What? A Capital District Dues Increase? Part II
by Gov. Don Dudey
Last month I talked about some of the reasons why we need a dues increase - decreasing membership, the reduction of our current reserves and the increase in the cost of doing business.
This month I would like to talk about what you are getting from your Capital District Dues.
To begin, Kiwanis International Bylaws state there will be Districts and Division. Within each of them, there will be Governors, Governor-elects, Past Governors, District Secretaries and Treasurers and Lt. Governors. The Governor, Governor-elect and Past Governors will incur travel, conventions and office expenses during an administrative year or about ten percent (10%) of our budget.
The District Office supervised by the District Sec/Treas is the "glue" that keeps all of our clubs operating within the requirements of Kiwanis International. Communications is the hallmark of any good office, and we have that in our District Office. From the eBuilder, mini-builder, to notices, announcements and emails each club is kept well informed. The webpage, the District directory, the record-keeping, etc. are also handled through this office. This operation has the only two compensated Kiwanians, the District Sec/Treas. and the eBuilder editor. Twenty eight percent (28%) of our budget goes to keep this office operational.
The Lt. Governors are a very vital part of the District as they train, counsel and motivate the individual clubs and club officers within each Division. This training involves in-house training as will as attendance to both the Kiwanis International and District conventions. Your Lt. Governors are reimbursed for a portion of their mileage as they travel throughout their Divisions visiting each club. In addition, your Lt. Governors also train the club officers each year and those expenses are included in this portion of the budget. Thirty percent (30%) of our budget goes to the activities of our Lt. Governors.
The Capital District has 16 Club Support Committees who promote, educate and train clubs and individuals on the aspects of their committee area. Each committee has different requirements for funds and how they would be used during each year. About twelve percent (12%) of the budget is allocated to our District Committees.
The District Board of Directors consists of the Governor, Governor-elect, Past Governor, District Sec/Treas. and the eight (8) District Trustees. This Board is charged to manage and control the affairs of the District not otherwise provided for in the Bylaws. This includes both the financial and the administrative aspects of the District. Club operations, conventions and membership growth are all part of this management process. Each District Trustee will incur expenses for four (4) board meetings and both Kiwanis International and District conventions. These expenses make up about ten percent (10%) of the District budget.
The last portion of the budget goes for the support of the CKI and Key Club Administrators. Without these two individuals, neither program would be as successful as they are. Each administrator is reimbursed for their travel and convention expenses of their respective program. These expenses make up about ten percent (10%) of the District budget.
This is a brief description as to where your dues money goes each year. As you can see, much of the money is used to support your individual club or the programs that your clubs conduct.
Please note that there are no expenses used to support either the District Convention or any of the Regional conventions. They are designed to be self-sustaining activities, not supported by your dues.
Remember, there are Dues Increase Seminars being conducted in your region/division during the month of May. If you have not received notice of these seminars, please contact your Division Lt. Governor who will be scheduling these seminars.
Again, I look forward in seeing all of you in Lynchburg, August 20-22 to vote on this very important Amendment to the District Bylaws.
Thanks for reading,
Don L. Dudey
Governor
