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Special Membership Vote 2022 - Proposed Membership Fee Changes FAQ

November 16, 2022 Meeting

    1. Where can I find the two reports?

      The Individual Membership Fee Review Report can be found at: https://archivists.ca/resources/Documents/Committees/Membership/IndividualMembershipFeeReport2022_final.pdf.

      The Institutional Membership Fee Review Report can be found at:

      https://archivists.ca/resources/Documents/Committees/Membership/InstitutionalMembershipFeeReport2022_final.pdf

        2. Where can I find the two motions to vote on?

          The two motions can be found at:

          https://archivists.ca/resources/Documents/Governance%20and%20Structure/MembershipFee_MemberMotion_Final.pdf

            3. How do I vote and when does voting open?

              Immediately following the Special Meeting of Members on November 16th, a ballot will be electronically sent to all current ACA Individual Members and Institutional Members (Designated Delegate). The ballot will be open from 3:00 pm (ET) on November 16, 2022 until end of day, November 30, 2022 11:59 pm (PT). You do not need to RSVP ahead of time to receive a ballot.

                4. I can’t attend the Special Membership Meeting but would like to submit a question to be answered by the Board and Committee at the meeting. 

                  For questions to be answered by the Board and Committee at the meeting, you can submit your question advance of the meeting here:

                  https://archivists_ca.formstack.com/forms/questions_membership_specialmeeting

                  For all other questions, please reach out to the Board of Directors or Secretariat.

                  Please reach out to the ACA Board of Directors (list to follow) or the Secretariat (aca@archivists.ca) with any questions you may have.

                  President Erica Hernández-Read (acapresident@archivists.ca)

                  Vice-President Anna Gibson-Hollow (vicepresident@archivists.ca)

                  Secretary Kaitlin Normandin (secretary@archivists.ca)

                  Treasurer Kyle Pugh (treasurer@archivists.ca)

                  Director-at-Large Andrew Chernevych (DAL1@archivists.ca)

                  Director-at-Large John Richan (DAL3@archivists.ca)

                    5. Why are we considering changing membership fees?
                      Membership fees have not changed since 2016. At that time, the General Membership voted to increase fees but deferred implementing these changes as the ACA’s membership grew exponentially and the organization’s financial circumstances improved. Since then, the ACA has only increased its membership and offerings (professional development workshops, subsidies, etc.).The costs associated with administering memberships and delivering professional development activities in an online environment have only increased, especially since 2020. The ACA is also mindful of how it is implementing and living up to its 2020 Equity Commitments. Previous work undertaken on Individual and Institutional membership fees revealed that the ACA was not in alignment with these commitments. As a not-for-profit organization, the ACA is not in the business of making money. We believe that these changes will help us meet our financial obligations and better serve the needs of our members.  
                        6. How long has this been in development?

                          Work on Individual memberships was initiated by the Board in response to member feedback from the strategic planning process in 2018.

                          In 2019, the former ACA Membership Chair Shamin Malmas and Treasurer Jonathan Dorey drafted a report for the Board on Individual membership after conducting a jurisdictional scan which analyzed member categories and fee structures offered by other associations. In 2021, the Membership Committee worked to update the 2019 information in this report. Mindful of cost-of-living increases and the Fall 2020 ACA Equity Commitments, the Membership Committee and ACA Secretariat refreshed the data in the initial reports on Individual membership fees to reflect current ACA finances and membership trends.

                          Regarding the Institutional membership category, the ACA Board conceived of a ‘white paper.’ Following an initial survey sent to Institutional members by the Membership Committee in 2019, a working group was established in Spring 2020. The Institutional Membership Working Group (IMWG) was tasked with examining the Association’s institutional membership category and recommending any changes to the ACA Board.

                          The IMWG’s responsibilities included the following: 

                            • Profile current, lapsed and prospective institutional members. 
                            • Analyze the current benefits for institutional members, including the uptake on those benefits, whether they meet needs, and projected future needs. 
                            • Analyze the current financial contributions of institutional members, including the fee structure.
                            • Examine the take-up of institutional member benefits for employees vs. individual membership take-up, including individual fees. 
                            • Examine the effect of bylaw changes (anticipated approval in mid-2020) on institutional membership. 
                            • Conduct any surveying of members as deemed necessary during 2020 with interim reporting to the Board in December 2020. 

