[Ohio-Talk] EXT: Membership dues.

[Andra Stover]

Yes, I do agree with this. It gives the members some sort of by and if they
are interested in joining.

On Tue, Dec 19, 2023 at 12:31 PM Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk <
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
> Good afternoon,
>
> I joined a meeting of one of our divisions last night and this topic came
> up and I wanted to get the national president’s guidance on it please
> review below and it makes perfectly good since to me.
>
>         Dear Richard,
>
>
>
> You have asked about “sponsorship of members” and it suggests sponsorship
> of membership dues. While I would say there is no policy prohibiting it,
> the idea of sponsorship of members sounds very problematic to me. The
> exchange of membership dues helps to distinguish between members and
> non-members. It creates a positive contractual agreement. As you know,
> members must be voted in and must remain in good standing. Members must
> also actively participate. Sponsorship of membership dues works against
> that. Now, we have all been in meetings, especially with students, where
> people did not have the $5 required to pay. In those cases, when someone
> has expressed an interest and does not have the money, I have observed
> someone hand them a $5 so they can pay dues. I am sure I have done it
> myself urging the person to pay it forward in the future. In those cases,
> the individual is still making the payment.
>
>
>
> My concern with a sponsorship is that it can serve as a means to control
> votes—I sponsored your membership so you should vote for me. It also takes
> away the individual ownership and positive voting system. It will also
> bring in ethical questions and transparency regarding who is responsible
> for managing the process and the records. I cannot urge any more strongly
> to avoid sponsorship of membership dues. If someone wishes to sponsor
> members, let me get to know the prospective members and help those in need.
> It is also worth noting that donors do not get to direct the use of the
> funds they donate so if  person wants to donate the money, determine its
> purpose, and who gets it, that will be a potential IRS issue.
>
>
>
> Let the person make a contribution to the organization so it can be put to
> use. Encourage payment of membership dues by individuals.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Mark
>
> Richard Payne,  President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 937/829/3368
>
> *Rchpay7 at gmail.com* <Rchpay7 at gmail.com>
>
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