Changes to Subscriptions
The committee plan to introduce the following changes:
- The Ordinary membership fee will increase to £25 from 1st April 2020
- Ordinary members paying by Direct Debit (or Standing Order) will pay a reduced rate of £20
- For Republic of Ireland members, the reduced fee of £20 will be available if paid by PayPal or bank transfer, until Direct Debit subscriptions become available
- The Overseas fee will remain at £25, reduced to £20 if no postal magazine required, until Direct Debit becomes available
- The additional fee for an extra (family) member at the same address will remain at £10
- The fee for a junior member will remain at £10
Reasons for the change
The membership fee was last increased in 2008, from £15 to £20. We would need to increase it to nearly £27 to have the same buying power today.
Back in 2012 a committee report concluded that with the current membership fee of £20, BIBBA was not financially viable. Since then we have built up reserves, principally as a result of over-performance on events run by Roger Patterson, but also by cutting costs. Holding the committee meetings by telephone conference has saved considerable travel expenses; claiming giftaid has also helped. These reserves will enable us to progress with a number of projects in future years.
Membership has risen consistently for the last five years to an all-time high of 550. The membership database and subscription processing are currently managed at zero cost using google groups. The workload however is reaching the point at which a commercial solution may be required. The cost of these varies considerably but by taking subscription by direct debit (or the older standing orders) the management is streamlined, with a significant saving in time for the membership secretary. The committee therefore feel it reasonable to reflect this reduction in workload by a reduction in subscription.
Nick Mawby
membership secretary