Dues & LG Funding

Since 2001, dues have gone up $30.

Annual LG per member subsidy has gone up $2.35.

The $1 per new/reinstated member has remained the same since at least then. 

New Big Project!

As the LG Comm Guide project nears the finish line, I find myself casting about for something significant to do. And I've come up with my Next Big Project:

LG Newsletters-- current status, costs, who wants paper and why, etc.

I plan to approach this like I did with the Volunteerism project- generating a million questions, researching, and letting recommendations bubble up to the surface.

I feel energized again!

If Mensa Had a Million Dollars

I’ve been reading some discussion about Local Group funding and how to improve the members’ experience in Mensa. I’ve watched as membership numbers slip downward, and as testing numbers continue to drop, despite all sorts of massive efforts and incentives to Groups to promote testing.

Even in Chicago, widely-admired as an active and high-functioning group, there is a sense of… staleness. I know that despite being quite committed to Mensa, and proud of my chapter, even I find myself feeling rather “meh” about most offerings. Another party with the same people and same types of food and entertainment. Another dinner out with the same crowd. Another spread of pictures of the same people playing games in our newsletter.  I like the folks here just fine. I enjoy the beer selection and some of the speakers at meetings and gatherings are quite entertaining. No complaints, really. Just…  nothing that really grabs me any more enough to put on my shoes and drive an hour.

If the group had even more money, what would I get? Another page or two of the newsletter, perhaps with some puzzles, which I can get online for free. Maybe some well-written an thought-provoking articles and essays, which I can find all over the Web whenever I sit down to catch up on the 37 blogs I follow. Perhaps two more parties a year, with some good wine and some nice hot hors d’oeuvres and the same smart people standing around talking and playing games. It’s even possible that we might hire a famous professional speaker to give a really great lecture, much like I can watch on TED. All quite nice. Might even get me to drag myself out to a meeting. But might not.

The other day, I was fantasizing about winning the lottery and what all I might do with a bazillion dollars. One of the things I daydreamed about was writing a check for a million dollars made out to American Mensa (not the Foundation, since as a bazillionaire, I was not really concerned about getting the tax deduction, but what the heck, I also dashed off a check for two million to the Foundation just because I could). In my fantasy, I arranged a meeting with Pam, Nick, and Elissa, and quite enjoyed their eye-popping gasps when I presented the check.

But there was a catch.

I challenged them to come up with an answer to this question: Since Mensa already excels at offering acceptance and succor to very smart and socially awkward people, how could they use a million dollars to provide very smart, socially adept people something they cannot easily find anywhere else?

The daydream trailed off at that point, but the emails I’ve been reading lately made me think about it again. Obviously, since I don’t buy lottery tickets, my bazillionairehood is still far in the future. But still…

I challenge the leaders and other members of Mensa to:

Think of what Mensa could offer smart and socially skilled people that they cannot easily and cheaply find elsewhere.

Develop and implement a massive fundraising campaign (hell yeah, I’ll kick in $100 for something novel and wonderful).

Make it happen.

Looking at the March 2012 AMC Agenda

Remember that long fully researched report about Local Group funding and needs and uses? The AMC threw up their hands "omg, change bad..." and took no action.


(Side note: I got an email from Rob Salkin recently letting me know he's my AMC liaison and asking if there was anything I'd like him to bring up at the meeting. I replied "What are you my liaison for?" to which he answered "the Local Group Service & Funding Task Force." Ummm, Rob, you guys dissolved that in September.)


But look, now there's a motion, by Rob, of all people, to give groups 1/3 of dues income— DOUBLING the amount groups used to get 8 years ago. No research. No details about why. Oh, and the financial impact says "No impact to the bottom line... but one or more budget areas will likely need to be cut..." to the tune of half a million dollars.  Hmmm... half a million sounds like a wee impact on the bottom line of a budget.

In other news, as everyone knows, I did a ton of work, at the request of the AMC, to solve the issue of RVC replacement—an issue that must, by law, be resolved. I gave it to them in December. I see on the agenda for this meeting... er......nothing.

No mention of it at all.

Wow. Just wow.

Links to Some of My Reports

Matt helped me set up DropBox, and now I have several of the big reports I've written for Mensa available for anyone who wants to download and read them:


The RVC Conundrum Background Paper 2011
The Local Group Service & Funding Report 2011
Governance Task Force Report 2010
InterLoc Background Paper 2010
Name & Logo Workbook 2009
Local Group Service & Funding Report 2006

Local Groups Will Remain Strapped

The fall AMC agenda is out. Looks like the AMC is going to not consider increasing funding to Local Groups who could use it to improve their services to members. To say I am disappointed is an understatement, but it seems that members chose to elect representatives who do not care for the plight of members at the local level. 

Ah well, I tried. In retrospect, I would have been wiser to simply take the ~$600 I paid out of my own pocket to print those reports and distribute it to groups myself.

Live and learn. Local Groups will just have to make do with the 2007 funding levels.

