Hello Peter Another option might be to ask members and non-members to donate a small amount when the list has been helpful to them.
I for one would be happy to send a contribution from time to time. Where can I send it? Kind regards Greg Manzie Director Glyde Gallery Conservation Conservators, Consultants and Picture Framers, for Museums, Art Galleries and Collectors. 5 Glyde Street Mosman Park Western Australia 6012 ABN 89 154 124 265 Phone (08) 9383 3929 Mobile 0448 844 381 Email gman...@bigpond.net.au On 27/05/2010, at 6:55 PM, Peter Hinchliffe wrote: > > We have reached a watershed moment in the long history of the Western > Australian Macintosh Users Group of WA. > > For many years, WAMUG has enjoyed the use of the facilities provided by > Curtin University, most particularly those we currently enjoy in the Geology > Seminar Room, but also other rooms, lecture theatres, etc around the campus. > For many years we have been able to do so simply by arranging with the > Security Department to allow us access, adnd this has not involved a cost. > > As discussed at the May General Meeting, it seems that we have been living a > charmed life for quite some time, and that unbeknown to us, a cost has in > fact been due for the use of Curtin's facilities. Consequently, as of the > next meeting (June 1) we will be required to pay a fee of $63.00 per hour for > the use of the facility we currently enjoy. As our meetings generally run for > 90 minutes or so, it won't take very long before our funds become severely > depleted at this rate, given the current level of financial membership. > > It seems our options are limited to the following: > > 1. increase the Membership Fees to cover costs. > > Admittedly, the committee has not been vigorous in chasing members for fees, > and we are extremely grateful to those who have been diligent and remained > financial. This has allowed us to cover such costs as Web Site costs, domain > registration, the Annual Barbecue, etc. The members' fees have been our only > source of funding. Given that the current membership fee level has been > sufficient to allow us to operate comfortably, and that our operating costs > have been low for many years, we are reluctant to increase the fees to a > level that would cover the future use of Curtin's facilities. > > 2. Introduce a system of paid membership for belonging to the WAMUG Mailing > List > > WAMUG has never charged anyone for membership of the WAMUG Mailing List, and > this is something we guard jealously. We are aware that the WAMUG list has a > nation-wide, and even international, reputation for being a friendly, > knowledgeable source of reference for all things related to the Macintosh, > and more recently of course, Apple's many related products. The logistics of > of trying to administer a fee of any sort for belonging to the Mailing List > are simply too difficult for us to contemplate, and is a pathway of > unnecessary complexity. > > 3. Introduce a door charge for attendance at the monthly General Meetings > > This would seem to be the most practical and most easily managed option > available to us at the moment, and is the course of action we intend to adopt > in the first instance. As from the next meeting on Tuesday, 1 June 2010, we > will ask each member attending the meeting for an entrance fee of $5.00 each, > and will allow us to continue to use the excellent facilities at Curtin, > which I'm sure everyone who regularly attends the meetings will agree, are > first class. > > 4. Find another venue. > > This is a much less desirable option, but is something will have to explore > with some urgency if option 3 does not work, or results in markedly reduced > attendance. Curtin University is relatively central, easily accessible with > few parking problems, and we are familiar with the facilities it offers. We > would have the same problems with admission fees as well, which may well be > even higher if we want somewhere with facilities which match those of Curtin. > > 5. Reduce WAMUG to a Mailing List activity only, doing away with the Monthly > Meetings. > > I sincerely doubt if anyone who is currently a member of WAMUG, either > financial or not, would want to see this happen. The monthly meeting is an > important WAMUG event both socially and functionally, and greatly looked > forward to by those who attend regularly, if the personal feed back I get is > anything to go by. This option is offered mainly in the interests of > completion, rather than as a point of serious contemplation at this stage. > > > > The members of the committee feel that a $5.00 entrance fee would be bearable > by everyone who attends, and is not out of proportion to that charged by many > similar organisations who have to pay for the use of hired facilities, and is > based on the attendance at the meeting of at least 12 people. Of course, if > attendance were to increase to the level of, say, thirty people regularly, > then we could actually consider a fee reduction, so please consider coming > along to the Monthly Meetings if you don't do so already. The more the > merrier, as they say! > > > Peter Hinchliffe > > President > Western Australian Macintosh Users Group > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Unsubscribe - <mailto:wamug-unsubscr...@wamug.org.au> > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Unsubscribe - <mailto:wamug-unsubscr...@wamug.org.au>
