President’s Perspective - 2007/08
The "nice idea" is suddenly seen in another light.
All associations face the challenge of generating revenue. Revenue is generated from a number of sources, and typically dues are just one of the many options associations use to support themselves.
A large portion of associations derive most of their income from sources other than dues, and in this respect AMA is unusual. AMA derives the majority of its income from membership dues, but we are working to develop alternate sources of income in order to keep the dues amounts in check. It’s interesting to see how the membership reacts to some of these attempts.
We recently sent out an email promoting one of our affinity programs (a credit card that returns income to AMA), and within hours I received emails from members who were irate that AMA would do such a thing. That program generates more income for AMA than a $1 dues increase would, and that is $1 each member doesn’t have to pay in dues.
We occasionally charge admission to the National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana, for special events and that brings about some grumbling. “Why should the members have to pay to get into ‘their’ site?” On the surface that is a valid reaction, but operating the site and putting on some of those events involve costs that are more appropriately borne by the people who attend the events rather than by the membership as a whole through dues.
Other services for which we charge include:
- Overnight parking of recreational vehicles with electrical hookups
- Availability of water
- Use of the dump facility
Again, some complain about the existence of a charge or the amount of the fee. The idea is to try to recover costs and generate income for the association without increasing dues. I can assure you that the officers and the staff do the best they possibly can to be equitable in establishing any fees as well as the amount of dues.
For as long as I can remember, AMA has had a $10 discount on dues for seniors and that is not going to change in the immediate future, but a recent discussion of what this “costs” us is revealing.
As the number of senior citizens grows—and it is our fastest-growing age category—the cost to the rest of the membership rises. A $10 discount for seniors is a nice idea, but that age group accounts for nearly a quarter of AMA’s membership. The need to offset the loss of income the discount represents results in the rest of the membership paying $3 more in dues. The “nice idea” is suddenly seen in another light.
As Sir Isaac Newton first observed, every action results in an equal reaction, equal in force, but in the opposite direction. Perhaps he was thinking of physics and bodies in motion, but it surely applies to the economics of running an association. Every time you give something away to a member, you must charge the rest of the members more to balance the equation.
Think about this the next time you are faced with an opportunity to help support the AMA through any of the non-dues revenue programs we operate. AMA is one of the best values in the world in terms of what you receive for what it costs you. We all want to keep it that way.
Fly safely and enjoy.
Dave Brown AMA President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
