Does this mark the end of direct membership being seen as the way of increasing the funding of ringing — Simon Linford
Taking subs to £1 a member could be paid for just by managing to centralise insurance, given how much collectively associations spend on insurance at the moment — Simon Linford
Does this mark the end of direct membership being seen as the way of increasing the funding of ringing — Simon Linford
Has any consideration been given to what a direct membership "package" would look like? — John de Overa
I hadn't heard of the "Network for Ringing Training" before, — John de Overa
People bandy the term insurance around without thinking what it covers. — John Harrison
2. Does an income of £30k or so enable the central organisation to do anything materially different to what it does now? That doesn't allow much for 'paid staff', although it would be a good start. — Simon Linford
Does this mark the end of direct membership being seen as the way of increasing the funding of ringing (although that is not the only reason for considering a direct membership organisation) — Simon Linford
RW 19July2024 p661 Letters to the Editor Central Council Finances: ...As regards a Direct Membership Organisation, this is easy to say but in fact not so easy to do. We’ve looked at different models but as yet haven’t come up with anything that works without starting from scratch. We’d welcome any ideas to accomplish this without sidelining Guilds & Associations. — FERGUS STRACEY Treasurer of the Central Council
Ringing has a massive cultural problem with free-riding — Tristan Lockheart
We ring on bells in buildings we don't really pay for
The Bishop's Badge award recognises outstanding contributions of lay people to congregations, local communities, and the Diocese.
On receiving his Bishop's Badge in September, John Sterland said: "My late father whilst being a member and former tower captain of St Andrew’s (Swanwick) received a badge a few years ago for his work supporting the major refurbishment of the clock and bells at St Martin’s Alfreton. I feel quite reflective and privileged at being recognised in a similar way."
There is an expectation that the Ringing World should exist for news and recording achievements, but subscriptions continue to decline in the face of rising costs.
Information sources like Dove or UniversityRinging are funded/maintained by the Central Council yet aren't paid for by their users.
Mid to high-level ringers are invested in by towers, often to then go on to greater things or move to other parts of the country. Many "pay it back" but many don't or can't.
it [CC] is not and must not be involved locally such that individual ringers feel a strong direct benefit.
None of that is unusual within the CofE, churchwardens, flower arrangers, most choirs etc do the same in their areas and ringers play their part as well. Categorisation of ringers as "freeloaders" by the ringing community itself is harmful and doesn't reflect the view of the CofE or its parishioners. — John de Overa
The RW often reads like an Old Boy's newsletter and as such seems to be primarily of interest to those at the end of their ringing careers.
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RW is a commercial enterprise, categorising its lack of appeal to many ringers as "freeloading" is wrong. Its problems are RW's problems, not those of its potential audience. — John de Overa
Dove's users are generally members of associations, as has been discussed ad nauseam they pay money to the CC so yes, they are paying for it.
I'd be interested to hear just what the hosting costs are for hosting of the Dove website and a low-end MySQL database. I suspect not much, the primary "cost" is the large amounts of unpaid time put in by those who develop and maintain it (see above). — John de Overa
Eh? Why shouldn't the CC be involved locally and provide direct benefit to ringers? — John de Overa
If direct membership is clearly so beneficial, then the CCCBR has better set it up and let it rise on its own merits. Isn’t that the pattern set by the youth organisation? — Alan C
Our current deal puts us out of kilter with similar hobbies in terms of the expectation of paying for our venues in addition to equipment. — Tristan Lockheart
The emphasis on providing labour is perhaps misplaced when what we actually need to get the work done is cash, — Tristan Lockheart
it is important to acknowledge that RW provides several important services — Tristan Lockheart
This means that their support for Dove etc. is not a given — Tristan Lockheart
Some say that it oversteps the Council's authority to be getting involved in local affairs, duplicating territorial association provision. — Tristan Lockheart
there's no reason why things such as tower contacts couldn't use centralised infrastructure and distributed management — John de Overa
the simplest option is same people that do so already on a per-association basis. Any decent management system would support that.who would be authorised to update the information? — Alan C
the simplest option is same people that do so already on a per-association basis. Any decent management system would support that. — John de Overa
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