Quite a few MINI clubs are about a year old. :smile:

Some charged dues, some didn't. Of those that did charge dues, most asked for $25 initially. Of that $25, I saw two general paths:

- clubs that spent a large percentage of that $25 on a welcome package to members (shirt, stickers, name tags, stuffed animals)
- clubs that returned very little of the $25 directly to the members, but instead spent the money on items to benefit the club (ez-up tents, insurance, club loaner helmets for track days)

At least two clubs that I know of are now asking members to pay dues annually, so some people have been hit up for another $25.

If you were a member of a club that charged dues I'd like to know the following:

- Do you think you got your money's worth out of your 1st year dues?
- Would you pay dues for a second year?

 

I think that dues are necessary. As you have shown, Dave, that different clubs handle the monies differently. Club web site, printing, communication, and legal expenses should be considered on top of those that you listed.

I'll pay dues for a club as long as said club shows some benefit to me. Since I coordinate many club functions, the benefit that is most important to me currently is the insurance , which I don't have the personal money to back without it being in place.

Yes, I'd pay dues again. If not for the direct benefits you and I have detailed, but for the common goal and focus of the club itself.

 

All,

I believe the $25.00 i spent is worth it.

Earl

 

I would pay again. For one thing, the people are great and are really trying to create a good local MINI scene that has something for everybody. Second, there really is nothing else out there for MINI owners...its been great fun being a small part of a club starting out on the ground floor. Third, I think $25 is not much to pay to get such a fun and worthwhile group going. I even enjoy entertaining the locals when we line up our MINIs at our monthly events. Lots of smiles!

 

I have paid my second $25 & the first $25 was well worth it. The St Louis MINI Club is very active & has had many events. My thanks to all the officers who have done such a great job.

Lois

 

I have definitely gotten my money's worth! I paid $25 initially, and just a few weeks ago paid another $25 renewal. I could do without some of the 'stuff' that was sent to me, but I don't mind paying a small amount to be part of a club. There are other expenses that we don't see as members - insurance being one of them. Insurance is a must for any car club, especially one that focuses most of it's events around driving on public roads.

Since joining this club over a year ago, I have:
made some really great close friends;
met other really great people who could potentially become close friends;
seen MUCH more of the state where I live, as well as neighboring states than had I not been in the club;
had a weekend at the track and learned a ton while there (I wouldn't have gone to the track on my own);
built a network of friends and contacts within a 250 mile radius;
and I'm probably forgetting a few things...

I'd say that's worth the $25 admission fee... I mean, Disneyland costs about TWICE that and it's only for a DAY.

_________________
My MINI makes me want to do the happy dance!

 

:smile: :smile:

Chow!

Donna

 

You get what you pay for.....free clubs usually deliver what they charge for....nothing. Dues are part of commitment and dues entitle one to a vote. A free dictatorship, even if bening, does nothing......

 

I think club dues are a good thing when there is a policy in place set to manage how that money is utilized in the club, and I'm not just talking about Club By Laws, but an actual checks and balances system whereby the money is used for legitimate expenditures that will benefit the entire club and not just a few.

I belonged to a local club for 6 months. I thought the $25 was worth the admission price. I met lots of great people out of that. The club freebies were a waste IMO. When the president started taking polls on what freebies we wanted when we renewed our memberships, that was a joke. Welcome kits are just that--for new members joining the club. Renewing members don't need that. The money should go towards insurance, or other club activities, not back in the pockets of whoever is making these promotional items.

Fortunately I don't have to worry about renewing dues since I voluntarily left the club I was in.

 

>>You get what you pay for.....free clubs usually deliver what they charge for....nothing. Dues are part of commitment and dues entitle one to a vote. A free dictatorship, even if bening, does nothing......

I will have to disagree with you there. I belong to a club which charges no fees as some of you might know. I have met many great people and have made many friendships with other mini and non-mini owners. We do not charge fees but that doesn't mean we don't get anything. We have sponsers that give us cool products and great discounts, we don't need welcome shirts etc... We might not have many members but the members we do have bring something special with them to the club, we all work together to make the club better. There is no single leader, we all have a voice. If the club was run right without internal bickering and disagreements you don't always need to charge your members money.

This isn't just with the club I belong to. There are many other car clubs that are free to join that are just as great as any other clubs.

 

Something that you all might want to consider, is starting a club is not free, especially if the club has insurance for protection. There are filing fees and registering your name with the state, and so on and so forth...

Membership dues are a must for any well ran club.

 

I rest my case........see above

 

I'm not in a MINI club, but I have run the Twin Cities Robotics Club for about 15 years.

No dues, everyone is welcome from 8-year olds to 70-year olds.

We have an active membership that all help run the club.

I pay for the website out of my own pocket, and fund special projects
for things like beginner's robot kits etc.

I think if we had even a $25 annual dues, it would ruin the fun and
family-like nature of the club.

Mix money and clubs and you get a bad scene. The MN Astro society is
a big bummer just because of fights over the dues.

 

I'm a newer member of the DC Metro MINIs and although I haven't been able to attend any events yet, do plan on that. Dues are such minor amounts and a small price to pay to keep any club viable. I really like the accessories we can buy, like the T-Shirts. They'r great. Good quality and they feel good. And I'm looking forward to making new friends.

 

I don't charge dues... the only expenses we have is the web server, which the webmaster actually pays for. We have the dealership to help out with big events if need be, and otherwise its just a pay as you go deal. We're not really soundly structured, but people have fun. I don't see the point in charging dues, unless we got REALLY big.

