Hi Kat, sounds all great! However, if I may suggest, including it in the newsletter is unlikely to be a very helpful reminder. I myself at least ignore at least 75% of every newsletter I actually open, and this includes everything that looks too structured (such as these fields). If you want these people to remain active, I suggest to send at least two reminders (as seperate emails) which look very different from regular WMUK mail (from a special email address, without usual tags in the topic, etc) to avoid that they get cought in automated email filters that put WMUK news letters in the WMUK-never-to-look-at-folder (yeah, people do that - so horrible!). Having the status in the newsletter besides that might be helpful though - because it gives positive confirmation that everything is all right.
Best, Lodewijk (notorious for forgetting to pay on first notice) 2013/2/8 Katherine Bavage <katherine.bav...@wikimedia.org.uk> > Hello all, > > Well all I shall happily say in reply is '*be careful what you wish for*'.... > I shall consider myself to have been given a mandate To Nag (nicely, of > course) and (as far I can tell) there's no appetite to reduce the grace > period. > > To come back on specific points: > > - Now we have a separate bank account for membership fees its > certainly possible to set up a standing order for the fee - I'll look into > direct debits too and update you all with some 'How-to' instructions on > wiki next week. We've previously been cautious in setting this up because > we have had a problem in the past with standing orders with no useful > reference number against them, and therefore not being to identify who the > money came from and for what when it was all going into the same account. > - Yes, you can pay for x number of years in advance - we can record > longer terms on the database, and append notes to the contact record > explaining why. > - No, if someone's term ended due to, say resignation or expulsion, > but they paid for a longer period than that n advance, I don't' think we > could prudently refund the money (money laundering regs - yes I know, a bit > of an OTT application in this context, but still). So, people would have to > accept that in paying, say £10 for a two-year membership term that if they > resigned etc then the additional sum would be taken to be a donation. > - *At the moment* everyone who is approaching expiry will get an > automated email - however, as we've all identified, one isn't enough. It's > my intention now that each monthly newsletter email contain a field > indicating if the recipient's membership is current or grace and the date > of their term end. I'm hoping that improvements in our database hosting may > mean that members can check this online in the future - however, I need to > investigate the challenges this may present too, so I can't promise > anything just yet (but I'm aware it would be a good feature to offer) > - If you want to know if you membership is current, email > members...@wikimedia.org.uk and I can check for you! Or check your > most recent newsletter from this month on... > - Gift aid - yes, membership fees are eligible. I'm acutely aware the > online gift aid form is currently on the fritz and have requested this be > fixed - when it is, again, we can include mention in the newsletter that > members should make a declaration if they want their fees to attract this > tax relief. In the meantime, any keen bean who wants a paper form to fill > in, again, members...@wikimedia.org.uk > > Thanks for the quick and helpful responses all :) > > Kat > > On 8 February 2013 14:12, Doug Weller <dougwel...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> How do we check our membership? >> Doug >> >> >> On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 2:00 PM, Lodewijk <lodew...@effeietsanders.org>wrote: >> >>> I think this is already possible :) I actually paid for two years at >>> once, because that was the amount of pounds I happened to have left over - >>> not sure if people will get mad at me now if I make their lives more >>> complicated, but asking nicely brings you a long way! :) >>> >>> Lodewijk >>> >>> >>> 2013/2/7 Tom Morris <t...@tommorris.org> >>> >>>> One suggestion: allow members to sign up for multiple years in advance. >>>> I'm perfectly happy to pay for two or three years of membership in one go. >>>> >>>> There may be some practical issues, such as whether or not if one were >>>> to, say, sign up for a three year membership but resign after a year, the >>>> remainder would be refunded as unused. >>>> >>>> If it were offered, I'd certainly be happy to pay for a few years in >>>> advance so that I don't have the mildly irritating situation of wanting to >>>> run some kind of outreach event and not being able to apply for a >>>> microgrant because my membership has lapsed. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Tom Morris >>>> <http://tommorris.org/> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimedia UK mailing list >>>> wikimediau...@wikimedia.org >>>> http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l >>>> WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org >>>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimedia UK mailing list >>> wikimediau...@wikimedia.org >>> http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l >>> WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> Doug Weller >> http://www.ramtops.co.uk >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia UK mailing list >> wikimediau...@wikimedia.org >> http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l >> WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org >> >> > > > -- > *Katherine Bavage * > *Fundraising Manager * > *Wikimedia UK* > +44 20 7065 0949 > > Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and > Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered > Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. > United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia > movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who > operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). > > *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control > over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.* > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia UK mailing list > wikimediau...@wikimedia.org > http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l > WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org > >
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