I am having some dissention in my chapter on how the SRD funds are to be distributed. I know what the by-laws say. But I also know chapters do vary from it. How is it done in your chapter. It might be better if you just e-mail me. I need to find out what other clubs are doing so I know how to approach this problem. We have been doing it a certain way for several years and everyone was comfortable with it until now. I feel it has been done in a very fair way. I personnally do not think anyone should be paid to go or profit by going. If a room is provided and registration fees get paid for all that should be more than enough.
Please e-mail me [email protected] Please e-mail me as soon as you can Thanks

In our chapter, during the year we keep points for participation, and at PRD time the PRD money is divided up according to the points of each registrant. For example, we give 1 point for attending, 1 point for a loss or turtle, 1 point for telephoning or writing a card to another TOPS member, 5 points for running a contest or doing a program, and 5 points for participating in a fundraiser (in the case of a garage/craft sale 3 points for donating items and 5 points for working during the fundraiser), 5 points for attending area meetings etc. It is a lot of work for someone to keep the points book, but it also has that person talking to each member as they come, and those who participate the most during the year get the most benefit from funds raised by the group.
Besides 2 or 3 fundraisers a year, we also raffle a donated gift each week, and put in 20% of our dues into the PRD fund (that is $1 of each month's $5.00 dues)

I am our chapter's Leader for this year (I was Treasurer last year). I think we have a good executive and I'm looking forward to a great year ahead. However, we had 15/22 members show up at our elections, and all positions were filled by acclaimation, so that shows a bit of apathy in the rest of them. Most of them are new in the last year, so perhaps feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Hopefully we can get them excited about leadership.

I 've been thrilled with all the great ideas floating around this forum, and amazed at the percentage of posters that are chapter executive. Hope to get more good ideas in the days ahead.

Hi Eleni
What is PRD? I know what SRD is. Hubby and I went once.
In our chapter. The chapter pays for the rooms. And if there is enough money in the kitty the chapter will pay the registration fee. If not each member pays that. But no matter what the chapter gives the leader $30. That is for eating expenses. Then the members who goes pays for their meals. We have a pepperoni roll sale to raise money for SRD. Sorry I don't know much more than that. I have been in this almost 3 years. And I don't know much about it. It sometimes seem like they don't want to tell anything. So I don't know what the big secret is.
Hope this helps.
A TOPS PAL

Hi Eleni,

Thought I would respond here also, so others can see.

We are a smaller chapter [12 members] and it seems like only the active members are the only ones that do the fund raising and attend the SRDs/PRDs/IRDs.

In our chapter, members get their registration fees refunded ONLY if they attend both days. To make sure, we request that the member put the money up front and then they receive it back at SRD. [when we started doing that, the ones that 'played' didn't go anymore...no loss to the others!]. That is the first expense paid. Next are the hotel rooms. If there still is some money left, some money might be given to help with a meal or gas money. All members attending are treated equally. These accounts do NOT need to be wiped out each year. Some years more members go than others, and in years when fewer go, it is wise to keep some $$$ in for the next year when more may be needed. For instance, we have IRD this year and 2 nights are necessary so more money will be needed than a usual SRD year.

I think you are saying that you have a lot of money in the SRD acct and others want to use it all? No, that is not right.....and I would encourage them to let it ride over to the next year. Our chapter would NEVER expect everything to be paid., let alone someone! Since I don't know what your individual chapters by-laws say about dispursing your SRD funds, I would highly encourage that everyone be treated equally. If I visited your chapter, everything I wrote in this paragraph would be my suggestion to the members.

Hope this helps...Summer

PS, Coco, in case Eleni hasn't been on-line yet, PRD [Provincial Recognition Days] is the Canadian equivilant to the SRD's in the US.

Just bringing to top

Eleni, glad you had a great Bday!
My chapter pays the registration fee for those members who have one year in good standing under their belts. So I am going to PRD but I will pay the whole shot myself as I have not been a member for one full year. If we wish to organize and staff a PRD fund raising event to ofset the costs we have the groups blessing, but it is left entirely up to those going to do so.

I really like Wild Rose's point system and think that that is about the fairest way to go about disbursing a large amount of funding and encouraging the TOPS ideals.

CC

Eleni, in our chapter everyone pays upfront for the registration and motel rooms, then when it is time for SRD, our fund is divided evenly between those going with a few exceptions. The leader and queen, if going on stage gets extra. The members that have been there less than a year get a prorated amount. All meetings at SRD MUST be attended.

Nita

I believe that our chapter only pays if we have a chapter queen going. To my knowledge we do not have a special bank account for either IRD or SRD. If you go you pay your own way. Apparently there were a lot of fights a few years back about how the money was being divided and so they just stopped doing it all together. (This was before I joined so I don't know the particulars.) At the moment we do not have any KOPS so no chapter queen. This makes things easy. Although we do have 1 member within 3# of KOPS status... and 2 more who are within 10#. Looking forward to having them make it.

Lara

Hello,
Just popped in to say hello and let you know I am still around even though I don't get post often.

I wanted to tell you how we handle these funds in our chapter.
We are not a large chapter and we have a lot of members go to SRD every year. We have fund raisers during the year usually starting in Aug. or Sept. Every one that plans to attend SRD are required to work or participate in these. We buy a quilt each year and raffle it off just before Christmas. We have garage sales and salad and soup suppers, for members and friends (two or three members get together and serve a low cal/low fat soup, salad , f/f crackers, etc. We work out the calories/fat grams and post these so members who watch these things will know what they are eating.) Members eating pay a certain amout to eat and that goes into the SRD fund. Just before SRD that money is divided between the members attending SRD. If you don't work/contribute, you don't receive money! We don't hold any money over. It is all used for that year. We pay for registration/flowers for the leader and Queen from the gen. fund. We also give them $30 each if Gen. fund has it. We have members who never go to SRD work just as hard as the ones that go. But they are not required to work, only those who plan to go. If you join during the year you have to start participating then, and most do!

We are a very close chapter and always have a lot of fun. We have 14 going this year. We have has as many as 25 go. We have a lot of members that go every year and every year we also have new members going for the first time.

We all get a lot out of going and come back recharged! We require that you must go to seminars and some times we split up and some go to one and some go to another if they are scheduled at the same time. And we are required to attend all sessions. One year we had some go that wanted to go shopping instead. We ask that members get together and give a program on what they have learned for the members who stayed home.

We just had a garage sale yesterday, and had a good turnout.

Sorry I got so yakky. Hope you all are having a good week. I have grandkids, so am cooking extra. Will really have to watch what goes in my mouth! Actually, I will have to do more than watch, I will have to close my mouth and resist temptation!

Eleni, hope you had a good birthday! And everyone else who has a birthday this month that I missed!

Mickey