Jan,
You state below:
What almost none of those opposing the proposed action have
addressed is how does ARRL cope with declining membership,
declining advertising revenue, and deficit financing?
For most businesses, the largest expense is payroll and associated
benefits. With declining membership and revenue, perhaps staffing
needs to be trimmed? Nobody likes to hear that, especially in a fraternal
organization like the ARRL, but business is business and survival is the
goal.
I don't pretend to know anything about the inner business workings of
the League, or who does what in finance. Perhaps a consultant should
be hired to assess the financial health of the League, and make non-
biased recommendations on how to increase the bottom line, rather
than having a group of part-time directors vote a political issue?
73,
Barry W2UP
On 12 Jan 2002 K5MA wrote:
>
> Bob:
>
> I can understand your frustration regarding the cost cutting measures the
> ARRL Board of Directors will consider this coming weekend at the ARRL
> National Convention. As you have heard on the reflectors, one of the cost
> cutting measures under consideration is a modest reduction in the number of
> pages in QST each month. One of the items in QST that is being considered
> for elimination, because of the page reduction, is contest results.
>
> Ever since this proposal was made public, there has been a significant
> amount of e-mail both to ARRL and on the various reflectors in opposition to
> the proposal. I have read some of it, but not all. What almost none of
> those opposing the proposed action have addressed is how does ARRL cope with
> declining membership, declining advertising revenue, and deficit financing?
> There are approximately 120 employees of ARRL in Newington (and a few in the
> Washington DC office), all of whom are paid salaries, although significantly
> less than what they would make doing the same or similar jobs in the private
> sector. I am one of those employees. In addition to maintaining staff in
> Newington and DC, the ARRL has the expenses of maintaining its facilities,
> W1AW, costs of mail, printing costs, .... in a nutshell, the costs of doing
> business.
>
> Just recently, ARRL has created and filled a new position, that of chief
> fund raiser (can't recall her correct title, but that's the general idea).
> This new employee will be charged with solicitation of bequests and
> donations, in much the same way that similar positions act at other
> non-profit institutions, particularly schools and universities. It is hoped
> by the Board and all employees that aggressive voluntary funding
> solicitation will offset some of the funding sources currently in decline.
>
> ARRL has been deficit funded in 2001. If the Board does not accept the idea
> of cutting back the expenditures on QST and other proposed cost cutting
> measures at the upcoming Board meeting, then the only other choice they will
> have is to deficit finance expenditures for 2002. Any organization can only
> engage in deficit financing for so long, before debts exceed assets, and it
> goes out of business.
>
> It would be helpful for ARRL members to understand the financial pressures a
> non-profit, membership based organization like ARRL is under. I agree that
> reducing the content of QST is, perhaps, not the best option. As proposed,
> the elimination or reduction of contest results from QST will not be well
> accepted by the contest community. I would be terribly disappointed myself
> if the Board votes to solve its financing problems in this way. But,
> something has to give to accommodate the reduced membership based income and
> advertising income. In addition, significant efforts are being made now to
> increase funding, as I alluded to above. It is NOT helpful for ARRL members
> to propose nasty tricks such as you have proposed to show their displeasure
> with the situation. It would be much more helpful, if you, and the many
> other members who feel as you do, to encourage new hams to become ARRL
> members. It would be helpful if you would encourage more people to become
> amateurs, go through the process of attending radio club meetings, take the
> license exam training courses, etc. These are the kinds of activities that
> will, in the long run, help to save amateur radio and our national
> organization.
>
> I would encourage you to look carefully into how ARRL works and how it funds
> its membership based activities. Simply reacting negatively to proposed
> funding actions and services reductions without fully understanding the
> issues driving these considerations does a disservice to yourself and the
> amateur radio community.
>
> 73,
>
> Jan Carman, K5MA
> Book Team Manager
> ARRL
> Newington, CT
>
> Home: k5ma@capecod.net
> Work: k5ma@arrl.org
>
<snip>--
Barry Kutner, W2UP Internet: w2up@mindspring.com
Newtown, PA Frankford Radio Club
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