Good evening, DC Modern Community,
As you know, the DCMQG officers have been working behind the scenes over the past few months to prepare to join the national MQG. Today is the day we ask you to formalize your membership with our group through paying dues. We are collecting dues for our application to the MQG between now and August 17th (our next meeting at Capital Quilts). Dues collected at this time are good for membership in DCMQG through June of 2014.
There are several ways to pay your 2013/2014 dues:
- Online: Below, you'll see a PayPal button to pay the dues online. You don't need a PayPal account to pay - you can also use a credit or debit card. Note that there are options to pay more than the dues amount if you'd like to contribute to the scholarship fund. If you choose this option, please include your full name in the "Notes to Seller" on PayPal since we may not recognize you from your PayPal email. Also, please include the email you'd like for us to register with the MQG. Alternatively, you can email dcmqgtreasurer@gmail.com to let me know you paid online.
- In Person: You may bring your payment to the August 17th meeting. We'll accept cash, check, or credit card (which will be run through the Square app for mobile phones/iPad). You'll have the option to contribute to the scholarship fund through these mechanisms as well.
- By Mail: If neither of the options above work for you, you may mail a check to Heather Tompkins (email dcmqgtreasurer@gmail.com and I'll send you my mailing address).
- Scholarship: Email dcmqgtreasurer@gmail.com to request a scholarship for full or partial dues. We may not be able to grant your request until after others have paid their dues and we know the total amount in the scholarship fund, but we will let you know in enough time to let you make the decision about whether or not to join the guild.
In general, individuals attending our August meeting should have paid dues online prior to attending the meeting, or should come prepared to make a payment at the meeting. The exceptions will be those individuals who are attending their first or second meeting in 2013, and individuals who have applied for a scholarship. This same standard will hold true for future meetings. (Note: Our September meeting is a charity sewing day hosted by Swim Bike Quilt where everyone is welcome - we even encourage you to bring a friend or two!)
Please see the Q&A below that were circulated a couple weeks ago, and email dcmqgtreasurer@gmail.com ordcmodquilts@gmail.com with any question.
Questions & Answers
Q: How did you determine the amount of dues?
The Treasurer worked with the other officers to determine a budget to cover needs for the rest of 2013, as well as an estimated annual budget, and divided these costs among the anticipated number of paying members (those who voted “yes” in the pole to pursue becoming part of the national MQG). A copy of our budget is at the end of the document. We factored in the costs of filing the paperwork to become a non-profit corporation, to gain charitable status, to pay the costs of meeting space when necessary, to handle other fees and miscellaneous costs, and to provide for a modest education budget for the rest of the year. Additionally, we considered feedback from the group about the amount and timing of dues payment. This led us to decrease the annual dues amount and as a result we will seek additional revenue sources, such as sponsorships or teaching a class.
Q: What does this get me?
Paying dues to the DC MQG will grant you membership with the national MQG and the benefits associated with that membership (see below). In addition, funding will cover fees when we need to rent meeting space, 6 open sew days per year, four shorter meetings with a tutorial or presentation, and discounted tickets/first priority to any outside speakers or special events. As funding allows, we may be able to purchase supplies for special challenges and workshops.
MQG Member Benefits:
- Access to the online community (launching Fall 2013)
- Opportunities to participate in inter-guild swaps and challenges
- Discounted fees to enter MQG quilt shows
- Discounted rates on conferences and events
- Priority and early-bird registration on conference and event admissions
- Discounts and special offers with MQG sponsors and affiliated companies
- Membership Card
- Pin
- Blog Button
- 10% discount on online MQG merchandise purchases
Q: When are they due?
For existing members (have attended two or more meetings so far in 2013) dues must be paid by August 17th to maintain good standing status. New members may attend two meetings, after which they will need to pay dues to continue membership. Dues will cover membership through June 2014.
Q: What will happen if I don’t pay dues?
If you have attended two or more DC MQG events in 2013, you will not be able to attend our regular meetings or receive member benefits from association with our group or the MQG unless you pay dues. We will continue to have a limited number of spaces for the general public to participate in our sewing days hosted at the Arlington Public Library, but members will get first option for sewing stations.
Q: What if I can’t afford the dues?
We plan to offer a scholarship fund for all or part of the dues. If you’d like to request a scholarship, please email the Treasurer at dcmqgtreasurer@gmail.com with your request ahead of the deadline for dues. Once we have all scholarship requests, we will notify individuals of whether we can fund the entire request or prorate based on the amount in the scholarship fund.
When members pay dues, they will have the option to add $5 (or more if they wish) toward the scholarship fund. The scholarship fund will be maintained separately from our operating funds, and any remaining balance will be carried forward into the next year.
Q: Will my dues cover all participation in DC MQG events for the year?
The activities included in the dues are listed above. It is possible that we will host speakers or events that have a cost that exceed dues. In this case, we will look at other streams of revenue to help pay the costs (such as advertising to other guilds and charging a fee, getting event sponsors, etc.), but we may still require members who attend these events to pay a reduced admission.