Folks, I'm sure that most of you have read the posts on the various caver forums by now and I appreciate seeing everyone's comments. The NSS has a significant budget short fall, as Wm said, and we've been cutting costs in all places. The shortfall is related to a decrease in membership over the last 5 years. I believe this is a result of a number of factors - long term member deaths, changing interests, a down turn in the economy, lack of access to caves because of White Nose which decreases recruitment, cost of membership, competing interests among potential new members, etc. In addition, we've also been getting questions about providing the NSS News in electronic format as some folks prefer to receive their material over the internet. You can see this trend in a decline in home delivery of newspapers and magazines and an increase in on line subscriptions.
I think what we're talking about here is offering a choice among members, you can get the NSS NEWS electronically for a reduced price which may help attract members or if you're a luddite like me, you can pay a different rate and receive a hard copy by mail. Either way, the electronic version will be available to all members. I think choice is good and helps keep everyone happy. In addition, the electronic issues allow some benefits that you can't put into print such as interactive maps, more color photos, etc. How do we improve our bottom line. Membership recruitment and retention is incredibly important. I noted that most of the Bexar Grotto are NSS members when I asked for a show of hands the other day. The grotto also has a program to award a membership to a new caver every year. The Bexar Grotto has also purchased relevant books from the NSS and donated them to the local library system. This provides an educational resource for the public and provides some free information on the local grotto (and some cash flow to the NSS). In addition, the Bexar Grotto is also a member of the 404 club by donating $300 per year to the NSS for the new building. If 404 members donated $25 per month or $300 per year, we would cover the mortgage on the new building and additional funds could be used for improvements or member benefits (and you get a cool shirt which the grotto raffled off and we used that money to buy a brick at the new facility with our grotto name engraved). These are just a few of the ideas used to help support the society. Some facts on the new building The new building is only a few miles from the current office building and is a great facility for an organization such as the NSS. It will be able to house our full library collection in a professional manner, have plenty of room for office staff, book stock, storage of NSS related materials, museum, meeting and classrooms, etc. We also got an incredible deal on the property getting it at rock bottom prices when the real estate market collapsed and at very low interest rates. It is approximately 80 acres of land and actually contains some caves. The front half of the property is also a campground. There are meeting rooms in the building as well as a large auditorium. The 2014 convention will be held there saving us a lot of money and is a good time for folks to visit. The campground is also open to members for free camping. The office is being renovated and after the move, we'll be able to rent out the old office. Note also that the new building overhead will be paid though rental fees of the property for various activities such as wedding receptions, various community events, family reunions, and is expected to be a revenue generator for the society in the near future as the facility is updated and better advertised. For those of you that have been to the old office, it is what I call a blivit, that is 10 lbs of stuff (insert explicit descriptor here) in a 5lb bag. It is bulging at the seams, is not housing our collection very well, and makes it difficult for the staff to work because of space. If folks would like to hear more about the new office or other issues related to the NSS, I would offer to try and visit a grotto meeting and present a program - you'll also get an arm twisting about membership, the 404 club, donations, etc. Be aware that Texas is a big place and I don't have the time or money to visit every grotto in the state, but do try and arrange my travel schedule around grotto meetings. The NSS is a great organization. I've always been amazed at how much the NSS gets done, all because of an incredibly committed group of volunteers. Thanks and please be active in the NSS and call your directorate and let them know what you think. Geary Schindel NSS Administrative Vice Chair (The AVP responsibilities include Education, Conservation, Conventions, and Preserves) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
