Problem
My two Toastmasters Clubs in London get lots of new members, average 2 or more, sometimes 4-6, each of the two monthly meetings. My Singapore club is considering it. But what toes it cost?
Answer
In September 2018 I looked at the Meetup website and found I was offered:
Basic membership for 6 months cost US $9.00 a month. If you have two meetings a month, that's US$4.50 per month. If you were to advertise more events, it becomes more profitable.
What does basic mean? A limit of 50 members and 4 organizers. I presume that's 54 in total. That's plenty for a small club of about 20 members which wants to expand.
Fifty members doesn't mean 50 paid up members of your club. I presume it's 50 people on Meetup who signed up to be notified of your meetings. Some of those are phantom members who will never turn up.
I joined a sewing and crafts group meeting in Wembley in London. I never went. It was too far and inconvenient times and days.
If you have two sister organizations you might be able to link them on a mutual Meetup group and share costs. For example, two Toastmasters clubs of the same name, such as the English speaking club and the Mandarin-speaking club which meet at the same venue on different days.
Another option is for a one-off payment of US$14.99 a month, perhaps for one event such as A Christmas party at a restaurant.
You need a treasurer who is on top of cancellations, because as with any monthly payment, if you are inclined to forget, you might end up paying for years for something you no longer need.
If you find it successful, no such problem. You are assured that they will roll over the payment.
If you want to organize a free meeting, instead or in addition you can use Peatix, a company which started in Asia.
In the UK Toastmasters meetings are often booked through Eventbrite. If you are not charging, why bother to issure tickets?
a) At a large event such as a conference in an auditiorium with a popular sepaker you might be sold out. Because of fire regulations you are not allowed to have people sitting on the stairs and standing in the aisles and in front of the fire exit doors. To avoid early arrivals grabbing the seats and latecomers being turned away, the first ones to book are given tickets. Others go on a waiting list.
b) The organizers may want to know the numbers in order to cater with enough food and drink or cups for water, or chairs, or to switch to a larger or smaller room according to the numbers.
c) At the other extreme, if nobody books for an event, because it is not popular, too last minute, or people are away on holiday, you might wish to postpone your New Year, Easter, Valentine's, or Summer BBQ until a week later, or postpone your so-called Christmas party until after Christmas.
If you want to pay, the Meetup system was accepting WePay.
Useful Websites
https://www.meetup.com
peatix.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts with your family and friends and colleagues.
