My local quilt guild is raising it's yearly dues from $15.00 to $25.00. This wouldn't be so bad, but that is higher than the American Quilter's Society and The Appliqué Society.
What do you pay a year? and what benefits do you get from the dues? For example: national teachers, newsletters etc.
Inquiring minds want to know.
I belong to Friendship Star Quilters Guild in Gaithersburg, MD. Our dues just went up from $20. to $25. A big portion of it goes to our monthly speakers and programs.
ReplyDeleteI belong to East Bay Heritage Quilters in California -- dues are currently $35 which gives you free entry to monthly meetings with an assortment of speakers including many nationally-known ones; use of the lending library; reduced rate for workshops. Members still have to pay entry to the biennial quilt show.
ReplyDeletesounds quite expensive for a local group. I pay 20 euros for the year. Do you get good value for your money?
ReplyDeleteThe guild in WA is $25/ a year and includes national speakers and 10 raffle tickets for the opportunity quilt, the guild here in HI is $20/single or $30/family and includes a lending library (not sure about speakers yet) - both have newsletters and websites (I run the WA newsletter and website and probably will do that here in HI also - have already been asked)
ReplyDeleteHaving been on the board of our guild several times I can attest to the fact that rising costs necessitate dues increases. Ours are still $20 per month but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they went up this year. One of the most costly thing we do is mailing a newsletter 10 times a year. Between paper and printing costs and postage the newsletter is expensive to produce and send. I'm guessing almost half the dues go just for the newsletter. Then there is rent for the meeting facility. We have an average of 200 or more at each meeting so we need a large facility. I have no idea what we pay now - when I was on the board several years ago I know it can be as much as $60-$80 or more per month for one meeting a month. We use a local church. We have several national speakers each year - at least 6 the last two or three years. The classes they teach are paid for by the class fees, but the lectures must come from guild money. That can be as high as $500 to $750 for a lecture - plus travel and other expenses. Your guild should publish a budget each year for approval by the membership. Make sure to check through it to see where you money is going. Become active in the guild - volunteer to be on the board - it is a great way to meet people and is a rewarding experience.
ReplyDeleteI am not currently a member - so I am not really sure the going rate, but that does sound high.
ReplyDeleteAre you getting value? Do you enjoy and regularly attend the meetings? They became a chore for me... Are you interested in the classes that they offer - too much applique for me was offered for a long stretch at my then guild... Do you liek the newsletter (that is where the expense is located) I did not even get half of mine the last year I was a member & I did not enjoy them...
I guess what I am getting at is if it is "worth it" to you then that is the price, if not...
I belong to the Austin Area Quilt Guild and our dues have been $25 a year for a long as I have been there - 10 yrs now. We have national speakers and workshops, large lending library. We rent an all purpose room at a local church. There are 600 members in the guild. At slightly more than $2 a month I think we get very good value.
ReplyDeleteI belong to 2 guilds, both have been $30 forever. Both have a lower rate for charter members, and both offer discounts at LQS and discounted classes. It sounds like California has the priciest memberships?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a member of a guild, but I would think it would cost more for a smaller guild, since there are fewer people to spread the costs around to. I think the value would depend on the type and quality of speakers they bring in and how many things they do that you participate in.
ReplyDeleteI have a three strikes rule too - although my first strike starts with the first sewing, so I only try correcting twice. I managed to get all my points within an eighth of an inch, and I figure that redoing it more than that is too perfectionistic.
Maui Quilt Guild dues are $25 per year which, like Patti's dues, mostly cover the cost of producing the newsletter and other sundry items. Our newsletter editor has worked hard to get as many people as possible to receive the newsletter via email (she sends a PDF) to reduce the cost of postage and printing. We have about $7,000 or $8,000 in our bank account, purportedly for a show that no one wants to volunteer to produce. Getting them to bring in national teachers is like pulling teeth, because it appears no one can agree on anyone. If they do, we still have to pay. We have a library, but many of the books are outdated. I have been on the board in nearly every position with the exception of President, and things remain status quo despite encouragement (or troublemaking :-)), so I just attend for the social aspect. We have a small group (<20) of art quilters who meet monthly and we are just to the point of discussing dues (a small amount) just to sustain the few items we have to pay for, like rental of meeting space.
ReplyDeleteJust a note here. The guild meetings are six times per year.
ReplyDeletePaula was active on the board for at least four years consecutively (I know, I was there too). She was the Website "Master" for four years. During that same time period she was also Community Service Chair for two consecutive years.
Quilty Friend
I didn't join the guild this year but probably will again next. I've been a member for several years and I heard dues went up this year to $30 annually or so, I think. We get a monthly newsletter and have a monthly meeting with nationally known quilters/speakers about 8 months out of the year.
ReplyDeleteMy yearly dues in my guild are $35 a year. On a quilt show year we pay $55.00 and get 5 tickets to the quilt show to sell or give away - and then the guild has some start up capital for the show early in the year.
ReplyDeleteMy guild has a great Fall Seminar with amazing teachers -- Roberta Horton, Jane Sassaman, Becky Goldsmith etc --- every other year. They also bring in quite a number of other teacher during the year. They charge for these classes, but at a discount if you are a guild member. I think one of the largest expenses guilds have is the newsletter and my guild is going over to an electronic newletter that is sent by email in PDF in order to save money. Rent of halls can be very expensive and depending on how many members are in a guild - our numbers have been dropping lately. But I feel for the $35.00 I am getting a good deal, and I am happy with the classes, teachers and programs that are offered.
My local guild is $15.00 per year. We get some national speakers. Workshops are additional. We have a bi-annual quilt show, some workshops at the monthly meetings -- but mostly lectures and/or business on those nights. Frankly, I've been wondering why I'm a member since I haven't made it to a guild meeting since, oh, um, March? I think -- not sure. Which tells you something now doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteColumbia Stitchery Guild is $25 for 4 meetings a year. I think it is well worth it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Santa Rosa, the dues for my guild were $30 and really worth it. We had two meetings a month and great lectures at one meeting a month. A montly newletter and a fantastic website, too.
You have to realize that AQS is drawing from a huge database and they are not putting on monthly meetings.
My guild has 250 or more members now and we charge $20 per member. We are able to bring in many national teachers and have had an annual quilt show.
ReplyDeleteI'm a member of a guild with about 175 members. Our dues are $20. That goes to pay for the newsletter and postage mostly. We have a yearly fund raiser to earn money for the national speakers we bring in. Terry
ReplyDeleteGreeley is $25 - $2 just to visit.... 11 meetings and really good speakers most of the time.
ReplyDeleteMy guild is $15/year, weekly "events" (Block of the month, charity sew, etc) and the first meeting of the month is the one I usually go to.
ReplyDeleteQuilt show is free to members, but this year they started to have it so you have to volunteer for an hour for each quilt for the show. They also collect 10% of the cost of quilts that sell at the show.
They have a raffle quilt too, and that brings in like $4,000 every year. They also have vendors, so that helps with the cost.
I know the savings account has several thousand, and then the bank account has another several thousand. Money isn't an issue in my guild.
There are about 150 members, a large portion of them are snow birds, so we only see them in October-February.
I'd guess about 6 known speakers/lecturers (some local, some not) a year, 3 business meetings and a few "off beat" meetings - like the wearable quilt show they did once. :)
All in all, I'm happy with my guild - and a little worried that they set my "guild standards" so that I'll be disappointed in other guilds! :P
I am in the Cape Cod Quilters Guild. Our dues are $30.00 a year and we do not meet in July and August. I get more enjoyment from my quilting bee and there is no charge for that.
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