I am a member of the local guild, last count we had 250 members. Our dues are $35/year. That $ goes towards rental of the church, paying for speakers, books for the library, sewing days for anyone to go to, insurance, post office box, and other things that are used by all the members of the guild. We actually had over 300 at one point so it's now 2 meetings for the 1 guild. We also have a 50/50 draw at the meetings, all the proceeds go to Charity quilts that we make for the community. We also have a dinner at the end of the year where we pay $5 and the guild pays the rest.
I'm actually the VP next year so it should be an interesting time. Our guild asks for volunteers or all the different groups (program, library, show & tell, and Executive) if more then one person volunteers for an Exec position then it goes to a vote but in 5 years it hasn't happened yet. We go through the bylaws every year, present them to the guild and ask for any changes that they want then we take it to an open discussion and have everyone vote a month later so all views can be heard.
Program has to be the hardest because you are choosing who is the speaker every month but I think we do a good job of getting a good mix of things in there. But it's a great way to meet other quilters and learn new techniques!