Registration Fees

[Guwapo]

The fees for NZ Mega have just been announced.

NZ$65 for society members and NZ$75 for non members.

I'm sorry but I don't understand the rationale behind the difference and what it is supposed to achieve. Did current members join the society on the understanding they would get a discount to Mega? I know I didn't and I also certainly didn't expect to get a discount just because I am a member of the society.

Membership of the society is $10 per individual or $16 per family.

It's possible to argue here that setting the discount for members, or premium for non members, could be interpreted as requiring attendees to join the Society in order to attend Mega.

I'm sure our Reviewers will be able to correct me if I am incorrect here but I'm pretty sure requiring membership of a club, society, group, is not allowed for events. This is why Rotary, etc. only events don't happen.

Bear in mind that geocaching events are non-exclusive. There can't be restrictions on who can or cannot attend. That would mean an event solely for rotarians would not fly.

NZ Mega is not restricting attendance to Society members only but the net effect of the fees structure is pretty much doing just that.

Bruce

[kiwilegend]

Not at all unreasonable. Perfectly sensible in fact.
If you don't want to belong, you don't have to. If you choose to belong - you get a benefit. It's just that this benefit is considerably more substantial than most
This is pretty common with conference fees at conferences I've been to too.
It's a way for a group to publicise itself, get additional members, and hopefully keep them after the event as well.

[Annie & PB]

The annual Art in the Park Festival that is on here this weekend has a price differential. Us locals pay a nominal $2.50 to get in to it. Overseas visitors pay the usual price of $30 to get into the Shantytown - the venue where the festival is being held. So I save $27.50 because I made the choice to live on the beautiful West Coast - just another perk for me!!!! Some choices have associated advantages.

(Well, actually I won't be paying anything because I'll be hubby's roadie and have a volunteer's pass. Tehehehehe! But the concept still applies. )

Annie

[Guwapo]

I'm not disagreeing that membership of any group has, or should have advantages. My professional membership gets me to events for free that non members have to pay for.

I just think it is not appropriate for this event.

I'm all for promoting the society. Put on a good event and promote the society at the Mega.

[Moneydork]

This topic is currently the subject of a conversation with Groundspeak.
I'll therefore refrain from discussing it here until the discussion with Groundspeak is concluded.

Clearly there are two potential outcomes of the conversation with Groundspeak.
The pricing could be the pricing that the organising committee had proposed for this NZ Recreational GPS Society organised event.
Or it could be a flat price of NZD$75 per registration regardless of whether or not particpants happen to be members of the NZ Recreational GPS Society.

Regardless of the outcome
The MEGA is available to all comers regardless of Society Membership and Society membership is open to all comers regardless of whether or not they wish to attend the MEGA. Neither is a prerequisite for the other.

[10centcoin]

....or put another way,

"The registration cost is $75 but the society will generously subsidise its members attending the Mega event with $10 as part of the benefits associated with being a member"

[Moneydork]

We'll see what Groundspeak have to say first - after all, it can only be a MEGA event if it complies with their listing requirements.

[Moneydork]

It seems that Groundspeak are happy with my explanation to them, so I have summarised it here.

Firstly, Family membership of the NZ Recreational GPS Society Incorporated is NZ$16 per annum (always has been).
With the proposed pricing, a family attending the MEGA would pay NZD$1 more if they joined the society and then attended than they would if they just paid the attendance fee without joining the society.

Individual membership of the NZ Recreational GPS Society Incorporated is NZ$10 per annum,
Some people may want to join the Society and attend the event – this really makes no difference to the Society at all (there are no barriers to membership). The Society gets the same financial contribution from participants (after tax) either way.

The reason the Society gets the same financial contribution either way is that membership fees of an Incorporated Society are not taxable in New Zealand, where as attendance fees for events are (as the Recreational GPS Society is not a registered charity).
The tax rate for Incorporated Societies is 33%. As you know, 33% of $15 is the $5 difference.

The pricing effectively makes membership free for anyone who is attending the Mega that chooses to be a member. We have deliberately done so in a way that means that the (after tax) financial contribution from MEGA participants is the same either way.

[Moneydork]

Of course, we realise that this pricing creates a coincidental benefit to existing paid members.
That's just a bonus.

Lets not forget that they (through the Society) are also taking the financial risk associated in hosting the event by prepaying MEGA event costs (venue hire, etc) using Society funds raised in the past - from subscriptions, web site advertising and geocoin sales.

[Graeme.N]

It all sounds good to me.

Personally, I think the objections are a storm in a tea cup.