                              An initial low survey response rate prompted the IMWG to extend the survey to March 2021 and also organized a virtual townhall event on March 11, 2021. The survey and Town Hall accomplished tasks 2, 3, 4 and 6.   

                              In June 2021, the IMWG submitted a reported presented at the AGM and included in the June 2021 issue of The Bulletin (Addendum D). Four broad recommendations were included as part of that report with more specific proposed fees and fee structures to be later presented to the ACA General Membership. In the fall of 2021, along with the Individual Membership Review, additional analysis was carried out to incorporate updated membership statistics and evaluate administrative costs of membership.   

                                7. Who reviewed these proposed options? 
                                  The proposed options were reviewed by the Executive Director, the Membership Services Coordinator, the previous Treasurer, the Membership Committee, the Financial Review Committee, and the ACA President and Board of Directors. Based on feedback from the Financial Review Committee and ACA Standing Committee Chairs, the ACA Board of Directors reviewed the recommendations made in two reports brought forward by these committees and voted in favor of accepting them. 
                                    8. What other organizations did you look at?
                                      Jurisdictional scans of individual and institutional membership fees were carried out as part of the 2019 review. The scan consisted of 42 associations including 20 Canadian associations (including provincial/territorial councils), 9 international recordkeeping associations, and 13 associations from related professions. This scan was taken into consideration and updated as part of the calculations that went into determining viable membership fee structures in 2022.  
                                        9. How did you determine the proposed membership fees?
                                          With the assistance of the Executive Director Jo McCutcheon, Membership Services Coordinator Maureen Tracey, Membership Committee Chair Kira Baker, as well as previous Treasurer Andrea McCutcheon, we determined what the “true cost” of a membership currently is. This involved looking at the organization’s expenses minus revenue from 2019 to 2021, divided by the number of members in each year, and then averaged. Generally, one membership (both Individual and Institutional) costs $224 per year to administer. We then compared the current membership fee structures with the proposed models and tried to adjust rates so that they were feasible for members that were unemployed, underemployed, part-time or contract; as well as small organizations run by volunteers or that only have a few staff members. At that same time, we tried not to make membership fee increases for other salary bands or institutions unreasonable to the point that it alienated existing members. Implementing an identical fee increase for each salary band or institution regardless of size meant penalizing the members that could least afford it.  
                                            10. Why is the Student fee going up?
                                              We value our student members and recognize that $75 is still a considerable amount of money. That being said, our Student memberships are the most heavily subsidized and represent a fraction of the average $224/year to administer a membership. In order to meet our financial obligations, raising the fee by $10 was the least impactful decision that would still allow us to meet our financial obligations or mean a significant increase to membership fees for those in lower salary bands.  
                                                11. Why are we keeping the Student, Retired, and Associate categories?

                                                  Our Student memberships provide an opportunity for students to get involved in a community of professionals and gain valuable experience at an affordable rate. The ACA is invested in the future of the profession and as such, want to encourage student participation as much as possible. Our retired members are proud of their service to the professional community and many are on fixed incomes. There is no requirement to identify as “retired” if a salary band suits better.

                                                    12. Will I have to prove that I fit into one of the salary bands/categories or institutional categories?

                                                      No, the ACA uses the honor system and trusts its membership. Please select what suits you or your organization best. Any information about your salary or the number of staff your organization has will be anonymized. Your personal information will not be shared. The Membership Directory on the website will only indicate whether you hold a Student, Retired, Associate, Individual or Institutional membership. Your personal profile also allows you to opt out of the Membership Directory entirely.

                                                      13. When will this be implemented?  

                                                      If the General Membership votes in favor of the two motions, the changes would be implemented beginning in the 2024 membership year (with Early Bird Renewals starting in approximately November of 2023, but generally from January 2024 to January 2024). This will give the ACA Secretariat time to adjust the necessary forms, membership management software, administrative practices, etc.

                                                      14. Using the current total of Individual members, what is the estimated total annual revenue under Options #1 and #2 compared to the total revenue raised under the current Individual membership categories?  

                                                      The current total annual revenue generated by Individual memberships including Student memberships is $71,616. Option #1 would increase this by $234 to $71,850. Option #2 would increase this by $3,979 to $75,595.  

