<ol type="I">
<li>:Governing the Society</li><li>:Developing Membership</li><li>:Generating Sufficient Revenue</li>
</ol>
I will say that the [[Board]] is governing the Society, but in reality they have delegated most of that task to the [[Consuls]]. This is sufficient (so long as we remain willing), but it limits the Society to the amount of time and energy the Consuls have to offer. Still, it is at present sufficient, just.
As for the second job, the Board has failed completely at developing membership. The number of members today is essentially unchanged from that when the Consuls first assumed their posts in 2007. This is a problem as we cannot find enough willing hands to support the programs of the Society, or even to fill the seats on the Board. The Board has recently tried advertising in a couple of places, but there is as yet no [[Membership Chairman]], no [[Membership Committee]], no campaign, no program or policy designed specifically to encourage people to join. This is a failure, and one that will cause our Society to evaporate if not corrected.
At the third job, developing sufficient revenue, the Board has also failed. This is only partly due to the failure to develop membership, though that’s a part of it. Where previous Boards had established annual fundraisers as assessments, requiring participation, the current Board is unwilling to assess even $25 for the [[“Buy"Buy-A-Box” Box" Fund]] (our most popular program to date). Further, the Board has exempted themselves from required participation in revenue programs, demonstrating an unwillingness to lead by example, and discouraging others from contributing thereby. For if the cost of membership is too great for the taste of our leaders, why should our members value it more highly?
These failures might be trivial if the Society’s expenses were essentially constant, but they are not. Our storage units’ rent has been rising faster than our dues, and the Consuls’ fee for the use of their home as [[Headquarters]] has been and will continue to double each year. If naught else, this alone will soon financially cripple the Society.
This then is the nature of the crossroad ahead. Unless the Board takes decisive action or we enjoy a large (and presently unexpected) bequest, the options available at that crossroads will be:
:<ol type="I. "><li>The Board must start doing jobs II and III – membership recruitment and fundraising – either directly or by naming an active chairman and committee.</li>:II. <li>The Board must hire someone to do jobs II and III, which will probably require the Board to find the funds to pay that someone, as we likely aren’t large enough that anyone would take on these tasks on spec.</li>:III. <li>The Board must give away our collection and other assets to another worthy non-profit organization, with the resultant disassembly of the Society and loss of purpose.</li>:IV. <li>The Board may do nothing, and allow Consuls to sell off parts of the collection and other assets as necessary to fund continued operation of the rest, which will be a short-term remedy at best.</li>:V. <li>The Board could deliberately disband the Society, or through inaction allow it to dissolve.</li></ol>
None of these options are appealing. Even the first would require substantial additional effort by the Board. It may also take substantial time to make measurable progress on those jobs. Still, the Board must begin now if we are to avoid, or even to delay arriving at the crossroads.
You, as one of the Directors responsible, will decide. By your actions... or by the lack thereof.
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*[[State of the Society|back to State of the Society]]