Membership fees

[Punti]

NRAA membership fees

This year I was fortunate enough to receive correspondence from the secretary of my club giving me the breakdown of fees. As a SA member my total state fees are $195. SARA keep $120 and $75 goes to the NRAA.
If you go to the NRAA website COVID 19 Members Update - 30 April 2020 there is a detailed list of what we get for our $75, so much for so little. As NRAA members we are all paying the same amount of $75. Yet each state has different fees and there is no clear breakdown of what we get for the amount we pay. Are we paying too much for to little.

Punti

[jasmay]

Hi Mick,

Can you elaborate a bit?

Some context around why so little in return for our fee?

Last I checked the NRAA had around 6500 members, $75 per member that’s a little under $500k a year to run a national association. Do you think when taking into account wages, licensing fees for things like websites, maybe ranges, insurances etc. we get too little?

If I’m honest, I’m always looking for more return on my $, but in reality keeling a national association running on so little from its members is pretty amazing.

We all give the NRAA a pretty hard time, at different times, but in context, for what they have to work with, they’re doing pretty well IMHO.

[PeteFox]

I've always found it extraordinary that shooters think the NRAA is poor value.
IMO it's the best value Association in the country.

What do we get:
Full time paid staff to administer it
A set of rules updated regularly
A website
Affiliation with international shooting organizations
A buying group that purchases projectiles and powder and resells to members at great prices
An accounting system available to all states to use
INSURANCE
Range Officer training
Shooting Australia membership
National Queens
National Teams Comps
Organization of teams to compete internationally

Shooters don't think twice about paying $75 for a box of projectiles that can be gone in an afternoon yet baulk at paying $75 to actually ensure the sport's existence and it lasts a whole year.

Check up on the cost of any other sporting membership fees and the NRAA would be the best value out there.
I would be happy to pay twice the current fees

Pete

[AlanF]

And one of the main reasons for the fact that we get good value is the major contribution of people who volunteer as Board members etc. Similarly with S & T Associations. In general they don't get due credit. At Club level the volunteers are seen and appreciated more, but not so much the work that's being done elsewhere around Australia to maintain and improve our sport.

[jasmay]

Hi Mick/All…

Maybe there is some confusion in the writing of this…

Does “so much for so little” mean so much for the little amount of money to the NRAA or, the opposite?

Sorry for the confusion Mick, but perhaps you meant it the other way?

[Punti]

Hi Jasmay,

“so much for so little” mean so much for the little amount of money to the NRAA with meany benefits,

I found two full pages of benefits from the NRAA for $75

Try finding a list of benefits that your own state gives you.

I am pointing out we pay lots more to our states for what?

Mick

[jasmay]

Hi Jasmay,

“so much for so little” mean so much for the little amount of money to the NRAA with meany benefits,

I found two full pages of benefits from the NRAA for $75

Try finding a list of benefits that your own state gives you.

I am pointing out we pay lots more to our states for what?

Mick

lol….. that I could agree with, especially with some of the current going’s on.

[TTBS28]

Struggling to understand the problem here. I'm assuming that anybody who doesn't believe they get fair value for their dollar is kidding themselves. If you do the sums you will work out that you are paying about $3-75 per week ( Less than a cup of coffee ) for the State and National bodies to run the Associations for you - and this includes full insurance for all members !!! This also includes the opportunity for you all to attend State Queens events and Interstate title events ( which some of you have enjoyed over the years ) - are you happy to forgo these opportunities as well? All this fuss over $3-75 per week !!! I don't get it !!!!!!!

[jasmay]

Struggling to understand the problem here. I'm assuming that anybody who doesn't believe they get fair value for their dollar is kidding themselves. If you do the sums you will work out that you are paying about $3-75 per week ( Less than a cup of coffee ) for the State and National bodies to run the Associations for you - and this includes full insurance for all members !!! This also includes the opportunity for you all to attend State Queens events and Interstate title events ( which some of you have enjoyed over the years ) - are you happy to forgo these opportunities as well? All this fuss over $3-75 per week !!! I don't get it !!!!!!!

A lot of current and more so prospective members have little interest in competition, especially in the first year or two.

Now, given both the cost of equipment, and annual/weekly range fees, there are many cheaper alternatives, what Mick is putting out there is, how do we capitalize on these potential members with other forms of membership level.

$200+ a year, or $93 a year for plinking at paper… which would you pay?

$128 a year and you also get $20,000 in firearms insurance, are there any states offer a $35 for $20,000 firearms premium?

There are a lot of cheaper options, how do we attract more members.

Note, our numbers are declining, not growing.

[Wingnut]

Put your name up for the SARA board and be a part of the solution if you think you’re not getting any value for your $120. Many people love to sling mud from the relative safety of their keyboards, but will never step up and put their reputation on the line. I look forward to seeing your name on the ballot. We will all be watching with great interest.

[jcinsa]

Well.

We all know who you are Mick, and I know that you’ve stood for a position on the SARA board, as have I.
You ask a valid question , is the structure we’ve had for the last 100 years the best structure for our sport going forward ?
The club is the foundation, upon which everything else rests.
We have to look at all options to ensure that they thrive.
It might be uncomfortable for some, but there are some tough questions that have to be asked.

John Cranwell

[Barossa_222]

Put your name up for the SARA board and be a part of the solution if you think you’re not getting any value for your $120. Many people love to sling mud from the relative safety of their keyboards, but will never step up and put their reputation on the line. I look forward to seeing your name on the ballot. We will all be watching with great interest.

Mick has held a position with SARA before, he has also championed the Junior Development Program, sponsoring the junior shooters at the SA Queens for a number of years and recently held the only sanctioned NRAA's steel plate challenge in it's history to date. Fair to say he has done his bit putting the association first and trying to insure it's continuance.

[jasmay]

Agree with Barossa, both Mick’s personal time and financial donations to growing the sport can’t go unheard, and, I think his drive in these areas, and to gore the sport give him at the very least, license to ask the questions being asked!!

[SnapperG]

Ok so I need to offer my support of Mick here as the work & commitment he has shown to our sport is very high in South Australia. Everyone knows he is a good mate of mine & that could be why it offends me to see Wingnut have a go & call him a keyboard warrior. Mick is the first one to put his hand up & ask the difficult questions in any forum so he not only will ask the question here but also to your face. Not sure how you don't know this in the position you hold.
I am also interested to find out what we get for State fees as apposed to the National fees. I think we probably do ok for the amount we pay & I am happy with the amount but someone who has done so much for our sport should be able to ask the question without being accused of hiding behind his keyboard. His runs are already on the board but some others have yet to prove themselves. Just my opinion.