                                                      Current State* 

                                                      Category 

                                                       

                                                      Fees 

                                                      Current number 

                                                      Revenue 

                                                      $0 to $9,999  

                                                      $90 

                                                      29 

                                                      $2,610 

                                                      $10,000 to $24,999  

                                                      $160 

                                                      11 

                                                      $1,760 

                                                      $25,000 to $39,999  

                                                      $182 

                                                      23 

                                                      $4,186 

                                                      $40,000 to $54,000   

                                                      $197 

                                                      40 

                                                      $7,880 

                                                      $55,000 to $69,999  

                                                      $219 

                                                      47 

                                                      $10,293 

                                                      $70,000 +  

                                                      $248 

                                                      165 

                                                      $40,920 

                                                      Retired 

                                                      $104 

                                                      28 

                                                      $2,912 

                                                      Associate 

                                                      $160 

                                                      7 

                                                      $1,120 

                                                      Student (joined 2021) 

                                                      $65/3 years 

                                                      99 

                                                      $6,435 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      $78,116 

                                                      Archivaria deduction †† 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      -$6,500 

                                                      Total 

                                                       

                                                      449 

                                                      $71,616 

                                                      *Membership statistics from October 2021 

                                                      Current State – With 2016 Approved Fee Increases 

                                                      Category 

                                                       

                                                      Fees 

                                                      Current number 

                                                      Revenue 

                                                      $0 to $9,999  

                                                      $103 

                                                      29 

                                                      $2,987 

                                                      $10,000 to $24,999  

                                                      $184 

                                                      11 

                                                      $2,024 

                                                      $25,000 to $39,999  

                                                      $209 

                                                      23 

                                                      $4,807 

                                                      $40,000 to $54,000   

                                                      $226 

                                                      40 

                                                      $9,040 

                                                      $55,000 to $69,999  

                                                      $251 

                                                      47 

                                                      $11,797 

                                                      $70,000 +  

                                                      $285 

                                                      165 

                                                      $47,025 

                                                      Retired 

                                                      $119 

                                                      28 

                                                      $3,332 

                                                      Associate 

                                                      $184 

                                                      7 

                                                      $1,288 

                                                      Student (joined 2021) 

                                                      $65/3 years 

                                                      99 

                                                      $6,435 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      $88,735 

                                                      Archivaria deduction 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      -$6,500 

                                                      Total 

                                                       

                                                      449 

                                                      $82,235 

                                                       

                                                      Option 1 - Flat Fee 

                                                      Category 

                                                       

                                                       Fees 

                                                      Current number  

                                                      Revenue 

                                                      Regular 

                                                      $275 

                                                      155 

                                                      $42,625 

                                                      Emerging Professional 

                                                      $150 

                                                      75 

                                                      $11,250 

                                                      Retired 

                                                      $150 

                                                      25 

                                                      $3,750 

                                                      Associate 

                                                      $225 

                                                      5 

                                                      $1,125 

                                                      Concession 

                                                      $100 

                                                      100 

                                                      $10,000 

                                                      Student 

                                                      $75/3 years 

                                                      50 

                                                      $3,750 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      $72,500 

                                                      Archivaria deduction 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      -$6,500 

                                                       

                                                      Total 

                                                       

                                                      410 

                                                      $71,850 

                                                      †Estimated member numbers for new categories (for slightly lower, more conservative total) 

                                                      ††$18.00 from each membership is deducted for Archivaria; 18 x 360 total member estimate (does not include student members) is $6,500.00 from total revenue. 

                                                      Option 2 – Revised Salary Bands 

                                                      Category 

                                                       

