MFF Club/Association

The_Gaffer · May 02, 2011, 22:31:31 CET

Guys, I'm thinking maybe we were not clear enough with the plans. The MFF will remain as it is, only it will become completely free to join up. The MFF club is something new, and a very modest membership fee will be payable per year. The money collected by the club will REMAIN WITH THE CLUB, administered by a seperate committee independent of the forum. Club members automatically get registered as full members of the MFF.
The forum will donate a sum of money in the form of a start up donation to the club. Present VIP members of the MFF will automatically qualify for free 2 year membership in the club. Premium members will automatically qualify for 1 year full membership. So todate, we shall have about 120 members already subscribed in the club. Club membership fee has not been decided yet, but it will be less than €4 anually. So, if you know anybody willing to join the club, get his details.

Maltese translation
L-ahwa, jidher li ma fhimtkhomx sew fuq il-club il gdid tal MFF. L-MFF ser tibqa kif inhi. pero ser issir b'xejn ghal kullhadd. Il-Club hu xi haga gdida, u ser ikun hemm hlas zghir hafna kull sena ghal membri tal club. IL-flus kollha tal club jibqaw ghand il-club, u jigu amministrati minn kumitat independenti mill-MFF. Dawk il- membri godda tal club, issiru membri ukoll fl-MFF b'xejn. Il-VIP members tal MFF, ikollhom sentejn membri tal club b'xejn, filwaqt lil-Premium members ikollhom sena. Sissa, il-club diga ghandu 120 membru mhalsa. Il-hlas tal-membership ghal club ser ikun modest hafna, inqas minn €4 kull sena. Allura, jekk tafu b'xi hadd li irrid jidhol fil club taghna, resquh!!

Moonwalker · May 03, 2011, 00:26:28 CET

€4 per year?? Come on - are we selling pastizzi. If this is going to be a serious club then it would need more funds I believe. Keeping a very low price can attract more members but we need active members not just numbers. I think €10 per year would be more realistic any anyone can afford that.

What is not yet clear is about the VIP/premium sections in the forum. Skip said that these sections will stay on but then you say that MFF will be completely free. I think that VIP and Premium sections should be merged to an MFF club section that only club members would have access to.

The_Gaffer · May 03, 2011, 00:56:59 CET

@Moonwalker - you got that right 1st time round moonwalker. The privilaged boards will be merged. The intention is to provide a few boards to club members too.

On fees, I understand your concern, but we really need to look at the bigger picture.
Depends what you mean by active members. The idea to introduce a low entry fee is to ensure that the club is accessable to all. I know, €10 is nothing today, membership is not about money and fees, its about having a stong presence and a massive backing. So for the first 2 years, we are suggesting that the club membership fee is kept as low as possible. Once the members start realising the added value of having a club, I'm sure we can raise the fee. The Malta Fishing forum will for the first year, donate a sum of money to the club to help it start up. Depending on the number of Forum sponsors, the MFF will hopefully be in a position to donate another sum of money for the second year too. The aim of this club is to be of presence, and indeed exert influence on the up coming legislation which is currently in the pipeline regarding all forms of recreational fishing. With our VIP and Premium member base, we are already 120 members, more than enough to constitute a club. Once the statute formalities are done with, we hope that by then, our member base will have doubled, even trippled. The Forum setup and admin facilities places the club in a unique position whereby we shall soon be contacting all MFF ordinary members to sign up for club membership. The forum admin group is also persuing a number of initiatives, which I won't divulge at the moment as they are rather sensitive in nature and possibly will do more harm than good if exposed on a public forum. What I can tell you, indeed all of you who are reading this, is that the MFF's visit to Porto Rotondo served its purpose. We really learnt alot there on EU charters, policy, lobbying, projects, research and yes, admittedly funding.(this is thanks to our afiliation with Big Game Italia) These are the avenues we as a forum are persuing at the moment. In order to turn the wheels, we need to be a recognised NGO, with the appropriate affiliation. Without the club status we as a forum already enjoyed a high degree of respect by the authorities. Can you imagine what we could achieve if we had official NGO recognition, affiliation and status?

caldaland · May 03, 2011, 01:45:39 CET

lol shanook

suffrun · May 03, 2011, 07:48:32 CET

I liked MFF CLUB.

busumark · May 03, 2011, 08:28:19 CET

I think this club can help a lot to the recreational/sport fisherman and divers because all the members of the comitte are recreational /sport fisherman and divers so they will always try to get the best things for us.

malvizzu · May 03, 2011, 09:06:32 CET

As Gaffer said, a low fee of €4 can attract more members to join. But if after 2 years the fee is raised to €10, one might start making absurd suggestions that the club/association is now seeing big or getting greedy and wants more money. So why not a nominal fee of €10 straight away so that things would not complicate themselves. Premium and VIP members would definitely not have any problems paying this fee. I have never been part of a committee but I presume that to run a club/association, one needs some decent sum of money to start things going. Just my thoughts.

maltembu · May 03, 2011, 09:46:06 CET

Quote from: malvizzu on May 03, 2011, 09:06:32 CET
As Gaffer said, a low fee of 4 can attract more members to join. But if after 2 years the fee is raised to 10, one might start making absurd suggestions that the club/association is now seeing big or getting greedy and wants more money. So why not a nominal fee of 10 straight away so that things would not complicate themselves. Premium and VIP members would definitely not have any problems paying this fee. I have never been part of a committee but I presume that to run a club/association, one needs some decent sum of money to start things going. Just my thoughts.

Agreed 100%.. better set the fee immediately.. cos SOME people will SURELY make these suggestions

robby017 · May 03, 2011, 09:50:54 CET

before deciding on any fees its best as a commitee to meet up and plan out a budget for the forthcoming year.... inc running expenses, confirmed donations, income from fundraisers and after we've got a plan spread over 1 year, we can see what the balance is and then really decide on a membership scheme..... just my 2 c worth.

skip · May 03, 2011, 10:21:07 CET

Good idea Robby, guys the accountant has spoken

That is certainly the best way forward so that we have an idea of costs involved.

caldaland · May 04, 2011, 01:10:50 CET

today,we have a lot of fisherwomen (somehow that does not sound right),and i think such a woman will do more good than otherwise in the commitee.im not sure,but i do recall a lawyerness (neither this sounds right) who generously contributed before. how about it?

mulett75 · May 04, 2011, 18:09:22 CET

Name for the club- F.IS.H.= Fishing is Healthy

caldaland · May 05, 2011, 01:41:37 CET

nevermind me all. my age must have taken its toll!!!!!!!
i must learn to contribute less.
whatever its worth!

skip · May 05, 2011, 06:44:10 CET

Keep them coming guys, we'll need to then sit down with the committee and see what we come up with.

robby017 · May 05, 2011, 12:13:44 CET

caldaland, i did not understand your last point....