Clubs/Associations: Finances: Income and Dues
There are four primary means by which a Club receives income:
BAA Annual Funding Application
Annual Funding is available to all Clubs by filing the Annual Funding Application that is sent to all Club leadership once per year (generally in August), with a deadline generally falling in December. Annual funding is based on the demographics of the Club’s area, i.e. a payment of $1.00 is given to the Club by the BAA for each alumnus and alumna who falls in the Club’s region. It does not matter whether or not the alum is a member of the Club. If you have questions about Annual Funding, please contact Lisa Miranda.
The deadline for the return of the BAA Annual Funding Application is no later than Monday, December 8, 2008.
BAA Program Funding Grant Application
Program Funding is available to all Clubs through the BAA Program Funding Grant Application (Word document). Applications are reviewed three times a year (deadlines are in September or October, January and April.) See below for 2008-2009 deadlines. All or part of an application funding request may be granted, up to a total of $1,500 per Club per year. The application can be a one-time request for the entire $1,500 to support a large-scale program or event, or a Club can make two or three smaller requests spread over the course of the year to support a number of programs or events.
BAA Program Funding is meant to allow a club to afford an otherwise unaffordable event that will give it new visibility and has the potential to recruit many new members. It is meant to be “seed money” to enable the club to do something different that, if repeated, can hopefully be more self-supporting; it is not meant to support the same event each year.
Application budgets should be well-thought out, researched, and, most importantly, balance, as they will be scrutinized carefully. Finally, Clubs are expected to complete and return an Event Report following any event partially or fully funded by BAA Program Funding. These Event Reports are helpful tools for the club going forward, and they can also be helpful to other clubs wanting to know how to do the same type of event. If you have questions about Program Funding, please contact Lisa Miranda.
Program Funding Application Deadlines:
- FIRST deadline is Monday, September 22, 2008, for events that will occur from mid-October 2008 to mid-February 2009
- SECOND deadline is Monday, January 19, 2009, for events occurring from mid-February – mid-May 2009
- THIRD deadline is Monday, April 20, 2009, for events occurring from mid-May 2009 – mid-October 2009
Annual Dues
Annual Dues are an important way to generate income. The Outreach Committee recommends charging annual dues of $10 - $25 per member, though some Clubs are able to charge as much as $50. The amount of dues is left to the discretion of each individual Club, and can be sub-categorized as follows:
- Young Alumni or Recent Graduate Membership - many Clubs offer this membership without charge to recent graduates two-three years out
- Annual Membership - prices vary from $50 to $30, $20 or $15
- Lifetime Membership - some Clubs offer this to older members after a certain class year and set a flat one time fee such as $100
- Couples Membership
Some Clubs base their membership year on the school year calendar (September – September), while others choose a rolling basis, determined by the month in which an alumnus becomes a member.
The dues portion of the BRAVO Dues & Events (BD&E) Online System is a tool that some Clubs are using for management of dues (once a Club has access to the system). The system offers payment online via credit card as well as the ability to enter offline payments (check or cash) that have been sent directly to the Club. This tool is not yet widely available, due to its low level of performance.
Income from Events
Income from events is determined by many factors, such as the overall cost of running the event or program and achieving the goal of making it affordable to all. In general, a worthy goal is to break even or make a little money on an event. Unless the location and refreshments are donated, it is difficult to charge enough to make money on an event without charging so much that most alumni, particularly young alumni, cannot afford to attend the event.
