I see that the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is proposing to increase its membership fees from between 8 and 20%. There is still a free membership for organisations with a turnover of less than £25,000. Other fees will range from £135 to £600 per year. This needs to be decided by the AGM on 23rd November.
An organisation with a turnover of under £50,000 and one employee will typically pay £135. An organisation with a turnover of more than £5 million will pay £600. This hardly seems a fair relationship of fees to size. Presumably SCVO doesn't want to risk bigger players leaving if their fees are proportionate with size. Also, when the average pay increase this year in the voluntary sector has been 0% and grants are frozen or being removed an increase in fees is somewhat shocking.
In my view they should be restricting increases to no more than the rate of inflation, or better still no more than the average increase in statutory sector grants and pay awards. Then they should start a five year fees escalator with larger organisations gradually paying fees proportionate to their size.
[Please file under: "friends, how not to make them or influence people".]
No comments:
Post a Comment