Like your own organization, VAFRE works hard to maintain a balanced budget, keep expenses in check and meet the needs and expectations of our members by providing programs and services of the highest quality possible. For the past few years we have managed to maintain a reasonable and balanced budget without increasing dues. However, this year we simply cannot meet our expenses and maintain a high caliber of programming and services without increasing revenue. After much discussion and deliberation, we determined to address the issue in two ways. One is to actively seek sponsorships for our monthly luncheons and two major workshops to help offset those expenses. The other avenue is to increase dues. Thus, the VAFRE board has recommended a dues increase to a level that will be held for 3 years, through FY 2014, without an additional increase, as follows:
- Active Members – $125
- Student - $50 (no increase)
By setting the dues at this level for 3 years, members will be able to budget without anticipating an increase until FY 2015. We have also eliminated the new member fee of $10 and maintained the luncheon fee at the current rate. For a complete copy of the approved budget, click here. We’ve also included some notes about the budget assumptions that were made.
We acknowledge that this increase may impose some hardship and want to remind members of the VAFRE scholarship fund. This fund was established two years ago to provide members with partial or full scholarships to assist with dues and workshop fees. The full information and criteria is available by clicking here.
The membership approved the budget at our meeting on June 7.
