Members
Special Membership Vote 2022 - Proposed Membership Fee Changes FAQ
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:
The two motions can be found at:
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.