Can you afford $69 per member?

Well, that's dues renewals done for another six months! It can be a big job - well done! Did you know that the next renewal in October will be more expensive? Dues in October could be as high as $69 per member - not even counting club costs such as room hire. But don't worry, Eat Your Crusts is here to help.

To explain what we mean, here's a sample expenses budget for a club with 20 members that meets twice a month. It's made up mostly of the dues that clubs pay to Toastmasters International (TI), together with some small expenses specific to the club.

Item	Cost	Per	Total cost per month	Cost per member per month
TI dues	$69	Member, per six months	$230	$11.50
District service charge	$6	Member, per year	$10	$0.50
Room hire	$20	Meeting	$40	$2.00
Tea and coffee	$3	Meeting	$6	$0.30
Total	$85.80	Member, per six months		$14.30

The club in this example has per-member expenses of $14.30 per month, or $85.80 every six months. That's probably more than what you're currently paying at your club - possibly a lot more. So why the increase? And what should you do about it?

What you need to do

Your club is almost certainly going to need to increase the dues paid by members. There's more detail about that below, but first, here's how to go about it.

1. Re-do your club budget
   If you're a club treasurer or other committee member, go over the club budget again. Make sure the main points from the sample budget above are accounted for - especially that the TI component of the budget is increased to around $65-$70 per member per six months. That will tell you what your new dues amount will have to be, given your club's other costs.
2. Notify members
   Dues can be changed only by a vote of the club's members. The annual business meeting in May is a good time to do that, but it can be done at any club meeting. Before you can hold a vote, you need to notify people in writing that it's coming (email is fine). The club constitution suggests giving at least four days' notice.
3. Hold a vote
   A notified dues motion can be voted at any club meeting where there's a quorum - that is, at least half of all the club members are present. Make sure the reasons for the change are made clear at the meeting, and that people have time to ask questions and discuss.
4. Record your new dues amount in Club Central
   TI keeps a record of important details about your club - such as your meeting location, election frequency, and club dues - in the Addendum of Standard Club Options. To keep these details up to date, login to Club Central and enter the new dues amount into the Addendum. It's near the bottom of the Club Central menu, as you can see in the graphic below.
   
   
   

Now that you know what you need to do - why do you need to do it?

Toastmasters International dues are increasing

The dues that members pay to their clubs are made up of a portion that covers club costs, and a portion that goes directly to TI. At the moment, the TI portion is US$36 per member per six months. That number will increase to US$45 at the October 2016 dues renewal. (There's information about the reasons for the dues increase in this letter from TI.)

What does that mean for your club? Well, the increase is US$9, which at today's exchange rate is about NZ$13. So the quick answer is: just increase your dues by $13.

The exchange rate has fallen

However, there have been other changes over the past year that could also increase the costs faced by your club. The main one of these is a big fall in the New Zealand dollar exchange rate. In April last year, the dues payment of US$36 was equal to about NZ$48. Today, it's about NZ$52 - an increase of $4 just from exchange rate movements. While that may not sound like much, once you multiply it across 20 or more members, your club could be facing extra costs that you haven't budgeted for.

So the other quick answer is: just increase your dues by $17 (that's $13 for the increase in TI dues, and $4 for the exchange rate). But exchange rates are unpredictable. How can you know that a $17 dues increase will be enough if the exchange rate falls even further?

To make extra sure, it can be helpful to look at exchange rate movements over the past few years. While no one can really predict what's going to happen next year, it's reasonable to set your club's budget on the assumption that the exchange rate won't go much lower than its lowest point in the past, say, five years.

Let us explain. This chart shows the New Zealand dollar cost of TI dues since 2006. There are two lines - a blue one for the actual dues we paid in the past (US$36), and a red one for the dues we'll be paying from October 2016 (US$45). Pay most attention to the red line, since that represents the amount we have to plan for right now.

data source

You can see that the cost of that US$45 payment goes up and down a lot, but it hasn't really risen above NZ$70 much in recent times. That suggests that if you set the TI portion of your club dues at $69 per member per six months - or $11.50 a month for each member - you'll probably be able to absorb most exchange rate fluctuations. And if the exchange rate goes the other way, so that your costs decrease unexpectedly, you can return the surplus to your members by spending it on better club equipment, contributions to the costs of manuals, and other things that improve their Toastmasters experience.

Remember to budget for your other expenses

On top of that $69, you'll also need to add your club's usual running costs - whatever you pay for room hire, stationery, tea and coffee supplies, and anything else that you need to buy for meetings. While you're doing this exercise, it's also a good idea to make sure your dues can accommodate the District Service charge, a fee of $6 per member per year that the District asks clubs to pay to help cover the costs of things like inter-club speech contests.

Good luck!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below and we'll get back to you. Alternatively, your Area Director can help you with your planning.

Source: Toastmasters International