Our dues structure has remained constant for seven years. How many organizations do you belong to that have not raised dues for that long? As with any entity, there are basic operating costs to maintain services. For the past several months, the Board of Directors has discussed and analyzed our operating costs, membership benefits and expectations, and ways to close the widening gap between income and expenses. I invite every member to review the monthly treasurer reports included in every newsletter and on our website, for additional detail.
Our sources of income are membership dues (98%), donations, and ads placed in the newsletter and on the website. The key areas of expense for DACS are Newsletter, Insurance, web hosting, and maintaining our Resource Center, which is used for SIGs, special workshops, committees, and Board meetings. These key expenses make up more than 88% of our budget. In the 2014 calendar year our expenses exceeded income by more than $800. Over the past 3 years we have outspent income by nearly $2,000. DACS leadership does not receive any remuneration for our services and in many cases we pay for incidental expenses out of pocket. Keep in mind that we are extremely fortunate not to be charged rent for any of our meeting venues, else expenses would be much higher. We have already trimmed our expenses as much as practical without impacting services.
Your Board of Directors therefore voted at our January 7th Board Meeting to close the financial gap by increasing membership dues by 33%. We will follow the same 2 month advanced notice used with the last dues increase in 2008, with a special renewal offer.
Changes that will take effect on March 31st, 2015
- DACS Basic Membership dues will increase from $30 to $40 per year. Each member will continue to have the same benefits, including access to our forum, online PDF Newsletter, club related news via email, attendance at SIGs and workshops, and participation in any club-only related events, promotions, or activities.
- The printed and mailed newsletter subscription will add another $20 to the basic membership dues. This still comes up short of our expense in printing and postage by about $2 but is much closer to the real cost of the newsletter. So members who want a printed copy mailed will need to pay $60 annual dues.
Every member may renew membership between now and March 31st at the current rate. So if you just renewed or joined DACS, you may renew for another year at the $30 (or $45) rate you are now paying, but you must do so by March 31st.
As always, if there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me directly at president@dacs.org.