Evolution Of The Crier Kind.
Feb. 11th, 2011 06:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arontius.....The transition to a fully electronic Kingdom newsletter is going to happen at a faster pace than I had envisioned. You ever get the impression that things are moving around you so fast that you, yourself, seem to be a drag on the threads of time? Or is it that I'm just feeling old? I still remember the days when having a 'Printing and Postal Deputy' to the Chronicler was an important job. It went obsolete years ago. The job of Chronicler itself is not long for this world I bet. Web-Ministers are about to rule the world...
"Due to external economic conditions and increased overall costs facing the SCA Inc., the Board of Directors and senior staff have been forced to make over $250,000 in cost cutting measures to the 2011 budget in order to ensure continued operations.
The largest recurring expense for the SCA at the corporate level is the stipend payments made to the Kingdoms for publishing hardcopy newsletters. As our modern society moves increasingly away from hardcopy publishing to electronic mediums, the costs of hardcopy publishing have increased proportionally. Based on the need to curb these costs, and the responses of the membership in the 2010 census, the Board of Directors believes it is essential for the continued financial health of the SCA to transition the organization away from paper newsletters. Accordingly, the SCA has initiated a project to transition all kingdoms to e-newsletters, and is projecting implementation by Jan 1, 2012. Until the SCA has the infrastructure in place to support e-newsletters, the 2011 stipend amount provided by the corporate level for production assistance will be reduced to cover only those aspects required by the governing documents. This will reduce the overall stipend for mailings and production by 60%. The decrease will begin with the stipend checks being mailed after the end of the 1st quarter of 2011. The Board of Directors greatly regrets the necessity of making these changes to the stipend structure, but feels that it is the best of an array of difficult options to execute its fiduciary responsibility to the membership of the organization.
This means that postage will still be covered for all mailing classes, including the expected postal rate increase later this year, but the production stipend will be greatly reduced. Most components of newsletter production costs are controlled at the Kingdom level, including newsletter size, use of color printing, page count due to non-required information, and printing companies utilized. Thus, Kingdom Chroniclers have several tools at their disposal to lessen the impact of the stipend decrease. To further mitigate the financial impact to the Kingdoms, the following changes in required inclusions will be effective with April 2011 newsletters:
• Membership forms will no longer be required to be published
• The list of Board of Director nominees will no longer be required to be published
• Full Society regnum will no longer be required to be published. Contact information for the Kingdom Ombudsman must still be included.
• A statement indicating where to locate the additional information on www.sca.org and/or Kingdom websites will be required to be published.
As additional reminders, branch event announcements are only required to be published for the month in which the event occurs. Should the branch event occur in the first week of the month, publication in only the prior month is acceptable. Please refer to the Chronicler’s Handbook for the minimum event information required for publication.
The Society Chronicler has information available for the printing house in Knoxville, Tennessee (USA) that several Kingdoms have already been utilizing for more cost-effective printing and mailing services.
Fundraising that is specifically done for the purpose of newsletter publication is still allowed, but (as always) is at the discretion of the Kingdoms.
The Board of Directors, SCA, Inc. greatly appreciates the time and effort put into newsletters produced at all levels of the organization and is committed to implementing a financially responsible process to provide information to the membership by a blend of electronic and hardcopy media.
Please contact your ombudsman with questions or concerns.
Board of Directors, SCA, Inc."
.....There was a time when I thought being on the Board of Directors would be an interesting job. But the longer I play in the SCA the less I feel that way. The BoD has to get so wrapped up in the legalities and corporate structure of the Moderne Worlde that I think there is a real danger of losing the magic that is the basis of the SCA. It's a very tenuous thread, that connection. And once lost is hard to recover.
.....It'll be interesting to see what the SCA changes into over the next decade or so.
.....Aaron / Arontius.
"Due to external economic conditions and increased overall costs facing the SCA Inc., the Board of Directors and senior staff have been forced to make over $250,000 in cost cutting measures to the 2011 budget in order to ensure continued operations.
The largest recurring expense for the SCA at the corporate level is the stipend payments made to the Kingdoms for publishing hardcopy newsletters. As our modern society moves increasingly away from hardcopy publishing to electronic mediums, the costs of hardcopy publishing have increased proportionally. Based on the need to curb these costs, and the responses of the membership in the 2010 census, the Board of Directors believes it is essential for the continued financial health of the SCA to transition the organization away from paper newsletters. Accordingly, the SCA has initiated a project to transition all kingdoms to e-newsletters, and is projecting implementation by Jan 1, 2012. Until the SCA has the infrastructure in place to support e-newsletters, the 2011 stipend amount provided by the corporate level for production assistance will be reduced to cover only those aspects required by the governing documents. This will reduce the overall stipend for mailings and production by 60%. The decrease will begin with the stipend checks being mailed after the end of the 1st quarter of 2011. The Board of Directors greatly regrets the necessity of making these changes to the stipend structure, but feels that it is the best of an array of difficult options to execute its fiduciary responsibility to the membership of the organization.
This means that postage will still be covered for all mailing classes, including the expected postal rate increase later this year, but the production stipend will be greatly reduced. Most components of newsletter production costs are controlled at the Kingdom level, including newsletter size, use of color printing, page count due to non-required information, and printing companies utilized. Thus, Kingdom Chroniclers have several tools at their disposal to lessen the impact of the stipend decrease. To further mitigate the financial impact to the Kingdoms, the following changes in required inclusions will be effective with April 2011 newsletters:
• Membership forms will no longer be required to be published
• The list of Board of Director nominees will no longer be required to be published
• Full Society regnum will no longer be required to be published. Contact information for the Kingdom Ombudsman must still be included.
• A statement indicating where to locate the additional information on www.sca.org and/or Kingdom websites will be required to be published.
As additional reminders, branch event announcements are only required to be published for the month in which the event occurs. Should the branch event occur in the first week of the month, publication in only the prior month is acceptable. Please refer to the Chronicler’s Handbook for the minimum event information required for publication.
The Society Chronicler has information available for the printing house in Knoxville, Tennessee (USA) that several Kingdoms have already been utilizing for more cost-effective printing and mailing services.
Fundraising that is specifically done for the purpose of newsletter publication is still allowed, but (as always) is at the discretion of the Kingdoms.
The Board of Directors, SCA, Inc. greatly appreciates the time and effort put into newsletters produced at all levels of the organization and is committed to implementing a financially responsible process to provide information to the membership by a blend of electronic and hardcopy media.
Please contact your ombudsman with questions or concerns.
Board of Directors, SCA, Inc."
.....There was a time when I thought being on the Board of Directors would be an interesting job. But the longer I play in the SCA the less I feel that way. The BoD has to get so wrapped up in the legalities and corporate structure of the Moderne Worlde that I think there is a real danger of losing the magic that is the basis of the SCA. It's a very tenuous thread, that connection. And once lost is hard to recover.
.....It'll be interesting to see what the SCA changes into over the next decade or so.
.....Aaron / Arontius.
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 05:37 pm (UTC)I'm very dismayed this is pushed solely on financial grounds regardless of other considerations.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 05:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 05:13 pm (UTC)I'm sure Godith is doing the happy dance now. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 11:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 07:40 pm (UTC)I guess I have a different perspective ...
Date: 2011-02-12 12:04 am (UTC)This will also download expenses onto the individual member, because they will need to print out directions and information about events, and about royalty and officers.
Sorry, but I think this is a very bad idea :(
Just my two cents,
Melissa
Re: I guess I have a different perspective ...
Date: 2011-02-14 10:30 pm (UTC)