This page seeks to help members and potential members understand the membership dues. This page is arranged in a Q&A format with an introduction.

Introduction

This site requires its members to pay a low yearly membership fee $6 per year ($0.50 per month), which is prorated for your first membership due based on when you joined. The dues are used to pay for the fees incurred through meetup.com and the excess is used for prizes, fundraising, and anything else the group decides to do with the money.


Q: The site only costs you $145 (as of 2008), if everyone pays $6 then that is alot of extra money.
A: Yes, $6 per person is indeed more than the yearly fee, but since I cannot gaurantee the number of members it is best to have a safe membership due since I pay for this out of pocket. Any money in excess is turned around and used for the group . Plus, $6 ($0.50 per month) is nothing for most people - that is two coffee's or some loose change in your couch.

Q:What things will the excess money be used for?
A:The excess will primarily be used for prizes for group members, but if the group decides it can be used for other things like guest chefs, a big celebration party, donation to good cause, etc.

Q: Why $6?
A: Well, it makes my life easier - $0.50 per month is easy to prorate when a new members joins.

Q: Are the excess funds posted anywhere?
A: I keep a balance sheet and will periodically send out the balance info to the members.

Q: How do I pay the membership due?
A: There is a meetup on January 1st of the next year called "Membership Dues". Use the paypal link to pay and mark your RSVP as yes, include some info like "pay'd with check" or "pay'd with cash" if you pay'd by some other means than paypal.

Q: Doesn't paypal charge you for every transaction?
A: Yes, for every payment submitted paypal takes about ~10%. So $6 is more like $5.40 after paypal.

Q: Will some of the excess be used to sponsor a rescue animal?
A: I would love for that to happen as long as they are an actual humanitarian organization and not someplace exploiting a rescue for publicity or money.

Q: When are the membership dues due?
A: They are due within one month of you joining for the first due when you join the group. For regular members they are due by the end of January of that year.


If you have any questions or comments then please email me: pdx.vegan.meetup.organizer@gmail.com

Honorary Memberships

The following people are excluded from having to pay membership dues because they contribute back to the group in another way.

• Organizers
  
• Volunteers - must be identified as such by the Organizer.
  
• People who donate something to the group (do you do something that can help others?) for give away as a prize.