We have asked all our new Members where they heard about the Society, and it would seem that they came to us through many different ways. Several joined after checking out our Website. Others came to a Lecture after reading about us in an article in a local newspaper or magazine. Quite a number were inspired by the recent very successful exhibition of our photographs at the Hong Kong University Library. Yet others heard about us by word-of-mouth from existing Members, or from our regular advertisement in Dollarsaver, or dropped in on one of Lectures having seen our poster at the City Hall or in one of the Universities. Since all these ways of attracting new Members are working well, we will continue using these methods of attracting potential new Members during this year.
Our Honorary Treasurer and Vice-President will shortly be reporting on the state of our finances, and I do not want to steal his thunder here, and wish only to say that, as of today, the Society's finances are in a generally satisfactory state, and disclose no cause for undue alarm. We did, however, make a loss over the year.
Last year I warned that, since our routine expenses were not covering our routine expenditure, an increase in the Subscription Fee was inevitable. It is, to repeat what I said last year, the Subscription Fee income on which we depend to provide for the routine expenditure of the Society. This year the Subscription Fee income level was well below the routine expenditure figure. Council has not agreed to any increase in the Subscription Fee to take effect from 1 April 2005. I feel, however, that I must warn you that there will, almost certainly, be a recommendation to increase the Subscription Fee at next year's Annual General Meeting, to take effect from 1st April 2006, since, clearly, we cannot allow this constant drain on our reserves because of weak levels of routine income.
Another point I would like to make is that at the last Annual General Meeting a Resolution was passed which stated that those Annual Members not paying by Autopay would be charged an additional $50 a year handling charge to take account of the much higher costs these Members cause to the Society in the handling of their annual subscriptions. I must now say that only 130 Annual Members are paying by Autopay as of today (27%). With great regret, therefore, I must inform you that, over the next few weeks those Annual Members who
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We have asked all our new Members where they heard about the Society, and it would seem that they came to us through many different ways. Several joined after checking out our Website. Others came to a Lecture after reading about us in an article in a local newspaper or magazine. Quite a number were inspired by the recent very successful exhibition of our photographs at the Hong Kong University Library. Yet others heard about us by word-of-mouth from existing Members, or from our regular advertisement in Dollarsaver, or dropped in on one of Lectures having seen our poster at the City Hall or in one of the Universities. Since all these ways of attracting new Members are working well, we will continue using these methods of attracting potential new Members during this year.
Our Honorary Treasurer and Vice-President will shortly be reporting on the state of our finances, and I do not want to steal his thunder here, and wish only to say that, as of today, the Society's finances are in a generally satisfactory state, and disclose no cause for undue alarm. We did, however, make a loss over the year.
Last year I warned that, since our routine expenses were not covering our routine expenditure, an increase in the Subscription Fee was inevitable. It is, to repeat what I said last year, the Subscription Fee income on which we depend to provide for the routine expenditure of the Society. This year the Subscription Fee income level was well below the routine expenditure figure. Council has not agreed to any increase in the Subscription Fee to take effect from 1a April 2005. I feel, however, that I must warn you that there will, almost certainly, be a recommendation to increase the Subscription Fee at next year's Annual General Meeting, to take effect from 1st April 2006, since, clearly, we cannot allow this constant drain on our reserves because of weak levels of routine income.
Another point I would like to make is that at the last Annual General Meeting a Resolution was passed which stated that those Annual Members not paying by Autopay would be charged an additional $50 a year handling charge to take account of the much higher costs these Members cause to the Society in the handling of their annual subscriptions. I must now say that only 130 Annual Members are paying by Autopay as of today (27%). With great regret, therefore, I must inform
you that, over the next few weeks those Annual Members who
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