you're doing the voluntary donation model (like PBS
or NPR) you have to get out the message and push for semi-annual
donations, you can't be shy in asking for money from the
members.
RHONDA:
Your point about "running an organization or running a charity"
is an interesting one to me. My goal when I started the club,
and what I still consider its mission to be, is to build
community. I don't consider it either an organization nor a
charity - I consider it to be a tool to build community and
value in people's lives (including mine). The goal was never to
grow money; merely to cover the expenses to continue running,
which voluntary donations can provide in spades, if we're
building community correctly. In that respect, I guess if I had
to pick "organization" or "charity", I would lean more towards
charity, because it is in charity in our hearts that we grow
community. I think you've expressed, very succinctly, the
existential question for the COC, and perhaps expressed why it
has not done so well over the past eleven years. As we have
moved further and further away from the concept of building
community, and run the club as an "organization", we've lost the
spirit of the COC that made it so strong in the earlier years.
Many people, including myself, are not keen on asking for money
from members. Making it a "voluntary donation" removes some of
the anxiety around that, I think. I have no qualms about
sending out a note a couple times a year asking people to
contribute, and making it clear that we're NOT keeping track, so
that the people who can't/don't contribute still feel welcome.
#Post#: 159--------------------------------------------------
Re: Return to Voluntary Donation Funding for Regular Member Type
By: Duane Date: November 10, 2020, 5:12 pm
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You hit the nail on the head with that reply Rhonda! This line
especially struck a chord with me..."I think you've expressed,
very succinctly, the existential question for the COC, and
perhaps expressed why it has not done so well over the past
eleven years. As we have moved further and further away from
the concept of building community, and run the club as an
"organization", we've lost the spirit of the COC that made it so
strong in the earlier years."
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