As for the second job, the Board has failed completely at developing membership. The number of members today is fewer than 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. There is as yet no Membership Chairman, no [[Membership Committee]], no membership 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 partly due to the failure to develop membership, but that’s not the only cause. Where previous Boards had established [[Annual Fundraiser|annual fundraisers]] Fundraisers and assessments, the small size of our membership now makes this an unreasonable approach. Worse, last year the Board walked away from a $10,000 matching grant for lack of interest (and I’m still smarting from the reaction of the donor to this rejection of his generous offer). Some new program; some new approach will be required to keep our Society afloat without curtailing operations or raiding the investments, especially as it now seems we have reached the limit of what dues our members are willing to pay.
These failures would not be so bad if the Society’s expenses were constant, but they are not. Our storage units’ rent has been rising faster than our dues, and the rent for the use of the Metcalfs’ home as [[Headquarters]] has and will continue to double each year. If naught else, this alone will soon financially cripple the Society.