Dues for Get Hitched

I have created a document which lists various expenses for which dues would be needed in relation to the Get Hitched singles group in Bellingham. Among other things, dues would pay for EDDM mailings with which to publicize the group, since I do not trust in the promotional emails from Meetup.com to the extent that I am confident that they could help the group to expand to the point that the group would be really useful to its male and female members. Other options for raising funds would include crowdfunding, selling products pertaining to the group (e.g., T-shirts) and so forth.

The idea of paying dues might sound like a negative thing, but when you compare the option of paying $5 per month ($60 per year) to the option of paying at least $2,000 per year to belong to a group like Events and Adventures, $60 per year sounds like a real bargain. I would not be getting rich from such dues, believe me. In fact, I might have to raise the dues to an amount higher than $5 per month (the default setting at Meetup.com), since the group would need at least 17 members just to pay the $1000 needed for an EDDM mailing from Postcard Mania. That would particularly be the case if payment of dues was voluntary. I think that it should be, because I like the "pay what you can" model established by the Panera Cares program at Panera Bread. That program got acclaim from the Stanford Social Innovation Review. It's ridiculous that some singles groups, such as Events and Adventures, insist on payments as high as $2,000 per year! Of course, I understand that they have a very nice web site, and such things are not free. But really, that seems to me to be a bit excessive.

Meetup.com uses WePay.com, not PayPal, to collect payments. I think that responsible leadership of any group includes a certain level of accountability, in terms of how the funds raised via fundraising are used. So anyone who chooses to e-mail me at mwp1212@gmail.com or mark_w_pettigrew@hotmail.com is free to ask me about the group's current financial situation, and about plans for the use of the funds paid to the group in the form of dues. I am also looking to the option of sponsorships and financial "perks" with which to raise funds. A financial arrangement with the Lovers store in Bellingham would seem to be a particularly appropriate choice, in terms of sponsorships. Bridal supply stores (e.g., Alicia's Bridal) would also seem to be a logical choice.