How does your club handle transient members?

Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF

At 13:56 15 November 2010, SF wrote:
Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF
In the UK we usually have a category of member called 'country member'
This refers to someone who lives a long distance from the club so that
getting there costs a lot and/or they typically would not be there very
often.
They usually get a cheaper membership because of this and as an
encouragement to come back. A typical price wouyld be 2/3 ordinary
membership

At 13:56 15 November 2010, SF wrote:
Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF

At 13:56 15 November 2010, SF wrote:
Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF

On Nov 15, 8:56*am, SF wrote:
Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. *It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. *Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF

Our club has an associate member catagory that costs $50/yr and
permits members to use club facilities 4 times a year.
It is limited to people who don't fly with us regularly due to
geographical issues.
FWIW- for someone who only flies with the club for a couple months a
year, likely the good season- why should they not pay like others to
help ensure there will be a place to fly? Maybe your club might want
to consider a dues structure for such members that ensures they
contribute their fair share to the fixed costs of keeping the club
going.
FWIW
UH

On Nov 15, 7:22*am, wrote:
On Nov 15, 8:56*am, SF wrote:

Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. *It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. *Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?


Our club has a category of membership for those that own their own
glider, they are treated just like regular members but pay only 1/2
the monthly dues.

We also have an intern membership where the initiation fee is half,
with the remainder due in a year.

For those that leave the area, there is an inactive status that keeps
them in the club, but they cannot vote or use the equipment.

Hope this helps;

aerodyne

On Nov 15, 8:35*am, wrote:
On Nov 15, 7:22*am, wrote:

On Nov 15, 8:56*am, SF wrote:

Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. *It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. *Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

Our club has a category of membership for those that own their own
glider, they are treated just like regular members but pay only 1/2
the monthly dues.

We also have an intern membership where the initiation fee is half,
with the remainder due in a year.

For those that leave the area, there is an inactive status that keeps
them in the club, but they cannot vote or use the equipment.

Hope this helps;

aerodyne

I'm curious how the full dues paying members feel about the owner/
members paying 1/2 the dues. Our club used to do that as well, but
decided to do away with it.

Brad

I tend to agree with Hank. my feeling is that if you're in the club
you should be in the club. yes i suppose it could get frustrating
that you pay what seems like more dues than you are getting your
money's worth but everyone has to chip in. It is easy to fall in the
trap of thinking clubs are like FBO's. I know I have fallen into that
line of thinking in the past, wondering what my club could do for me
instead of what I could do for my club. I happily pay my regular
monthly dues to my "old" club so that I can get a tow if I ever get
back that way. My regular money is my way of chipping in since I'm
not around to help out.

Although after saying that I really appreciated being able to join the
Caprock Soaring club as an "associate" member or something like that
when I visited there over Labor Day. It was a fairly cheap join fee
(ended up about the same as a tow at a commercial operation) and
allowed me to get a tow so I could have a fantastic flight.

On Nov 15, 9:40*am, Tony wrote:
I tend to agree with Hank. my feeling is that if you're in the club
you should be in the club. *yes i suppose it could get frustrating
that you pay what seems like more dues than you are getting your
money's worth but everyone has to chip in. *It is easy to fall in the
trap of thinking clubs are like FBO's. *I know I have fallen into that
line of thinking in the past, wondering what my club could do for me
instead of what I could do for my club.

The thought is if you are flying your own ship, you are flying the
club equipment less, and not adding to the wear and tear.

Most of those that are in the reduced dues category are active at the
airport, doing work for the club, but perhaps fly the clubs ships a
few times a year.

aerodyne

On Nov 15, 6:56*am, SF wrote:
Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. *It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. *Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF

On Nov 15, 6:56 am, SF wrote:
Our club has a small number of transient members that own their own
gliders and only fly with us a few months of the year. It is rather
punitive to make them pay the full club dues every month in order to
offer tows for the month or two that they are in town. Does anyone
have a club membership category and billing scheme that is fair to
both the club and the transient members in instances like this?

SF

Type of question we'd like to tackle at the SSA Conference in
Philadelphia on the Club Track. Round tables on club/chapter
operations Friday 1:30-3:30pm, club/chapter management Saturday
1:30-3:30pm.

Without getting into all of the cosmic scenarios, it depends on your
corporate form, business model, insurance plan, and the IRS, who may
frown upon differential dues among categories of memberships.

In the particular case of your chapter, among your stated (elsewhere)
reasons for being a membership organization are the group insurance
requirements. What you aren't saying is whether these transient
members will be offered use of chapter equipment and if they are
private owners who really want tows. Are you going to provide tows to
one who may not fit local currency requirements? Consistency of rules
counts across all membership levels. I don't recall cheap flying for
transient members as being one of the stated purposes for your
organization. What you need to do is sell this type of member on the
idea of sustaining support of your stated corporate purposes that
earned your chapter the 501c(3) tax determination. The determination
does not give you the opportunity, but may prohibit your chapter, from
providing competing services to the public with a local commercial
operator. We may quibble about whether Bermuda High is local, as it
appears to be about 107 road miles away.

Why would you state the dues punitive? Are these 'transient members'
likely to go to Bermuda High if they don't get a cheap membership? If
so, then they are not 'stakeholders' in your organizational interest.

Another poster mentions Associate members. Probably doable if they
live outside of a minimum radius (pick a number, 150, 250, 350 miles)
and pay a sustaining dues year round and full dues when active with
the club. That mutes any indication that the chapter is entertaining
'temporary' memberships, frowned upon by the underwriters if under the
SSA Group Plan.

In looking at the membership levels for your chapter, I see tow pilots
get $5/tow credits against tows. So a tow pilot might earn 2-4 free
tows/day. There's nothing wrong with contracting services from
members (now a vendor) in a 501c(3), as long as the tow pilots were
not involved in the decision making process other than as an offer or
a proposal. Any tow pilots, including board members, should have been
recused from the board discussion and action. One very large chapter
uses teams to facilitate and manage daily operations. Chapter members
actively participating on the teams are waived the hook-up charges on
aero tows, $10 in this case. This is a discount method, and non-
accumulating. Which method better avoids the appearance of 'private
inurement'? Which method better mutes the question of
'compensation'? If Joe Towpilot provides an average of 16 tows per
day and tows 20 days per year, are you cutting a 1099? If not, why
not?

You have to walk the talk,

Frank Whiteley
Chair, SSA Clubs & Chapters Committee
970-330-2050