LG Funding Concern- Reductions for Underperforming Groups

The AMC finally read my LG Service & Funding report, and they had questions and concerns, which Elissa forwarded to me so I could address them. Since then, it's been quite amusing to tussle with the new Membership Officer, who seems to be against the plan for a number of reasons, one of which is that the groups who have their funding reduced under this plan will be displeased. Here was my response to that:

Those amounts were suggestions. You could certainly tweak the rubric so that Groups which provide little or no service still get 82¢ per member. And you can eliminate the current practice of cutting off funding to Groups that don't meet the minimum requirements... just keep throwing money at them and perhaps someday, a spark plug will move into the area and use it.

But I firmly believe that Groups that want to provide more than the minimum should be funded to do so. Don't keep holding back your racehorses in order to not offend your slugs.

Every time Mensa policy defaults to pleasing the slowest, the timidest, the most luddite..... we put another nail in our coffin.

Local Group Funding Report-2006

Members are talking about Local Group Funding. Some might want to take a refresher look at the 2006 Local Group Funding Report.

Local Group Services & Funding Report- Linked

Finally, here is the Report of the Local Group Services & Funding Task Force! (You'll need your login and password information). 

I gave the AMC hard copies in Portland. Now, whether any of them will really read it, let alone take any actions...

Local Group Service & Funding Report

I finished it! The Local Group Service & Funding Report is finally done. It will be on the AML site soon, but if you're curious, I have it here, too.

Edited: Grumble grumble...For some reason my dot-mac account is not letting people download the file. Make a comment and give me your email address and I'll send you the pdf if you want it.

Local Group Expenditures

I should blog something, but I've been hard at work on the Local Group Service & Funding report. Just to take up space, here's a graph from the data I'm working with.

Local Group Expenditures ( EOFY 2010 reported data)

This Week's Project: LGS&F

In addition to lawn mowing and prepping for a weekend party, I'm hoping to pull together all the  data and documents and survey results into a readable, useful report for the Local Group Service and Funding task force.

Here's what my dining room table looks like with all the information we're looking at. Some of what you see are 60-page report and surveys.

Reducing LG Funding (I'm opposed)

De asked:
Do you have a position on this—reducing funding?  Good idea?  Bad idea? 
What do you think about the chapters not getting any addition funding from the latest increase in membership dues?

And here's my answer:
I have my hands on more data than most AMC members regarding LG funding, and I see nothing that indicates wisdom in reducing funding to Groups.


I can think of ways that Groups might shave some off of their expenses, but I would expect that any such saving would be used to improve other member services. Unless National begins to provide more on-the-ground service to members (which is not really possible), I don't see how cutting funding to LGs would benefit Mensa as a whole.


As for not getting any funding from this latest dues increase, keep in mind that dues rates and LG funding rates were decoupled years ago—when the traditional 1/6 of dues was found to be an inadequate amount for Groups to do what they need to do. Why no motion to increase funding to Groups this past year? I know I informally floated the idea back in August (gotta think that far ahead in the budget cycle) and it didn't gain any traction among the other Finance Committee members. No other AMC members crafted and put forth motions to raise LG funding, so it didn't happen. 


There is a task force working on the funding issue; I'm chairing it. I will have a report done in time for the July meeting, and well ahead of time for the next budget cycle. My goal is, once again, to figure out how much groups need in order to serve their members well and how to fairly allocate the right amount of money for those services.


One way that I differ from other AMC members is that I am very opposed to looking at Groups' bank balances as a determining factor in how much funding they need. We know all too well by now, bank balances do not tell the whole picture. That a group has a large lump in the bank in March means little... perhaps they haven't finished their RG books yet. Perhaps they have a trust fund with restrictions on use. Perhaps it's a scholarship fund. Perhaps they have some monster bills outstanding. Perhaps they're saving up for a color printer.


And what you didn't ask, but are thinking, I suspect:
Now that Groups are sending newsletters electronically, will you assume they don't need as much money and subsequently cut the funding?


I seriously doubt it. All the research shows that members want social opportunities and intellectual stimulation. As long as Groups are forced to spend most of their income on newsletters, they can't do much for the social and intellectual stimulation services the members really want. Funding to Groups is supposed to be for providing the services members want, and letting those that wish to go electronic do so easily will only help them improve their other important member services.


Groups still need that money—but for other things.

Crawling out of the Hole Part 7

August 31, 2010:
    Assets: $4,107,513.150
    Liabilities: $5,805,550.50
    Net Assets: ($1,698,037.35)



December 31, 2010:
    Assets: $3,393,506.67
    Liabilities: $5,066,213.11
    Net Assets: ($1,672,706.44)


Hooray-- we're moving in the correct direction again! And the preliminary budget created by the Finance Committee last weekend ends in the black, even after earmarking the full $150K for equity restoration.

National Office Postal Machines

In reaction to an earlier post, Jared commented about the cost of the postal machine in the office and asked if we had considered alternatives such as stamps.com. Here is some information about that:

The lease and maintenance on the machines costs $21,300 for the year. It collates, folds letters (including multiple pages) stuffs the envelopes, and seals the seals. Last WEEK alone it processed 4,000 membership cards. The other machine applies the postage. It weighs, checks size, and meters the envelope, then prints the correct postage on each piece. Last year it processed over 84,000 pieces of mail. We did NOT use it for handling renewals, since that comprises more than 100,000 pieces, and necessitates a higher-capacity machine—which is one reason why we use a separate mail house for that. The machines are also used for all of the Foundation mailings. 

