MTFCA Increases membership dues 25%

[Novice]

Just received My September/October issue of Vintage Ford and noticed in the fine print under membership information that MTFCA USA membership has increased from $40 to $50 per year. $50 to $60 increase for Canada and $56 to $65 increase for all other countries. Does not state current price of life Membership. A announcement may have been made somewhere by somebody but this is the first notice I have seen. MTFCI is still showing $40 per year dues. Everything seems to be going up. But My pension check!

[Norman Kling]

I would suspect it has something to do with mailing the Vintage Ford. Price of postage has gone up.
Norm

[TXGOAT2]

The value of the dollar is going down even as the cost of everything is being driven higher. If you lack the power to tax, you're being dragged.

[MKossor]

Wow, My pension check actually INCREASED this year by a whopping 50%!
(That's right, 1.5 X $0 = $0.00 ; in other words, 50% increase of Zero is still $0.00)

What's a Pension? Consider yourself very fortunate if you Have a Pension to help offset the increasing cost of enjoying the Model T hobby. That benefit has long since been eliminated for many (most) private sector jobs.

[Steve Jelf]

I'm grateful that my meager pension and social security both include a COLA. I'm not getting rich, but at least I'm not getting poorer.

[Will_Vanderburg]

Only problem with a COLA increase is if you have Medicare, it takes the increase away by raising your rate for Medicare

[TXGOAT2]

According to "sources", your actual buying power is down sharply in recent years regardless of "COLAS". In other words, rising prices are, and have been, outpacing "COLAS" for quite some time. I suspect that's true even if you are not an "Urban Clerical Worker".

[Will_Vanderburg]

It was announced in May that the dues world increase.

[TWrenn]

Only problem with a COLA increase is if you have Medicare, it takes the increase away by raising your rate for Medicare

Thankfully not this year Will! Medicare is actually dropping a whopping $5 and some change! Not sure where I will spend it!

[SteveD]

For all the benefits we receive from the MTFCA, I will not complain about the increase. This site alone has proven invaluable

[jab35]

For lifetime members this represents a dividend on a wise investment!

[TXGOAT2]

"Thankfully not this year Will! Medicare is actually dropping a whopping $5 and some change! Not sure where I will spend it!"


Well, you could use it to pay down on a cheeseburger.... or a cup of coffee, a la Starbuck's.

[John kuehn]

You have to remember folks. The folks in charge at the house that’s painted white in Washington want you to believe that 2+2 = 5 and that things are really getting better! They really are! Really!!. Really?

[TWrenn]

"Thankfully not this year Will! Medicare is actually dropping a whopping $5 and some change! Not sure where I will spend it!"


Well, you could use it to pay down on a cheeseburger.... or a cup of coffee, a la Starbuck's.

Pat...thankfully we don't drink coffee so save $$ there...but I would like a cheeseburger!
How 'bout a cheeseburger today, for 8 dollars tomorrow"!?! Or something like that used to go!

[Moxie26]

Life Membership really pays off in the future.

[Novice]

It all depends on your age. The average life expectancy for a white male in the US is 75.3 Not a good fit for any one over 60. several years back MTCFA had a reduced life membership rate of $400 ? for elderly members. over 65 ?. A sliding scale for life membership is a better fit if you want to maximize the number of life members and still play the mortality odds like insurance companies do. ( They always come out on top) What is the average age of a model T owner in the US. My guess is between 65 and 70

[rbishop26]

Hey Robert,
That's what I thought, so I decided to pay for a Life Membership (wouldn't have to pay that pesky $40 every year, or more if it went up). Several months after I paid, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer and have been given 3-4 months to live! This investment worked out just about as well as the other investments I've made in my life

[Moxie26]

Bob ..... Money is only money, try to keep a positive attitude and positive friends and that will help you along .. I've learned that from friends.

[rbishop26]

Thank you. I appreciate that!

[Novice]

Bob. Sorry to hear about your medical problems. Wishing you the best. "Money is only temporary Model Ts are for ever" maybe you can find a forever home for your T.

[rbishop26]

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hijack your post. I thought I was dealing with the Life Membership in a “humorous” way and didn’t expect all the responses! Even those I thought were private and not on the forum. I apologize for going off topic, but thank you for your concern for my health issues. Hopefully we can get back on topic!

[Oldav8tor]

My understanding is that a big part of the reason for the increase is the MTFCA's financial support of the museum in Richmond. It is an unwanted extra expense in these times when everything is more expensive, leaving us to decide where to put our money.

As to all the other problems driving inflation....there is no single cause. You can choose to blame this administration or the last one but the real reasons go much deeper and in a global economy, are not always easily controlled.

[Farmer J]

Very little if any of your membership goes toward the museum. It is almost entirely run by donations. The magazine cost for printing and postage is actually what is causing the increase. Once a year the VF has the breakdown of where our dues go. Please take the time to look over this information.

[Oldav8tor]

I stand corrected....

[KeithG]

As the Treasurer of the MTFCA, I feel I must clarify the reasons behind the dues increase from $40.00 to $50.00 per year for US members effective October 1, 2022.

As Treasurer, each month I receive the detailed financial statements and budget analysis for the club. Over the last two years or so, I observed how the costs for the magazine for printing, paper and postage have been going up. Earlier this year as I was going over the financial statements with our MTFCA Board of Directors in detail as I always do, I related the sizeable increase in these costs for the magazine. It reached the point that we had to raise the dues to cover these increases in costs, so a motion was made, seconded and passed for this increase.

