Some of you know that I have been associated with FMCA for a number of years not only as a GMCCascaders National Director but also serving on the Governing Board directly. At times I have been openly critical of what I saw as amateurish leadership unbecoming of an organization with some 75,000 family memeberships - likely representing over 150,000 people.
We just concluded a National Governing Board meeting at the FMCA International convention in Gillette, WY. It was a first class Board meeting, run like a Swiss watch, and saw nearly 70% of the 365 board members in attendance from around the country. I am happy to report that the adults are definitely back in charge and the organization is back on a strong footing.
Financially the drain on reserve funds has stopped and the budget is truly balanced for the first time in a long time. All activities now are fully allocated overhead costs so there is no more subsidizing one activity by another. The year after year drop in membership has been reversed and we now have experienced 17 months of net membership gain with the slope of that curve going up. From 2009 to 2015 FMCA only had 3 months of net membership gain. There has been a 50% increase in membership since the low point. The net asset value of the organization is growing as well.
Since the FMCA Assist program was offered as a free member benefit in 2014, more than 500 families have suffered a catastrophic event requiring help under that program. So it has had a great positive impact for a lot of families. And, the program partner has now reversed its policy on supplying drivers for coaches over 10 years old. They now say they will supply drivers for any age coach so long as it is safe to drive. However, the loss ratio appeared to be increasing at a far greater rate than one would expect. The program partner, on their own, ordered an internal and external audit of program costs and found a couple of their employees had improperly charged other losses to the FMCA account. Those employees are no longer there and the budgeted rate was decreased dramatically allowing FMCA to put additional money into educational programs and back into reserves.
The revised/modernized web site has also been a success. 60% of new members now join through the web site and people visiting the site now stay longer and click around far more than they did on the old web site.
Bottom line, this meeting was respectful, orderly and finished before lunch. A far cry from previous meetings for which I have been critical in the past! My hat is now off for a well run organization doing great things for its members. If you have any questions about any of the member benefits, ask you club FMCA rep to explain them to you.
Jerry
Jerry Work
The Dovetail Joint
Fine furniture designed & hand crafted
in the 1907 former Masonic Temple building
in historic Kerby, OR
http://jerrywork.com
We just concluded a National Governing Board meeting at the FMCA International convention in Gillette, WY. It was a first class Board meeting, run like a Swiss watch, and saw nearly 70% of the 365 board members in attendance from around the country. I am happy to report that the adults are definitely back in charge and the organization is back on a strong footing.
Financially the drain on reserve funds has stopped and the budget is truly balanced for the first time in a long time. All activities now are fully allocated overhead costs so there is no more subsidizing one activity by another. The year after year drop in membership has been reversed and we now have experienced 17 months of net membership gain with the slope of that curve going up. From 2009 to 2015 FMCA only had 3 months of net membership gain. There has been a 50% increase in membership since the low point. The net asset value of the organization is growing as well.
Since the FMCA Assist program was offered as a free member benefit in 2014, more than 500 families have suffered a catastrophic event requiring help under that program. So it has had a great positive impact for a lot of families. And, the program partner has now reversed its policy on supplying drivers for coaches over 10 years old. They now say they will supply drivers for any age coach so long as it is safe to drive. However, the loss ratio appeared to be increasing at a far greater rate than one would expect. The program partner, on their own, ordered an internal and external audit of program costs and found a couple of their employees had improperly charged other losses to the FMCA account. Those employees are no longer there and the budgeted rate was decreased dramatically allowing FMCA to put additional money into educational programs and back into reserves.
The revised/modernized web site has also been a success. 60% of new members now join through the web site and people visiting the site now stay longer and click around far more than they did on the old web site.
Bottom line, this meeting was respectful, orderly and finished before lunch. A far cry from previous meetings for which I have been critical in the past! My hat is now off for a well run organization doing great things for its members. If you have any questions about any of the member benefits, ask you club FMCA rep to explain them to you.
Jerry
Jerry Work
The Dovetail Joint
Fine furniture designed & hand crafted
in the 1907 former Masonic Temple building
in historic Kerby, OR
http://jerrywork.com
