Dues are an extremely important part of keeping the club running - but we also want to remain accessible to everyone who wants to take part.
What are Club Dues Collected & Used For? Dues collection, storage and fund distribution is the job of the LUG Treasurer. (Voted on each Jan).
All funds collected by the LUG (including Dues) are to be housed in the LUG's bank account. All purchases are decided on by the LUG's Board of Directors. No fees collected by the LUG contribute to the operation & maintenance of the Clubhouse (such as rent or utilities.) All purchases made with club funds are to be used for those things needed for the club & the club's events & activities- such as show & travel related necessities, purchases of additional Lego and supplies needed for club projects, supplies necesssary for group projects or activities such as parties, giveaways, etc. All purchases are to be decided on by at least 3/4 of the club's the Board of Directors prior to any purchases.
How much does it cost to be a LUG Member? Dues are $10 per month per member, with a 50% discount for additional members from the same household (husband & wife, parent & child, roomates, etc- no blood relation is necessary, just that the members reside in the same home). After two members in a household, all additional members are just an additional $10 per person per quarter (or $40 per person per year).
Multiple Member Households
One Member - $30 every 3 months or $120 per year (Discounted to $100 if paid for the year.)
2 Household Members - $45 every 3 months or $180 per year. (Discounted to $160 if paid for the year.)
3 Household Members - $55 every 3 months or $220 per year. (Discounted to $200 if paid for the year.)
4 Household Members - $65 every 3 months or $260 per year. (Discounted to $240 if paid for the year.)
5 Household Members - $75 every 3 months or $300 per year. (Discounted to $280 if paid for the year.)
When do I owe dues? Dues are not owed until youve been an active member for at least twelve weeks, starting the next Quarter after youve become an active member. Quarters run July-Sep, Oct-Dec, Jan-Mar & Apr-June. We collect quarterly ($30) or you can choose to pay yearly at the beginning of the year, in July (for a discounted amount of $100).
Active membership is defined by participation in two or more events / activities / meetings etc. within any 12 month period. So if you were to attend your first meeting in January & a build day in Feb, you would first owe dues starting in Apr of that year. An exception is made if a member's first two qualifying participation events fall within the last 4 weeks of any quarter- then they do not owe thier first dues until the FOLLOWING Quarter. For example, if a member attends a meeting in March and a build day in March, they will not owe dues in April. They will first owe dues in July of that year. This gives all members an opportunity to check out the club and to attend several activities before any dues are owed. We want members who actively want to partake in our club and who want to support the club's activities - not just in dues, but in thier ACTIVE participation.
Donations to the Club & Dues Waivers If you make a donation to the club valued at or above the amount of dues during a 12-week Quarterly Period, the club may choose to waive your next period dues. This decision is made by the Board of Directors, and you will be notified that your gift to the club qualified for waved dues. If you make a single donation to the club valued at or above $100, your dues may be waved for the following club year (beginning July of one year, ending in June the following year). Again, the decision to waive your dues is at the discretion of the board of directors, and is based on the donation that was made.
For example, if a member makes a $55 order of lego parts in April, to contribute to the club's current project- the club's BoD may decide to issue that person a waiver for the next Quarter's dues. Waivers are not offered dollar for dollar, donations over $20 in value may be elligible for one Quarter dues waiver, and donations over $100 may be elligible for a one Year dues waiver. Waivers may only be aquired for one Quarter, or one Year, but no other periods of time. (For example, making a $60 donation to the club would not cover two Quarters of club dues.) Members can choose to hold onto a Waiver and use it at a future date, but Waivers are non-transferable (they can not be given to other members) and they expire 24 months after they are issued. If the waiver is lost, damaged or destroyed, the waiver will not be replaced.
Activity Forms & Points In order to track all of our current members active participation in club activities and events- there will be sign-in sheets on the front table (located just inside the door, to your left when you enter) at all Clubhouse events, and forms will be located at the LUG'S main display table at all shows and events. All members need to be sure to sign in every time they attend an event or activity- so that your participation is tracked and logged, both for the good of the club, and for you to earn participation points.