The MTFCA is a single corporation for both the club operations and our museum. Shortly after I became Treasurer of the MTFCA on January 1, 2017, I sat down with Susan Yaeger, then Executive Director of the club, and we noted which income and expense accounts were entirely for the club and which ones were entirely for the Museum. There are several accounts which are for both the club and the museum, for example: The Executive Director's salary, the heat, light, and phone costs, etc. We then made an educated and detailed estimate of the % of each of them that are for the club and for the museum. Some are 50 - 50%, some are 90 - 10% and so on. With that done, we could then determine the income, expenses and net income separately for the club and the museum.

It has also been our practice since then that the club dues cover the club costs and the donations from our fund drive in November and December of each year of each year plus any donations made to the museum (both of which are completely voluntary) cover the museum costs. This practice since then has proven to be equitable and will be continued in the future.

Of course, the reason the costs for the club and the museum are kept separate is because there are many club members who may never be able to visit our museum and it is not fair to them for the club dues to be used to support the museum. It's as simple as that.

If there are any questions on this, please feel free to contact me. My contact information is on the inside front cover of the MTFCA Club magazine, The Vintage Ford.

Respectfully submitted by:

Keith Gumbinger
MTFCA Treasurer

[DHort]

I belong to two xlubs. The dues at one club are only $10 a year. Everything is online. Newsletter is sent to your email address and all new activities as they come up.

The other club the dues are at keast $40 or more. We just had an. Increase. Most of the cost is to print and mail out the newsletter. A lot of members in this club do not know how to use computers or send emails , so they must do a lot by phone. And the cost of the newsletters and mailing requires higher dues.

The third club I belong to costs $15 per year and it is international. Every week there is a meeting on a Zoom call. We have members in Oz, England France and Russie, etc

If you can get your members online you can keep costs low

[ironhorse]

Pat...thankfully we don't drink coffee so save $$ there...but I would like a cheeseburger!
How 'bout a cheeseburger today, for 8 dollars tomorrow"!?! Or something like that used to go!
" I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" J. Wellington Wimpy

[TMiller6]

As it was pointed out that the Richmond museum survives mainly by donations, I wonder why Amazon Smile isn’t mentioned more.

By logging in to smile.Amazon.com, a portion of all my purchases goes to the club and benefits the museum according to the Amazon website. The various tools and supplies my family orders off Amazon Prime has generated over $80 in donations so far. It’s painless and costs nothing additional to steer your donations to them.

[Steve Jelf]

What is the average age of a model T owner in the US. My guess is between 65 and 70.

Several years ago there was a forum survey of ages. If I remember correctly, the average forum age turned out to be about 55. Of course the older folks who don't use computers wouldn't be included in that.

[VinTin23]

If you can get your members online you can keep costs low

Going to a strictly “On-Line” content will kill the club. I’ve seen one very prominent national club with a 50+ year history go in the toilet. They used to produce a solid monthly publication with real content, excellent tech and event coverage. They started to change the magazine with less color, thinner paper. Really worthless and such low quality ink would smear. Then without warning, they cancelled the publication. Members had a fit and they went to a quarterly publication. They couldn’t even honor the number of refunds that were requested. They now put out a poorly produced quarterly publication. Really, just pictures from internet and very low res content.

Members are dropping like flys, events are poorly managed and I believe they don’t have more than a year to go. At least MTFCA was up front with increase and still produce a quality publication.

[TXGOAT2]

Costs are being increased by entities beyond businesses' direct control.

[jab35]

Translation: "Inflation."

[Dan_Jensen]

As it was pointed out that the Richmond museum survives mainly by donations, I wonder why Amazon Smile isn’t mentioned more.

By logging in to smile.Amazon.com, a portion of all my purchases goes to the club and benefits the museum according to the Amazon website. The various tools and supplies my family orders off Amazon Prime has generated over $80 in donations so far. It’s painless and costs nothing additional to steer your donations to them.

Thomas,
Where did you find the Model T Museum in the list of Amazon Smile? I searched for it and I did not come up with anything.

[TMiller6]

Dan,

This is what pops up when I click my donations in Amazon

Model T Ford Club of America
Location: Richmond, IN
Mission: The Model T Ford Club Of America Strives To Preserve And Promote The Model T Ford For Future Generations By Educating People Of All Ages In The History, Lore And Skills Of Maintenance Of The Car That Put America On Wheels.
Programs:Publication Of Various Manuals, Videos And Reference Books To Provide Information On Topics Related To The Care, Adjustment And Restoration Of Model T Fords. The Organization Operates A Museum And Owns A Collection Of Model T Fords That Help Educate The Public About Model T Fords.


Years ago, Amazon Smile was mentioned on this forum by someone in charge and I signed up. I tried searching for the original posting and it appears it was prior to 2019 on the old forum.

[J1MGOLDEN]

Actually, the price is the same!

Those new bills that a being printed in Washington now are just not worth near as much.

Our government is giving away for too many of them for them to have any value!

[TXGOAT2]

I-N-F-L-A-T-I-O-N: An alternate spelling of "THEFT".

[Dan_Jensen]

Thomas,
I found the Amazon link for donations to the museum. From the MTFCA home page click on "GIVING" then Support the museum. At the bottom of the page is the link to signing up for the donation to the museum. It did not come up when I went to Amazon and searched there with all of the key words that I tried.
Thanks