Background: At Blind Citizens NZ’s 2022 Annual General Meeting and Conference, the Board submitted a discussion paper about membership matters. This is an area the Board continues to focus on.

Before sharing the next steps, we reflect on outcomes of the subsequent Special Meeting of Members held in March 2023 which required the Board to implement the following process…

<begins> That Blind Citizens NZ as per the Membership Subscription Review proposal, offers individuals who have not paid a subscription in the last five financial years to be given access to Blind Citizens NZ events as if they have paid a subscription, with this offer ending on 30 June 2025.

What this means is that for anyone who has not paid a subscription since 2018, that for the next two years to 30 June 2025 inclusive you:

• will receive information such as newsletters and notices of meetings from your local Branch or Network;
• will receive Focus, along with updates informing members of our work from National Office;

▪ can participate in activities including General and Annual General meetings, but you can’t vote or stand for election to the Board, a Branch Committee or a Network. <ends>

Constitutional Requirement | Membership Engagement Plan: Membership matters are primarily set out in Rule 5 Membership. Rule 5.2.3 states: “Annual subscriptions for Ordinary Membership shall be set at rates to be determined by the Annual General Meeting from time-to-time.”

This requires the Board to bring the matter to an Annual General Meeting for discussion. The topic is also identified in the Membership Engagement Plan as an action to occur in conjunction with this year’s AGM and Conference.

Related actions are as follows… Item 5: Review the organisation’s annual membership subscription rates and any impact this may have on prospective members and those overlooking membership renewal.

Actions Involve:

• The Board taking a paper to the 2024 AGM and Conference that considers whether the rates should remain the same, or should there be one rate i.e. $10 regardless of whether the person is waged or non-waged.
• Consider whether there are other ‘membership’ elements that should be refreshed for discussion at the same time (during this year’s AGM and Conference).

Points for discussion: Blind Citizens NZ’s membership subscriptions include an unwaged rate ($10) and waged rate ($20).

This applies to both Ordinary and Associate Members. Branches retain membership subscriptions which contribute towards supporting expenses for various activities, travel to and from General and Annual General Meetings, and other costs such as for newsletters etc. Annually, Branches receive a $20 payment from National Office for each Member-for-Life registered with their Branch. National Office covers costs for items such as Focus which is distributed to all members, and Branch and Network Representatives to attend in person, the national AGM and Conference.

The Board has heard from some Branches and Ordinary Members that membership subscriptions should be the same rate for unwaged and waged membership categories. In some instances, it has been suggested that Blind Citizens NZ do away with membership subscriptions i.e. that these should not be charged.

In addition, the Board is aware for example, that of the seven disabled people’s organisations that are members of the DPO Coalition, Blind Citizens NZ is the only DPO currently charging a membership subscription.

The Board is asking Ordinary Members for your views – should subscriptions be one rate regardless of being unwaged or waged. If so, what should the rate be?

Should Blind Citizens NZ stop charging a membership subscription? If this happened what would the implications be for Branches, Networks, and those who have chosen to make a one-off payment for our Membership-for-Life category?

If there is no membership subscription, then consideration must be given to identifying how someone becomes a member of Blind Citizens NZ. There is a requirement under section 26 of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 that in part addresses this situation. This makes it clear there is a requirement for someone to consent to being a member of an organisation.

Next Steps: This paper is being presented to the 2024 AGM so that it can be discussed. It is also being publicised in this Focus issue to reach as many of our members as possible.

The views shared at the AGM and Conference will be a starting point. The Board welcomes further contributions from Ordinary Members, Branches, and Networks by 20 November 2024. The Board will then give further consideration to this matter at its November meeting.

The Board is clear that all decisions need to be well-informed. It is not intending for there to be any sort of decision reached at this year’s AGM and Conference.

Related decisions will be reached by the Board at its November 2024 meeting. One of its decisions may be to convene a Special Meeting of Members early in 2025 to further discuss this topic.