Acclaim to the new board of directors!
I didn't think it cost $500/yr of postage for the newsletter - seems high for a tech group. I don't know about others but I've been subscribed just to remind me how quaint it is to receive information on dead trees and will turn that off.
Why does MUUG pay $350-$700/yr for a PO box? Does it receive anything?
On Tue, Dec 3, 2013 at 2:36 PM, MUUG Newsletter Editor < newsletter@muug.mb.ca> wrote:
The latest installment of MUUG Lines is available.
Please find it attached to this email.
On 2013-12-03 15:06, Colin Stanners wrote:
Acclaim to the new board of directors!
Thank you!
I didn't think it cost $500/yr of postage for the newsletter - seems high for a tech group. I don't know about others but I've been subscribed just to remind me how quaint it is to receive information on dead trees and will turn that off.
Well, at 63 cents/stamp (plus GST), it adds up quickly when you have 50-60 newsletter/month, 10x/year. (Note also that we buy stamps in quantity, so costs can vary from year to year for that reason too, depending one exactly when they're bought and what FY it falls into.)
Now that we're down to 33 newsletters/month, we should expect to see a significant drop in postage costs. That's why we're encouraging members to consider the e-mail delivery option.
Why does MUUG pay $350-$700/yr for a PO box? Does it receive anything?
At one point, we were receiving large parcels with freebies from vendors (CD's, t-shirts, and the like) on a semi-regular basis, but that's kind of dried up now. We could get by with a smaller PO box now, to deal with the various mail we still do receive (including application forms, and the occasional newsletter returned to sender), but that would mean changing address, which would mean wasting pre-printed envelopes, as well as some hassle.
We are considering what to do about that for the longer term, but up until now, the decision has always been to just renew for another year. (And note that the amount reported was high this year since it represents 2 years of renewals.)
I should also point out that the PO box rental rate has climbed rather quickly in recent years, from the $150 or so per year we used to pay, at a rate much higher than most other cost increases. It used to make a lot of sense to stick to the same address, and keep renewing year after year, but perhaps less so as time goes on. :)
On 2013-12-03 15:50, Gilbert E. Detillieux wrote:
On 2013-12-03 15:06, Colin Stanners wrote:
Why does MUUG pay $350-$700/yr for a PO box? Does it receive anything?
At one point, we were receiving large parcels with freebies from vendors (CD's, t-shirts, and the like) on a semi-regular basis, but that's kind of dried up now. We could get by with a smaller PO box now, to deal with the various mail we still do receive (including application forms, and the occasional newsletter returned to sender), but that would mean changing address, which would mean wasting pre-printed envelopes, as well as some hassle.
We are considering what to do about that for the longer term, but up until now, the decision has always been to just renew for another year. (And note that the amount reported was high this year since it represents 2 years of renewals.)
On 2013-12-03 Colin Stanners wrote:
Acclaim to the new board of directors!
I didn't think it cost $500/yr of postage for the newsletter - seems
Thanks for the input, Colin! We, the board, like to see engaged members. I think Adam & Gilbert have addressed your questions. So I will just add that you're more than welcome to put your hat in the ring to be elected to next year's board, and thus have a greater hand in the guidance of MUUG. :-)
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Colin Stanners -
Gilbert E. Detillieux -
Trevor Cordes