It is the Secretary's job to transport, maintain and ensure that participants sign into the activity forms at shows & events. If the Secretary will not be present, he/she must assign someone to maintain the sheet at any days / events they will not be present. All sheets should be returned to the Clubhouse immediately after shows so they can be collected / entered by the Secretary later that month.
What are Participation Points? Each year, the club will purchase three Lego gift cards, one valued at $100 and two valued at $50 & $25. We may also collect additional donations of Lego-related prizes for this purpose from club members during the year.
When members participate in club events, activities, shows, etc - they will recieve points. The club secretary will collect all activity sheets monthly and will enter all club activity into a Google Sheets document where members points will be tracked. In December of each year, at our club holiday party, the points members have accumulated from participation in club activities, will be equal to the number of entries members recieve in the club's yearly participation raffle. The three gift cards, as well as any additionally donated prizes, will be raffled off to members at the holiday party.
How Members Aquire "Participation Points" Club members will recieve points for the following;
1 Point for every Open Build Day Attended
1 Point for every Quarter Dues are paid on time
1 Point for attending a Show or Convention as an Attendee
1 Point for attending Club Parties, Field Trips or Off-Site Events (not including Shows / Conventions)
2 Points for every Monthly Club Meeting Attended
2 Points for Breaking Down / Packing Up after Shows / Events
2 Points for working at the Group Display for 2+ hours at any show / event)
3 Points for Displaying your own Item(s) at a Show / Convention
3 Points for attending Clubhouse Cleaning Days, Bulk Sorting Days or Packing Day in preperation for a Show
3 Points for Setting up @ Shows / Events
5 Points for any FULL DAY worked at a Show / Convention (Open,Working the LUG's Group Display 3+ hrs during the Event, Close of Day)
5 Points for serving on the Board of Directors for the year, or for being the social media representative, or for being the LUG Ambassador
Anyone who wishes to, may choose to withdraw themself voluntarily from the participation prize raffle - but no one is obligated or encouraged to remove themselves.
At the holiday party, all active members (with paid-up dues) with points for that year (present or not) will be entered into the raffle for the three gift cards (and any additional donated prizes) and they will be raffled off (via an app that allows for members to be given varied amounts of entries based on thier points).
Points begin acruing the first time a person attends any club activity. Points are cleared after the club holiday party, and then immediately begin accruing for the next year with any activity after the holiday party.
Let's Do an Example Raffle; Anna - 12 points Bart - 35 points Carey - 16 points Dave - 4 points Evan - 39 points Fran - 22 points Greg - 19 points Hannah - 3 points Irma (no longer a member)- 8 points Jess - 21 points Kelly - 15 points Laura - 19 points Mark - 29 points Noah - 22 points Oliver - 32 points Percy - 38 points Quinn - 31 points Ryan - 42 points Steve - 43 points Tara (no longer a member)- 8 points Urie - 19 points
Each person (including all board members) will recieve the number of entries in the raffle that they have points, so Anna will have 12 entries, Bart will have 35 entries, Carey 16, Dave 4, and so on. In this example, Irma & Tara are no longer active members, so thier points will not be converted to entries. Then, using a manual system (such as slips in a hat,numbered tickets assigned to each entrant) or using an app designed for randomly selecting winners, winners will be selected for each of the prizes available. The points will then be cleared from the system. (The secretary will still document the points accrued for the past year(s) for statistic purposes, but the official tally for the raffle will start over at ZERO.
Using the above example, all current members were added to the "Random Name Picker" app, and assigned the number of entries for which they had points. The $25 gift card winner was selected with Evan as the winner. The $50 gift card was selected with Mark as the winner, and the $100 gift card was selected with Fran as the winner. In our example year, we also had four Lego sets donated as prizes. The winners were also selected by app as Jess, Anna,