                                                      Fees 

                                                      Current number  

                                                      Revenue 

                                                      $0 to $19,999 

                                                      $75 

                                                      20 

                                                      $1,500 

                                                      $20,000 to $29,999 

                                                      $100 

                                                      20 

                                                      $2,000 

                                                      $30,000 to $39,999 

                                                      $150 

                                                      40 

                                                      $6,000 

                                                      $40,000 to $49,999 

                                                      $190 

                                                      40 

                                                      $7,600 

                                                      $50,000 to $59,999 

                                                      $235 

                                                      40 

                                                      $9,400 

                                                      $60,000 to $69,999 

                                                      $250 

                                                      40 

                                                      $10,000 

                                                      $70,000 to $79,999 

                                                      $265 

                                                      45 

                                                      $11,925 

                                                      $80,000 to $89,999 

                                                      $280 

                                                      45 

                                                      $12,600 

                                                      $90,000 +  

                                                      $295 

                                                      45 

                                                      $13,275 

                                                      Student 

                                                      $75/3 years 

                                                      40 

                                                      $3,750 

                                                      Retired 

                                                      $125 

                                                      25 

                                                      $3,125 

                                                      Associate 

                                                      $184 

                                                      5 

                                                      $920 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      $82,095 

                                                      Archivaria deduction 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      -$6,500 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      410 

                                                      $75,595 

                                                       

                                                      15. Will there be a way for members to verify what category they belong to before they are invoiced for their fees? Someone's circumstances may have changed during the year.  

                                                      Please see Question 12. The ACA Secretariat will not be verifying what category members “should” belong to before they are invoiced. The ACA recognizes members’ personal and/or professional circumstances can change throughout their lives and does not regard it as appropriate for the ACA to inquire as to why a member may purchase a full-price membership and then a concession membership, or identify as being within the $70,000-79,900 salary band and then changing tothe $20,000 -29,999 salary band.

                                                      16. For Individual membership fees, Option #1, is the Student membership $75 per year or $75 for three years?   

                                                      The student membership would cost $75 for three years (charged once as $75 and lasts three years regardless of whether the individual has graduated, etc.) This works out to $25 per year. The ACA will adjust the membership page(s) on the website to make this clearer.

                                                      17. Is the Individual salary fee structure more or less work for the ACA Office to administer? What about Option #3 for Institutional membership fees? If so, how so?   

                                                      The Individual salary fee structure and adjustment to the number of staff categories do not represent a marked increase in work for the ACA Office to administer, as the back-end infrastructure (Wild Apricot membership management software) is already set up for a salary fee structure (Option #2 - Individual) and number of staff structure (Option #3 - Institutional). It would involve some initial more work for the ACA Office to set up a switch-over to a flat fee structure (Option #2).

                                                      18. Is the 3-year Student period an average that was discovered during the Individual Membership review? The Archives and Records Association (ARA) and Society of American Archivists (SAA) don’t have time frames for how long someone can be a student.   

                                                      No, this was not an average discovered during the work that was undertaken on Individual memberships. It is a standing ACA convention to offer three-year Student memberships, as we wish to encourage student participation as the next generation of professionals. The intention behind the three years is to cover a two-year (full-time) graduate program plus the first year after graduation, or, cover all three years of a dual-graduate degree (full-time, three-year program). If a member had a three-year Student membership and purchased another three-year student membership to account for someone moving on to a Ph.D. program, the ACA would honour that. Again, the ACA trust its members. We assume all members have a good reason to choose the category or salary band they feel best represents them. The ACA will adjust the membership page(s) on the website to make this clearer.

                                                      19. For the Individual membership, what are the Board's reasons for recommending Option #2 over Option #1?   

                                                      The ACA Board is recommending Option #2 over Option #1 because it will make membership more accessible for individuals in lower salary bands and impose more acceptable increases to the middle- to high salary band ranges. A flat fee Individual membership would cost $275, an emerging professional membership $150, and a concession membership $100. Adjusting the salary band ranges to make them more granular allows part-time, contract, unemployed and underemployed members to purchase memberships at a lower cost ($0-19,999 would be $75, $20,000-29,999 would be $100, $30,000-39,999 would be $150). Costs are reduced for the bottom four salary bands. Option #1 would substantially increase fees for members currently in the $0-$39,999 ranges and retired category, while only members in the highest salary band would see a decrease. Option #2 would introduce only marginal increases for the $50,000-89,999 salary band ranges with the largest increase imposed on the $90,000+ salary range. Although the Retired category fee increases, it does so by a nominal amount ($20) and members still have the option of selecting a salary band range that they feels represents their circumstances more accurately. Overall, the ACA Board felt that Option #1 did not meet the organization’s Equity Commitments as well as Option #2. 