When it comes to accessories, I haven't made any up yet, but I plan to... all I'm gonna do is make up an order list from the members, then make the order. I pay hotmail $22 a year for being able to send out mass e-mails (in addition to my $22/month for MSN). If you run one right, clubs can be dirt cheap.

Despite many criticisms of my choice to keep Mini NEO free... I'm not going to change that. If it really bugs people, they don't have to be in the club. I'm always open to any suggestions, and anyone can plan a meet. The club is just a way for the members to have better contact with one another. We even have two smaller clubs inside the large one. One being the drunkards, of which I'm a regular participant - we hang out at bars and have... fun. The other is the "Mature motorers" or whatever they call themselves, they're the older club members that arrange their own drives through Amish country, and to antiques shops. Stuff like that.

So, again. People can criticise me all they want, but I think I run a pretty good club. Naturally, by being free, I admit it doesn't have as much structure as I'd like... the officer system is really more for show than anything else. But, with the help of Classic MINI in the future, things will be a bit more structured, and we can plan autocross and racetrack events more easily. I'm hoping to start that stuff up by the summer.

I agree with Trippy... dues would ruin the family-like nature. Thats how our meets are. We just goof off. Drive around with our 2-way radios... we get pretty perverted half the time. We have a lot of restaurant meets, and people have fun just getting to know each other. Its a way for people who would never meet each other otherwise to do so, having the commonality of owning a Mini.

Okay, enough ranting. I like my club. If some members don't like it, they don't have to stay.

 

Sarcux, what should happen if there is an accident at one of your events?? And the other person tries to sue your club, you would be responsible for holding the event. Just something to think about, is your mini and your house worth losing because you don't want to charge dues??

Insurance... it's great

 

>>I think club dues are a good thing when there is a policy in place set to manage how that money is utilized in the club, and I'm not just talking about Club By Laws, but an actual checks and balances system whereby the money is used for legitimate expenditures that will benefit the entire club and not just a few.
>>
>>I belonged to a local club for 6 months. I thought the $25 was worth the admission price. I met lots of great people out of that. The club freebies were a waste IMO. When the president started taking polls on what freebies we wanted when we renewed our memberships, that was a joke. Welcome kits are just that--for new members joining the club. Renewing members don't need that. The money should go towards insurance, or other club activities, not back in the pockets of whoever is making these promotional items.
>>
>>Fortunately I don't have to worry about renewing dues since I voluntarily left the club I was in.
>>
>>
>>

has your tresurer bought a MINI yet? it's been 2 years now since the club started no? I left 3months in.

 

>>I agree with Trippy... dues would ruin the family-like nature. Thats how our meets are. We just goof off. Drive around with our 2-way radios... we get pretty perverted half the time. We have a lot of restaurant meets, and people have fun just getting to know each other. Its a way for people who would never meet each other otherwise to do so, having the commonality of owning a Mini.

Thats pretty much what we do, except for the perverted talk on 2-way radios
(we do that on our site) We meet at a coffee shop on weekends and just hang out or we'll meet at someones house and do oil changes. Its all for fun, thats what a club should be about.

>>has your tresurer bought a MINI yet? it's been 2 years now since the club started no? I left 3months in.

The treasurer of a mini club doesn't even have a mini? Seems a little shady to me, good thing I never joined the club in question.

 

>>has your tresurer bought a MINI yet? it's been 2 years now since the club started no? I left 3months in.<<

The club in question just celebrated its first birthday in February. It is now the largest MINI club in the U.S. with about 400 members.

 

>>>>has your tresurer bought a MINI yet? it's been 2 years now since the club started no? I left 3months in.<<
>>
>>The club in question just celebrated its first birthday in February. It is now the largest MINI club in the U.S. with about 400 members.

400 X $25 is a lot of Dough

 

annually

 

Just to do the math: 400 x $25 = $10,000 annually

$10,000 for a club = better have confidence in the Treasurer and that they are responsible making regular reports to the membership.


The Rocky Mountain Chapter of BMWCCA was pulling in more than that, but their expenses were greater too (being BMWCCA and starting in the pre-internet days, they are still doing mass mailings of paper newsletters). Anyhow, to get to the point the RMCBMWCCA started putting away a good chunk of money each year and they eventually purchased a nice trailer and timing equipment. Now they are running their own autocross series with their own gear instead of borrowing it from others.

To me, that type of expenditure is what club dues should really go for when we're talking about years 2,3,4 and out. You don't need to be providing existing members with more "stuff" on an individual basis, the dues are there to support the club as a whole.

 

Thats a lot of cash! cough...audit...cough

 

>>
>>To me, that type of expenditure is what club dues should really go for when we're talking about years 2,3,4 and out. You don't need to be providing existing members with more "stuff" on an individual basis, the dues are there to support the club as a whole.
>>

AMEN......I have been a member of the Sports Car Club of America for decades and the 65 bucks a year are well worth it. Nice insurance packages, good programs all around. I have recently joined the BMWCCA and they too seem to have their act pretty much together. I aim to race PKT RKT with them yet this year. I will Autocross with SCCA and Akron Sports Car Club also in the Mini and will continue road racing my Vee as well, with the SCCA. Sound, well planned, insured activities that allow me to enjoy my cars.......

 

>>If you were a member of a club that charged dues I'd like to know the following:
>>
>>- Do you think you got your money's worth out of your 1st year dues?

Best $24 I ever spent. Besides meeting a good bunch of local people, free lunch at Randy's pully party, I saved over $300 on a complete Clear Armor Bra. Our club NORCAL MINIS has arranged a 10% discount on all parts and accessories at the local dealerships.

>>- Would you pay dues for a second year?

Wouldn't think twice about doing so.