From:                              Ian Baker [ianbaker@netspace.net.au]

Sent:                               Sunday, 26 December 2010 12:24 PM

To:                                   brucearthur1@bigpond.com

Subject:                          VOA fees.doc

Attachments:                 VOA memb fees.xls

 

Follow Up Flag:              Follow up

Flag Status:                     Flagged

 

Ps see letter and s'sheet attached.

Ian Baker

Ian Baker

4/10-12 Church Street

Beaumaris, Vic. 3193

Phone (03) 9589 1684       Email ianbaker@netspace.net.au

 

Mr Bruce Arthur

President, Orienteering Victoria

 

26 December 2010

 

 

Dear Bruce,

 

In the O-Vic email newsletter you invited suggestions to help increase membership of Orienteering Victoria.

 

At the annual OFA conference, useful experiences were set out, particularly recording ‘casuals’ as participants for the record: I imagine Orienteering Victoria will be following up on these.

 

Let me make a suggestion to make financial membership more attractive, especially to the less regular orienteer and also to those who do not see the need/value to take up full membership e.g. those who are street/park or MTBO participants only. We should cut membership fees and make a compensating increase in event entry fees.

 

Orienteering Victoria membership should be reduced to an annual fee of $20.

 

This is a big reduction on the current senior individual fee of $68. An outlay of $68 is a significant amount, but $20 is not a lot to most people. It would make taking out membership just a small decision.

 

How would Orienteering Victoria compensate for the drop in membership revenue? Remember though that it accounted for only 4.9% of total revenue in 2009.

 

First, membership numbers will increase, but it is not possible to forecast by how much; certainly we must assume a ‘worst case’ scenario, that membership is static; therefore we need to pull in more money from event fees. Doing so has a substantial element of equity; members who take part more often pay a bit more; less frequent members pay less.

 

Based on figures in the 2009 – 2010 Orienteering Victoria annual report, an average event fee would need to increase by about 45 cents: an amount most people would not even notice.

 

The appendix to this letter shows the figures I have used to formulate this suggestion. They do need checking and reworking with the latest available data. The spreadsheet also shows the effect of membership fees of say $24 and $29 (psychological pricing: not $25 or $30).

 

Membership at the new rates should be vigorously promoted: an attractive brochure with a coupon/membership form, online, by marketing oriented persons at events.

 

(ends)