                                                      Financial Review Committee Suggested Fees (applied to new salary band structure) - Option #2 

                                                      Category 

                                                      Current Cost 

                                                      New Cost 

                                                      Cost Difference  

                                                      Difference as % 

                                                      0-19,000 

                                                      $90 

                                                      $75 

                                                      -$15 

                                                      -16.60% 

                                                      20-29,999 

                                                      $160 

                                                      $100 

                                                      -$60 

                                                      -37.50% 

                                                      30-39,999 

                                                      $182 

                                                      $150 

                                                      -$32 

                                                      -17.50% 

                                                      40-49,999 

                                                      $197 

                                                      $190 

                                                      -$7 

                                                      -3.50% 

                                                      50-59,999 

                                                      $219 

                                                      $235 

                                                      $16 

                                                      7.30% 

                                                      60-69,999 

                                                      $219 

                                                      $250 

                                                      $31 

                                                      14.20% 

                                                      70-79,000 

                                                      $248 

                                                      $265 

                                                      $17 

                                                      6.90% 

                                                      80-89,000 

                                                      $248 

                                                      $280 

                                                      $32 

                                                      12.90% 

                                                      90,000+  

                                                      $248 

                                                      $295 

                                                      $47 

                                                      18.90% 

                                                      Retired 

                                                      $104 

                                                      $125 

                                                      $21 

                                                      20% 

                                                      Associate 

                                                      $160 

                                                      $160 

                                                      $0 

                                                      0% 

                                                      Student 

                                                      $65/ for 3 years 

                                                      $75/ for 3 years 

                                                      $10 

                                                      15% 


                                                      20. Are part-time or temporary employees or volunteers covered by an Institutional membership eligible for Individual membership benefits such as discounted workshops?

                                                      Yes, the ACA is willing to work with archival organizations/employees who have or are covered by an Institutional membership but need discounted rates on professional development workshops, etc. This would be done on a case-by-case basis as such decisions sometimes need input from the ACA Board, but please reach out with any questions or concerns as the ACA would like to work with membership to serve their needs. The ACA will adjust the membership page(s) on the website to make this clearer.

                                                      21. Given that there are a small number of institutions that make up the top two largest categories but that pay a significant fee for Institutional Membership, did the Institutional Membership Working Group (IMWG) or Board speak with these institutions directly to confirm if they would be comfortable with the proposed fees?  

                                                      The IMWG did contact institutional organizations as part of the survey and Town Hall conducted in 2021, including a response given by the largest institution. The proposed fee change for the largest organizations would remain the same as what was recommended by the IMWG (an increase from $15,543 to $16,000; and from $2,587 to $2,750).

                                                      22. Is the ACA able to quantify the extent to which Institutional membership subsidizes Individual membership rates? 

                                                      Income generated by the sale of Institutional memberships is a valued component of the ACA’s financial operations. Individual and Institutional memberships are not directly comparable as units because an Institutional membership can represent any number of staff from 0 to 1000 whereas an Individual membership only represents one person. That being said, we have done our best to demonstrate that Institutional memberships do heavily subsidize Individual membership fees, especially Students (at 99 Student members, they are the second largest group of members next to folks who fall into the $70,000+ salary band and the yearly contribution in revenue is $21.66 or $65/divided by 3 years). 

                                                      At the time the reports and recommendations were submitted to the ACA Board for their approval, estimates were based on current membership data available in October 2021. At that point in time, memberships (both Institutional and Individual) accounted for $137,016 in revenue (Institutional = $58,900, Individual = $78,116). If each membership, on average, costs $224.86 to administer; it costs the ACA $23,610.30 to administer 105 Institutional membershipsand $100,962.14 to administer 449 Individual memberships. This gives a total of $124,572.44 in expenses to administer all memberships. The $78,116 generated by Institutional memberships covers approximately 63% of expenses. The remainder is covered by the $58,900 generated by Individual memberships.  

