Joe Smith, President
Brendan Fitzpatrick, President-Elect
Dave Martin, Past-President
Marcia Noell, Secretary
Corinne Bott, Treasurer
Dear OPA Member:
This letter is to inform you of an important change to your Oregon Pilots’ Association membership that will take effect very soon. At the Board of Directors quarterly meeting held several weeks ago, considerable discussion was held regarding declining membership; the ongoing cost to the organization to provide member services; and the financial stability of the organization to continue beyond 2009. We want to share with you what was discussed in an open and candid manor, along with the decision and action the Board has decided to take.
The first problem is declining membership in the organization. Thru the first 11 months of 2008 we added only 27 new members, while losing 211 that failed to renew their OPA membership. This is a 28% decline in membership this past year. We currently have only 520 paid memberships (the other 77 members being honorary annual and life members and students who had not paid). History suggests that at least some of those 211 will come back, but we can only count on what’s actually been received.
The Board is aware that many of you ask “What do I get for my $25 or $50 annual membership dues?” Here are some answers, which we hope you’ll take in, and share with others involved in Oregon aviation. While many of the actions the Association takes on your behalf don’t have an immediate tangible monetary value, several do that could more than pay for your OPA membership. Most important, many of the things the Board, Officers, and Committee members do on a regular basis have a direct impact on you as a pilot in Oregon. Some of the benefits you receive as an OPA member include:
- Monitoring of Federal and State regulatory and legislative activities;
- Direct access to State Aviation Department Officials;
- Bi-monthly newsletter with current articles of local interest such as aviation fuels, aviation history, issues affecting airports near you, etc.;
- One of the most up-to-date aviation calendars in the Pacific Northwest;
- Member discounts at a variety of aviation vendors that could save you hundreds of dollars a year; and
- If an Associate member, special recognition in each issue of the Prop Wash; a business card listing on the OPA website with a link to your website; 10% discount off annual Prop Wash advertising rates.
If you have any questions on what OPA does for you, please feel free to contact any of the Officers listed above. We’d be more than happy to explain in more detail why it’s important to support general aviation in Oregon thru membership in OPA. The Board is actively looking at ways to not only increase membership, but retain our existing members such as you. Watch for more information in the upcoming months.
The second challenge is the cost of maintaining our basic membership information; billing and collection of member dues; and providing information to local chapters as needed. As noted above, we will start 2009 most likely with about 500 dues paying members. This means our membership revenue will be about $12,000 and maybe even less if the number of members continues downward.
Right now we’re spending between $12,000 to $13,000 annually to send out invoices each month, collect payments, make deposits, send out new member cards, follow-up on non-renewals, provide mailing labels and reports to chapters, etc. We therefore are spending as much or even more on keeping track of when your dues are due and sending them out – than what we are collecting in dues! We also continue to have a $2,000 - $3,000 deficit in Prop Wash advertising revenue over expenses, even after reducing expenses by not mailing it out to every member. The Board recognized this cannot continue.
What is the solution? We can raise membership dues (not even considered as an option by the Board), or reduce our expenses. It was proposed that we try and reduce our membership expenses by converting all memberships to a calendar year basis. This would mean we would send out renewal invoices only once a year to all members, instead of the 40-50 presently being sent each month. Also, we should maximize the available technology (such as the website and email blasts) to communicate with you. The benefits of doing this would be:
- Should substantially reduce the amount of time and money spent each month just to send out statements to members.
- Members will not need to remember what month their OPA membership is due.
- All statements can be generated and sent out in early December giving 30 days notice when they are due. A 30-60 day grace period will be adopted giving members 90 days to make payment.
- Revenue would be received at the beginning of the year allowing for better planning and management of expenses during the year.
- The current drain on dwindling reserves to offset the negative cash flow for member services can be reversed.
- With a positive cash flow, money can be used for other purposes such as promoting OPA, gaining new members, etc
We also realize there are some negative aspects of this action:
- Logistics of converting to a new billing cycle;
- Some members may not understand the reason for the change;
- The first year, some members will have to pay less, but sooner than expected the first year;
- Could potentially lose some members because of the change.
After much discussion, the Board adopted the following recommendations:
- Go to a calendar year membership billing cycle effective January 2009
- Prorate only members who currently renew in January thru August (except for Student members). You will receive a pro-rated membership fee due January 2009 from between $10.00 and $25.00 (or $50.00 if an Associate member).
- Members who have recently paid and who’s prorated amount would be less than $10.00 would not receive a statement until December 2009. They would have their prorated amount added in addition to their regular amount. Example: $8.00, $6.00, $4.00, or $2.00 would be added to their $25.00 dues if they presently renew in September thru December.
- Round the prorated dues to the nearest whole dollar ($22.92 would be $23.00, $10.42 would be $10.00, etc) for this first calendar year billing cycle.
- Send invoices and payment notices via email whenever possible to reduce postage and processing costs.
- Encourage payment of dues thru the www.oregonpilot.org website using PayPal instead of writing a check and sending it in. This again will reduce the amount of manual intervention in collecting dues and depositing funds.
- New members (not renewing only) who join in January thru June would be charged the full annual membership amount. If joining in July thru December, they will be charged one-half the membership rate (except for Student memberships who will pay the full amount). This will offset the additional costs for new members such as badges, initial mailing, setup in member database etc.
- Reports and labels for Chapters will be sent electronically as when requested by the Chapter President. Also once a quarter, chapters will be given a list of members in their geographic area not assigned to their chapter to use as a recruiting tool, and, any new member who joins and indicates a local chapter will have their information provided to the Chapter President.
How will this affect you? Within the next few days you will receive an invoice for your OPA dues. The amount billed will be based upon what month your membership currently is set to renew on, prorated according to the following table:
If your current membership expires |
Your 1/1/2009 invoice will be |
Your 1/1/2010 invoice will be |
January 2009 |
$25.00 |
$25.00 |
February 2009 |
$23.00 |
$25.00 |
March 2009 |
$21.00 |
$25.00 |
April 2009 |
$19.00 |
$25.00 |
May 2009 |
$17.00 |
$25.00 |
June 2009 |
$15.00 |
$25.00 |
July 2009 |
$13.00 |
$25.00 |
August 2009 |
10.00 |
$25.00 |
September 2009 |
-0- |
$33.00 |
October 2009 |
-0- |
$31.00 |
November 2009 |
-0- |
$29.00 |
December 2009 |
-0- |
$27.00 |
Note: All Associate memberships will be prorated and billed in the same manner. Student memberships will not be prorated and the full amount ($10.00) will be due. All membership dates will be changed to 1/01/2009 thru 12/31/2009 |
The dues will be due on January 1st of each year and you will have 30 days to pay, with an additional 30 day grace period (60 days total) before your membership status will no longer be active.
The invoice will provide payment options, but we encourage our members to pay if possible thru the OPA website. If you don’t feel comfortable with this, or would still prefer sending payment via check, you will still be able to mail your payment in. Once payment is received, you will receive your new OPA membership card within 30 days.
The Board recognizes this is a change to how “we’ve always done it”, but feel it’s in the best interest of the Association to make these changes now. By doing so now, we avoid having to raise membership dues or other more drastic measures in the future. If you have any questions on your membership with OPA, or the action the Board has proposed, we encourage you to contact any OPA officer or Board Member. You may also email your comments to: president-opa@oregonpilot.org if you prefer.
As a final note: Looking for a last minute tax deduction? If so consider making a charitable contribution to the ASEF before the end of the year. Contact Rob Denner at (503) 758-2670 for more information.
Respectfully Submitted,
Your OPA Officers and Board of Directors |
