Guild Treasuries
 

This thread was inspired by the thread, "How much are your annual guild dues?"
The two guilds that I belong to have over $30,000 in their treasuries. What do you think of this?
My opinion, spend it! We still are requested to contribute quilts and handmade objects as fundraisers--so raising $$$ is always a high priority.
We can get in some good speakers, but their workshops fill up very quickly. Maybe I'm behind the times, and it is perfectly justifiable. I look forward to your opinions!

What is the guild saving it for? All a guild needs is the yearly expenses met every year. The rest is gravy. I would be speaking up about having the workshops extended as many days as necessary so everyone gets a spot. I don't like fundraising when it's not necessary.

The most important question is: Is your guild a non-profit? If it is, there should be an auditing to determine if they are still maintaining their non-profit status when they have such a balance in the account.

Also, if the guild is non-profit the funds are *not* to be used just "for members" but for the promotion of the art of quilting for the benefit of the members *and* the public. Certain numbers of hours are to be spent in community work through donating charity quilts and other projects. Non-profits give back, that's the point.

If your guild does not have non-profit status, which will require some expense and time to acquire, perhaps that's something that ought to be looked into since it has all this money.

If they are not interested in non-profit, then I'd imagine some serious questions need to be answered about who is truly responsible for this fund from board to board. What happens to it if/when the guild disband, or the banks defaults, or a board member absconds with it, or they are challenged by a member or a public person?

Seriously, if I were a member of that guild I'd really want to know how long it has been building, has been collected, is being spent, and what the future plans for it are. If the board is not forthcoming, I'd collect several like-minded members, ask for a place of the meeting program, and bring the issue up for discussion and vote at a meeting.

Our guild of 110 members does not have non-profit status, charges $20 membership annually, puts on a show every 3 years, donates up to 250 community quilts annually, pays a small amount each month for the use of our meeting space, operates on a budget of less than $2000 yearly and is going strong and drawing new members several times a year. I can not imagine a guild having $30,000 in the bank, even if they had 800 members! And I've been "doing" guilds for decades.

Jan in VA

Jan's thoughts were my first thoughts as well

The expenses of a large guild are considerable, and money usually has to be on hand for booking speakers as much as a year (or more) in advance. Some guilds only do fund raising every other year, and so the money we have on hand right after the quilt show (our big money raiser) has to last for two years. Before you condemn the guild for having so much in the treasury, find out why it's there. Ask for a treasurer's accounting, but be prepared to spend some serious time reading and understanding the report, and asking questions. I was surprised to learn that my membership dues ($25/year) barely pay for producing and mailing the monthly newsletter. (I'm going to change to the email-only version to help the guild save money.) Rent for a room large enough to hold us can be very high, and the guild also must pay for insurance.

Money is a hot topic in our guild, right now. Our dues were just raised to $25 from the $15 set in the 1970s. Long overdue...we put on a show every year, a getaway every year, have speakers at some meetings, and do charity quilts. Oh, and we fund two local college scholarships. We sure don't have $30,000 but I don't think we should.

My guild has over 400 members, due are either $25 or $30 (I forget which). We are able to get really well known speakers and that is great. They do have large costs for a guild of this size and they have a considerable balance in the bank.