[Artemisia] Uprising fees and NMS

[Brett S Bowen]

Okay, I have to put my foot in it now.

If all the money collected for nonmember surcharges goes to Milpitas,
then why are you charging 60% more than the official required nonmember
surcharge?  Do you feel it is your personal responsibility to keep the
Society liquid by the unnecessary gouging of those who are not members?

Before you jump on the "this is to encourage you to get a membership"
bandwagon again, let me state that while I have supported the SCA by
purchasing sustaining memberships for the majority of the years I have
played in the society, I do not do so now for a very valid reason.  Due
to mundane constraints, I am able to attend between one and three events
per year.  In addition, I am a severely underemployed full time student
and even a few dollars makes a difference to my budget.  I literally
can't afford to spend $35.00 on a membership that will go virtually
unused.  I'm sure that there are many others in this same situation.

If I am able to attend Uprising this year, the extra $2.00 will not send
me into bankruptcy, but it will certainly irk me to pay it, knowing that
the only reason for the increase is to send more money to the Corporate
Office, and not to support a local group that I occasionally benefit
from.  It's the principle of the thing!

Unless you would like to subsidize a sustaining membership for me, which
I will not use more than once or twice, then please do not refer to my
decision not to be a paying member as "untenable."  My reasons, based on
my personal and financial situation, are VERY tenable...I can defend them
quite handily, as can, I am sure, everybody else who does not have a
current membership yet continues to play SCA in some fashion.  When I
graduate and/or when my financial situation radically improves, then I
will gladly obtain a membership again.  If I win the lottery, I will buy
a membership for anybody in the Kingdom who wants one and can't afford
one.

Paying more than is required for a nonmember surcharge seems as silly to
me as if I were to pay the government a little extra at tax time because
I feet like I haven't really contributed my fair share.  Sheer idiocy.

Let the flames commence,

Master Angus Sinclair, OP
Barony of Loch Salann

p.s.  I do not wish to personally offend anybody with this posting.  I
just can't let it pass without voicing my protest.  $3.00 per nonmember
per event attended is enough for Milpitas.



On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 00:11:42 -0700 Charles Wemple <wemplec at srv.net>
writes:

> 
> As for the non-member surcharge, we felt that $5 was reasonable.  
> The 
> minimum required by the Society is $3; Estrella charged $10.  $5 is 
> in 
> the middle somewhere.  Increased NMS encourages membership; this is 
> definitely a desirable goal for the Kingdom.  At Uprising XVII, over 
> 
> 25% of the attendees (218 of 800) were NOT SCA members.  A similar 
> ratio was observed at the Coronation of John and Symonne.  In a 
> Kingdom 
> that has been struggling to maintain sufficient membership to retain 
> 
> its status, this is untenable.
> 
> Note that ALL of the money collected in non-member surcharges, 
> whether 
> it is $3 or $30 per person, goes to the Society.  Not the Barony, 
> not 
> the Kingdom.  To Milpitas.  All of it.
> 


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