                                                      October 2021 Institutional Memberships  

                                                      # of Staff 

                                                      Current Cost 

                                                      # of Institutions 

                                                      Revenue 

                                                      Price per Person 

                                                      0-2 

                                                      $273.00 

                                                      55 

                                                      $15,015.00 

                                                      $136.50 

                                                      3-5 

                                                      $294.00 

                                                      37 

                                                      $10,878.00 

                                                      $58.90 

                                                      6-10 

                                                      $887.00 

                                                      4 

                                                      $3,548.00 

                                                      $88.70 

                                                      11-20 

                                                      $887.00 

                                                      2 

                                                      $1,774.00 

                                                      $44.35 

                                                      21-50 

                                                      $1,742.00 

                                                      4 

                                                      $6,968.00 

                                                      $34.84 

                                                      51-399 (250) 

                                                      $2,587.00 

                                                      2 

                                                      $5,174.00 

                                                      $10.34 

                                                      400 (251) - 1000 

                                                      $15,5432 

                                                      1 

                                                      $15,543.00 

                                                      $15.54 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      105 

                                                      $58,900.00 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      October 2021 Individual Memberships  

                                                      Category 

                                                      Fees 

                                                      Current # of Members 

                                                      Revenue  

                                                      $0-$9,999 

                                                      $90.00 

                                                      29 

                                                      $2,610.00 

                                                      $10,000-$24,999 

                                                      $160.00 

                                                      11 

                                                      $1,760.00 

                                                      $25,000-$39,999 

                                                      $182.00 

                                                      23 

                                                      $4,186.00 

                                                      $40,000-$54,000 

                                                      $197.00 

                                                      40 

                                                      $7,880.00 

                                                      $55,000-$69,999 

                                                      $219.00 

                                                      47 

                                                      $10,293.00 

                                                      $70,000+ 

                                                      $248.00 

                                                      165 

                                                      $40,920.00 

                                                      Retired 

                                                      $104.00 

                                                      28 

                                                      $2,912.00 

                                                      Associate 

                                                      $160.00 

                                                      7 

                                                      $1,120.00 

                                                      Student (joined 2021) 

                                                      $65.00/ for 3 years 

                                                      99 

                                                      $6,435.00 

                                                       

                                                       

                                                      449 

                                                      $78,116.00 

                                                      23. To what circumstances do you attribute the increase in Student members from 2019 (54) to 2021 (99)?  

                                                      The increase in Student numbers can be likely be credited to a variety of factors. Namely, the ACA increased the number of online offerings (professional development workshops and conferences) during the pandemic. This probably improved accessibility in terms of attendance (what was previously held in-person and required travel no longer did). There was a more demonstrable benefit to students in this sense. The cost of a 3-year membership offered increased access to professional development and networking opportunities, or better value for money.

                                                      24. What is the true annual membership cost and on what goods and services is it based? 

                                                      Individual members make up 60 % of overall membership revenue and that percentage was applied to membership expenses to calculate the overall expenses to consider the true cost of membership. These expenses include: 

                                                      •  All expenses related to the production, distribution and management of Archivaria. 

                                                      • Expenses related to activities and projects of the ACA Board of Directors include travel and accommodation to undertake Board activities, special projects like Strategic Planning, task forces, working groups, reconciliation projects and equity commitments. COVID-19 significantly limited travel and projects for the Board.  

                                                      • In-person conferences (hotels in particular) include minimum food, beverage and accommodation expenses as well as extensive audio-visual infrastructure. Online conferences take place with current ACA infrastructure using Zoom, Whova and other services used to ensure accessibility.   

                                                      • Software, website infrastructure and services, special projects and (when required) travel to meetings are part of committee expenses.  This includes the expenses to host and promote online learning workshops.  

                                                      • Secretariat expenses include two full-time staff, networking infrastructure, rent, insurance, audit fees and training expenses.  For this work, as noted above, 60 % of the overall costs in the five categories was used to calculate membership expenses.   

                                                      The ‘true costs’ of membership was calculated by taking 60 % of the ACA’s annual expenses and subtracting revenue raised by individual members. That number, representing costs, was divided by the number of Individual members for that year. Three years of membership were considered and the average cost was determined to be $ 224.86/annually. 


                                                      25. Using the current total number of Individual members, what will be the total annual revenue under Options #1 and #2 compared to the total revenue raised under the current Individual & Student membership categories? 

                                                      The total annual revenue generated by Individual membership for Option #1 would be $70,000. This is actually a decrease from total current revenue (as of October 2021) - $73,825.34. Option #2 would increase total annual revenue generated by individual memberships to $77,870. This represents a difference of + $4,044.66.