If we used something like stamps.com, we'd get postage... but that's it. So we are left to choose between spending the $21,300 on the machines or significantly more than that to hire (and train and insure) a staff to stuff, lick, and stamp envelopes every day.

I think sometimes, members don't grok the scale of operations at the office. Dig out the year-end stats from an AML Today and look at the number of phone calls and mailings the staff handle in a year. It's mind-boggling. 


And yes, these are the actual machines in question; I just happened to be in the office this past weekend, so I snapped the pictures.

Musing on Complaints about AMC Travel

People complain about AMC travel and point to that over and over as something to reduce in order to increase the black at the bottom of the budget.

Most people agree that:
• The AMC needs to meet face to face now and then.
• We need officers from different parts of the country.
• AMC meetings should be in different places so more members have opportunities to attend.
• AMC officers need to eat and sleep.
• Volunteering should not be limited to only those rich enough to afford it.

I do think there are ways to reduce AMC meeting costs, and I would support a few of the obvious suggestions such as having fewer AMC members and choosing locations that are overall cheaper to get to for most AMC members. 


Please don't take this post as just another defensive whine. What I'm really wondering about is if there is some psychological or social phenomenon at play because the travel is an expenditure members can see with their own eyes.

The lease on the copier and postal machines in the office are more than twice the price of an AMC meeting. Credit card fees I've already mentioned. Running an election in which only 11% of the membership participates costs nearly three times what an AMC meeting costs. Postage for mailing things to Local Groups is close to equal the cost of an AMC meeting, as is the cost of insurance for Groups.

There are perks and inequities to many volunteer jobs. Editors and Webmasters get awards for their work; LocSecs and Membership officers do not. RG Chairs get comped rooms; regular attendees do not. MindGames Chief Judges get dinners paid; regular judges do not. Some proctors get paid for their efforts; some don't. RVCs have funding to attend gatherings; Development officers and Secretaries do not.

Yes, AMC members get to travel, sleep in hotels, and eat nice meals while other members do not. It comprises about 1% of the annual budget. There is no denying that fact. Is the zeal for reducing that particular area of expenditure, while never mentioning other larger line items, at all motivated by some dog-in-a-manger human emotion?

Musing on Funding

Some members feel that more dues money should go to Local Groups and less to the "National." After all, the Mensa experience is at the local level, so that is where we should focus our resources. That is very true, for some members in some Local Groups. But not all. Recently there was this exchange in a thread not the AML Forums (names changed):

Eager New Member:
I looked at the website for my local group... I do not have high hopes lol. I think the last time anyone touched it was in October. Under the meetings heading, it says, "Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, November 4th." The last event scheduled was a testing day on January 30th, so maybe they'll be putting up a new calendar soon...? Ah well, no big deal.

Helpful Seasoned Member:
What is your local group? The website might be a tad out of date, but you should get a newsletter every month listing events for that month.

ENM:
It's the MidState Mensa. Hmm, I just checked for the newsletter for my local group on the AML Local Group Newsletters page, and it came back "no records returned," even for "Show All." Am I doing something wrong?

HSM:
Probably not. Groups aren't required to post their newsletters, so it is possible they have chosen not to.

ENM:
 That's a tad disappointing.... Forums it is, then!

Even if we tripled the funding for this Local Group, the Website would remain out of date and the newsletter unavailable to members wanting to get involved. This is why we spread the money around between support for LG-provided services and services provided at the national level. So ALL members get something for their dues money, even if they decide to live near a Local Group whose volunteers do less for their members.

Budgeting Process

As I continue to work my way through the draft budget binder in preparation for this weekend's Finance Committee meeting, here's another little bit I can share now:

In addition to detailed (and I mean detailed down to the cost of the envelope used to send the new membership card) information about all areas of income and expenses, we also get copies of articles about trends in banking fees, investment environments and advice, salary comparisons in the area and nationwide, changes in IRS 1099 requirements, and concrete plans and goals for each National Office department.

My point is that the budgeting development process is anything but "look at last year and add 5%."

Budget Factoid

So I'm all comfy on my sofa under a faux fur blanket, watching the snow fall and going over the first draft of the proposed 2011-2012 budget and scribbling notes and questions.

And at the same time, there is angry accusatory discussion about AMC travel expenses on both the LocSec elist and the Yahoo groups. Here's and interesting budget factoid that should but probably won't put things into a different perspective:

The cost of banking and credit card fees for AML is higher than for four meetings' worth of AMC travel, lodging, and meals.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

AMC's Luxury Junkets

I have been reading on the Yahoo groups complaints bout how the AMC members eat fancy expensive dinners and stay in 5-star luxury hotels. This motivated me to dig out an old blog post on this topic.

By the way, the room rate at the Hyatt  where I'll be staying for the Finance Committee meeting is $89 a night. Meals are generally continental breakfast at hotel, some sort of boxed lunch at the office, and a hearty good dinner at a restaurant.