MEMBERSHIP POLICY DOCUMENT Purpose of policy The members of BirdLife South Africa are one of the organisation s main assets. It is therefore important to BirdLife South Africa that its membership is managed in an effective and efficient way. This document sets standards and procedures for membership management by BirdLife South Africa s staff as well as the membership secretaries at BirdLife South Africa affiliated bird clubs. Overall membership management Membership for the organisation as a whole is managed at BirdLife South Africa head office within the Membership Division. The Membership Division consists of a manager and a number of administrators. The software packages, Pastel and Pastel Evolution, are used to manage, report and do the financial accounting of the membership system. Membership structure Bird clubs can become a BirdLife South Africa affiliate after approval from Council. Two affiliate categories are available: Full affiliation - members of fully affiliated bird clubs are members of the bird club as well as BirdLife South Africa. BirdLife South Africa manages the membership of these bird clubs according to the procedures described in the policy document. Partial affiliation - members of partially affiliated bird clubs do not need to be members of BirdLife South Africa. These bird clubs manage their own members (in terms of subscriptions, collection of fees, issuing of membership cards etc.) and BirdLife South Africa manages only the BirdLife South Africa direct members of these bird clubs. Partial affiliated bird clubs pay an annual affiliation fee to BirdLife South Africa as prescribed by Council and based on the number of members in the bird club. It must be emphasised that fully affiliated bird clubs agree to abide to the standards and procedures of membership management as prescribed in this document. No diversions will be allowed. Full and partially affiliated bird clubs agree to abide to the principles of BirdLife South Africa and also agree to act in such a way that BirdLife South Africa will not be discredited in any way. Before approval, bird clubs must demonstrate to BirdLife South Africa and Council that they can function as an independent bird club. Smaller bird clubs are advised to affiliate to a 1
larger bird club until such time as the bird club is able to function on its own. Smaller clubs can however request for partial affiliation to BirdLife South Africa. Management of membership at club level Fully affiliated bird clubs will appoint one person (membership secretary) to liaise with the Membership Division. This person must understand and be able to follow the membership system as set out in this document. The Membership Secretary must be allocated a computer with internet access, MS Word, MS Excel, Acrobat Adobe and email functionality. The Membership Secretary must also have a working knowledge of MS Excel and email. Membership categories Two first level membership categories are recognised: Direct Membership: These are members who belong to BirdLife South Africa and not to a bird club. The members only pay membership fees directly to BirdLife South Africa. Indirect Membership: These are members who belong to BirdLife South Africa and to a bird club. The members pay all membership fees to BirdLife South Africa including the bird club s membership fees. Within the second level of membership, only the following membership categories are recognised: Direct Members (Local & International) Ordinary Members Senior Citizen Members ( 60 years and older) Student Members (at school/university) Conservation League Members Corporate Members Institutional Members School/Group Members Affiliate Members Birder Friendly Establishments Life Members Honorary Members Free Members Exchange Members Electronic Members (members do not pay a fee to BirdLife South Africa but receive the monthly BirdLife South Africa e-newsletter per email) 2
Indirect Members at bird club level (Local & International) Ordinary Members Senior Citizen Members ( 60 years and older) Student Members (at school/university) Family Members Country Members Conservation League Members Institutional Members School Members Birder Friendly Establishments Life Members Honorary Members Members are allowed to join BirdLife South Africa for 1-3 years in advance. The appropriate fees for the whole period must be paid by the member at the beginning of the relevant period. Definition of membership Members are defined as all fully paid-up direct members to BirdLife South Africa as well as all members that pay a reduced fee (as for example pensioners and school children) as well as members that belong to partially affiliated bird clubs. Membership fees For direct members, the membership fees are calculated March of each year. After the fees have been revised all bird clubs will be informed of the change in membership fees, if any. New fee structures will take effect on 1 July of each year. For indirect members, the membership fees are prescribed by the bird club committee according to the rules and procedures of the bird club. The Membership Division at BirdLife South Africa must be informed of any changes in fees by 1 May of each year and will come in effect on 1 July of each year. Management of payments for fully affiliated bird clubs The following payment procedures are for direct membership: The Membership Division sends an invoice to the member via post or email three weeks before the member s renewal date. The member pays the membership fee into the BirdLife South Africa account either by Electronic Fund Transfer or Credit Card details may be provided for payment. Cash can also be accepted. Cheques will not be accepted. When making the payment, the member will use his/her membership number as reference. If the member wants to make any donations the member must indicate so to the Membership Division. For EFTs the proof of payment must be send to the Membership Division (membership@birdlife.org.za). 3
After processing the payment, the Membership Division will send the member a membership card with a covering letter. The following payment procedures are for indirect membership and must be adhered to by all bird clubs that are fully affiliated to BirdLife South Africa: The Membership Division sends an invoice to the member via post or email three weeks before the member s renewal date. The invoice will contain line items for direct and indirect membership categories as well as the African Birdlife magazine. The member pays the full membership fee, including the bird club fees, into the BirdLife South Africa s bank account either by Electronic Fund Transfer, or Credit Card details may be provided for payment. Cash can also be accepted. Cheques will not be accepted. When making the payment the member will use his membership number as reference. If the member wants to make any donations, the member must indicate so to the Membership Division. For EFTs, the proof of payment must be send to the Membership Division (membership@birdlife.org.za). After processing the payment the Membership Division will send the member a membership card with a covering letter. On finalisation of the month end process, a payment report will be created for each bird club. The payment report is emailed to the bird club and BirdLife South Africa pays the due amount to the bird club into the bird club s bank account on about the 15 th of each month. Reporting For fully affiliated bird clubs membership reports will be send out on about the 15 th of each month. The following reports will be forwarded to each bird club: Current members (paid up members) Overdue members (members who have not paid their membership fees for the previous three months from the date of the report) Due members (members who are due in the following three months from the date of the report) Resigned & Deceased (members who have passed away or resigned during the previous three months) Family Membership (family members who are paid up members) Management of partially affiliated bird clubs Partially affiliated clubs will each year in January inform the Membership Division as to how many members they have. The Membership Division will calculate the affiliation fee and invoice the club accordingly. The club will pay the affiliation fee directly into the BirdLife South Africa bank account. 4
Labels Bird clubs who need address labels for their magazines/newsletters must request these from the Membership Division at least two weeks before needed. The bird club must clearly communicate to the Membership Division the address where the labels must be posted to or how it will be collected. African Birdlife magazine African Birdlife is a bi-monthly magazine published by BirdLife South Africa. It is made available to members through the post. The magazine is indicated on the member s subscription as a separate line item. The option to subscribe to the magazine is optional but members are strongly encouraged to subscribe to the magazine as part of their direct membership. At predetermined periods, the Membership Division will send an address list of subscribers, in a prescribed format, to the magazine distributers. People can also subscribe directly to the magazine without being a direct member. However, these subscribers should be strongly advised to also become members of BirdLife South Africa. Conclusion The successful management of BirdLife South Africa membership is a joint effort between the Membership Division, bird clubs and members. To manage more than 6000 members is not an easy task. All role players are requested to follow the rules and procedures described in this document as accurately as possible. Doing so will benefit BirdLife South Africa, clubs and eventually bird conservation in South Africa, the ultimate aim of BirdLife South Africa. 5