Glen,
IMHO the refund of a membership fee defeats the very idea behind a
membership program: to support an organization, usually for the period
of one year, in their general operation, programming, or whatever those
funds are applied to.
I realize there may be exceptional circumstances where an organization
would consider a refund. Aside from tax issues, a prorated refund may
make sense, but prorating what? The amount of time of the year-long
membership that has lapsed? Or the number of times that the member has
used the membership, for example for free admission; or for discount in
the gift shop; or for discounted admission to special programs or
events? For many museums, a member can get the cost of membership back
pretty quickly through these discounts (also, what about the free gift
that comes with a new membership?), so your losses through a refund may
add up beyond the refund itself.
Remko
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Judith Turner
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 9:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Membership Cancellation Policies?
Hi, Glen --
Over the years I've been a member of dozens of organizations (Friends of
... as well as professional organizations) and I don't recall any of
them offering refunds of membership dues. Then again, I never asked for
a refund, I simply didn't renew next time around.
There could be some special circumstances under which a refund might be
requested and honored -- the death of the member, a military callup or
extreme financial hardship, Assuming any of these events took place
early in the membership year, it might be good PR to make such a refund
- or, at least, avoid some bad PR if the former member wants to make an
issue about a refusal.
If this is something that you think is likely to come up often, it would
be a good idea to draft a policy where you could establish a charge for
processing a refund. Another approach would be to prorate the refund
based on the amount of time that has passed since the member last
renewed.
If a policy is overkill, why not note on the membership form that the
fee is non-refundable? Besides the loss of membership income, staff
time should be spent on more productive work than processing refunds.
You need to check with your museum's legal advisor for applicable local
tax regulations and consumer protection laws. It's possible that if the
museum does not inform the prospective member that membership dues are
non-refundable, you're under obligation to return at least part of the
amount paid.
Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI
--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Glen Moore <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: Glen Moore <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Membership Cancellation Policies?
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 10:36 AM
> Seeking the wisdom of the list ;-)
>
> What policy does your museum have in place if a member
> requests a membership refund? A full refund seems
> unreasonable.
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
