Dear Members,
We hope this finds you well and ready for a new year of Baildon Belles membership!
It is now time to renew and pay your subscription for the year. Our membership year runs from the start of April to the end of March.
As you may remember, since 2021 the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) has given WIs greater flexibility over their portion of the membership subscription. The idea is to give WIs the option to charge the full amount of the WI portion (as set by the NFWI and National Council each year), reduce the WI portion of the subscription, or completely waive the WI portion of the subscription. The decision on which option to choose is given to each WI’s committee, so that the individual circumstances of the WI can be taken into account.
NFWI have set the full subscription for the forthcoming membership year (April 2024 to March 2025) at £48. The Baildon Belles Committee met on 16th January 2024 to discuss this, and to consider whether we could reduce our share of the subscription amount whilst still offering the diverse and vibrant programme we always pride ourselves on.
Having reviewed the budget for the year ahead, as well as the funds we hold in reserve, the committee decided to set this year’s subscription for Baildon Belles WI at £46. We will be maintaining the visitor fee at £5, for a maximum of three visits before joining.
We understand that members and potential members are facing increased living expenses, and we are keen to make membership as inclusive as possible. We do also have a number of members who are willing to contribute to a bursary for anyone who would like to join or renew, but for whom the cost is prohibitive. Please get in touch (email president@baildonbelles.co.uk) if you would like to find out more about this, either to contribute or to benefit, and be assured this will be kept in confidence.
The breakdown of the subscription for the 2024/2025 membership year is as follows:
As you can imagine, our costs and expenses have continued to increase, and we need to budget for this accordingly. Hall hire, insurance, printing, and speaker costs have all risen again this year, which is why we have felt it is necessary to put up the subscription fee. You can see from the below graph how we’ve tried to keep the fees to a minimum over the last few years, and always beneath the NFWI maximum amount, since we’ve been given that option.
We are very excited about the new programme for the coming year, and have planned 11 varied and vibrant meetings for you. We will launch the programme at our Annual Meeting on Thursday 28th March, and you will be able to see the programme on the Diary tab on our website, as well as the Events tab on our public Facebook page soon after. Printed postcard programmes will be available for you to take away at all meetings and you’re encouraged to take extras for your friends and family!
In addition to our monthly meetings, your membership will continue to entitle you to attend our off-shoots, such as book groups, craft club, and gardening group. We’ll also be planning additional events throughout the year, including fundraising events, our weekend away, Christmas Party, and possibly some trips. We feel that membership of Baildon Belles offers great value, and we hope you’ll renew your membership this year.
You can make an online payment for your renewal of £46 to the below bank details:
Account name: Baildon Belles
Account number: 71684485
Sort code: 40-41-44
Please use the reference ‘RENEWAL 24’ and let us know if the bank account you send your payment from is in a different name to the one on your membership. Don’t forget to let us know if you’ve moved house or changed your name too! If you’re a new member, you’ll need to fill in a new member form which you can download by visiting our website homepage and clicking on the pop-up.
We look forward to seeing you at meetings and events in the new membership year!
With very best wishes,
and the Baildon Belles Committee x