                                                      26. How does Option #2 (Individual) achieve the goal of financial sustainability? For how long? 

                                                      The Financial Review Committee felt that proposed salary band structure represented a current, conservative estimate of member numbers that met the objective income for membership fees.  Considering the cost-of-living increase in the 7-8 years since the 2016 vote, Option #2 maintains membership fees with a reasonable percentage increase for the highest category and reductions for the lower categories. The ACA Board felt that a modest increase in revenue would allow the organization to meet its fiscal responsibilities and grow capacity for services. At the same time, the Board was cognizant that implementing high increases (even if they matched the national inflation rate and cost-of-living) would be unpopular and difficult to justify amongst membership, given the current economic situation and ongoing recovery from the pandemic. Furthermore, implementing annual membership increases based on cost-of-living and inflation would be very impactful on the workload of the ACA Office. No date has been set for another review of membership fees, but logically this would coincide with a new strategic plan (2023-2028) or if a financial issue arose and it had to be brought to the attention of membership that membership costs could no longer be covered by fees.

                                                      27. How might Option #2 (Individual) encourage the growth of new members?   

                                                      A potential benefit to the change in salary-band categories and pricing that we would hope to see is that this is a more affordable option for individuals earning an annual salary of $39,000 or below and the ACA would attract new members and keep their sustained membership over time. The ACA believes that creating more equitable opportunities for membership ultimately strengthens our community and drives us forward in the kind of professional organization we want to uphold for our shared community. While not wishing to alienate those members that would see an increased fee, we’d hope that our higher-salaried members would agree with this stance and continue to support the ACA.

                                                      28. In Option #1 (Individual), how does the flat fee structure streamline the administration of membership for the ACA office?   

                                                      The flat fee structure was seen as being streamlined in that the more simplistic rate structure (i.e. fewer categories) would be more straightforward for the ACA office to manage memberships. Overall, the implementation of the Wild Apricot system has also helped to improve management membership on the back-end for ACA staff. Some initial work would be needed to change over the current system from the salary-based to a flat-fee structure, but the Wild Apricot software could be used for either fee structure.

                                                      29. In Option #1 (Individual), how would the Emerging Professional category be administered (e.g. for a set number of years following graduation)? 

                                                      The proposed Emerging Professional category would be available for newly graduated students up to three years and intended to be a transitional rate from Student to Regular membership.

                                                      30. In Option #1 (Individual), how would the Concession member category be administered? 

                                                      As of now, the ACA would continue to follow the honour system from members requesting a Concession rate. However, policy may need to be developed by the ACAif it was felt that there needed to be additional processes to meet the demand of Concession memberships.

                                                      31. In Option #1 (Institutional), how is this fee structure easier for the ACA Office to administer?  

                                                      Option #1 would be easier in thatthe existing fee structure is already in place and no additional work would be required to change the way in which Institutional memberships are offered.

                                                      32. In Option #1 (Institutional), in what way(s) does this fee structure not align with the ACA's Equity Commitments? 

                                                      Under the current fee structure, smaller institutions (often with limited resources) pay the most for membership (rate divided by number of staff). The ACA Board feels that adjusting the categories and fees will provide more fair rates across the range of our Institutional members (Option #3). This better aligns with the ACA Equity Commitments to provide more equitable opportunities for membership and supporting members of diverse backgrounds for Institutions and their staff to play an active part in the ACA community.

                                                      33. What are the Board's reasons for recommending Option #3 over Option #1 (Institutional)?  

                                                      The Board is recommending Option #3 over Option #1 as, overall, it reduces fees for a larger number of small archival institutions. The 0-2 and 3-5 staff member categories are collapsed into a 0-5 staff member category which means an increase of membership fees for institutions that would have fallen under the 0-2 category (+$8) but a decrease to membership fees for institutions that have 3-5 staff members (-$140). Combining these two categories allows the ACA to offer a greater discount to the largest number of Institutional members (92 in 2021), which also happen to be smaller archival institutions with less resources. The overall price/per person is lowered to $57 instead of $115/$75 for institutions in the 0-2/3-5 staff member categories. The Board felt this had the most positive impact for most archival institutions. If the $285.00 cost is still prohibitive for Institutions in the 0-2 category, there is also the option of selecting an appropriate salary band and purchasing Individual memberships instead, if those cost less. The remainder of the staff number categories would align with what the IMWG recommended (Option 2). 

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