The Membership Dues Authority Proposal: There Can Be Only One

The series of Highlander movies features a famous line:  “There can be only one.”  I’ve personally never seen any of the Highlander movies because I’ve heard they involve heads getting chopped off, and I’m not one for gore.  It makes me queasy.  But moving on from decapitation – put on your reading glasses, because this is a long one!  And it involves discussion about national governance, so go get some coffee, too!  You also might need to whip out your copy of the Blue Book of Basic Documents, since I know you all carry one around in your back pocket.  You never know when there might be a governance emergency!

At one time in our organization’s history, there was only one that decided how much membership dues should be – and that was the National Council.  The National Board would put forth a proposal and a rationale as to why dues should increase, and National Delegates took that back to their council’s membership, discussed it, and then met at the triennial National Council Session (NCS) to debate and vote on it.  But that changed in 2012 when the National Board declared it was raising dues from $12 to $15 – and didn’t consult the National Council.  The same thing happened in 2016, but instead of $3, it was raised $10.  Annual dues are currently $25.

So how did this come about, and why the change from the National Council to the National Board? 

When the National Board released its proposals for the 2008 NCS, one of them involved a GSUSA Constitutional amendment of Article V/Sessions of the National Council/Section 5 to allow for electronic voting at the NCS.  But there was something about this amendment that gave the National Council pause.  It involved removing the sentence “Decision on annual membership dues shall be by ballot and shall require a majority of votes cast.”  Additionally, the rationale for this specific proposal in the 2008 NCS workbook (pg. 51) had a lengthy section explaining why the National Board has the authority to raise membership dues.  This was a little curious since the stated purpose of the amendment was to allow for electronic voting.  Some members of the National Council were concerned that the removal of the sentence “Decision on annual membership dues shall be by ballot and shall require a majority of votes cast” would insinuate approval of the National Board’s claim to authority.  So an amendment was made to leave the sentence in but change it to “Decision on membership dues shall require a majority of votes cast.”  This amendment passed.

At the 2011 NCS, the Western Oklahoma council sponsored a membership dues proposal to amend the Blue Book in order to allow for a rolling registration period.  The National Board didn’t agree in their Workbook rationale (pg. 55) and instead created a Task Force.  No vote was taken, and the issue was referred to this Task Force.  There was no mention of authority in the Workbook rationale, but I don’t know if it came up during discussion since I wasn’t there.

In 2012, the National Board voted at one of their own meetings to raise dues from $12 to $15 starting with the 2013-14 membership year.  Then in 2016, it voted to raise dues from $15 to $25 for the 2017-18 membership year.  In February of 2017, the Farthest North Council filed a lawsuit against GSUSA claiming the National Board didn’t have the authority to raise membership dues according to the Blue Book.

After reading about this lawsuit, I was confused, because during the time when there was a lot of outrage about the $10 increase, I had heard and read various claims about who voted for what and when.  How could the Farthest North council sue based on this?  My curiosity got the best of me, and I read through the Blue Book and wrote a blog post about why I personally didn’t think the National Board has this authority in June of 2017.  Much to my surprise, that post went viral.  Long story short, subsequent blog posts were written, and I fell down a very deep rabbit hole.  Apparently I am still in the rabbit hole because here I am in 2019 still writing about the topic.

At the 2017 NCS, a proposal regarding lifetime memberships was put forth by the National Board.  Language from the Credentials/Certificate of Membership/Membership Requirements section would be moved to the Credentials/Membership Dues and Procedures for Registration section and updated with new amounts if passed.  I didn’t understand the point of this proposal, because if the National Board claimed it had the authority in 2008 to raise membership dues and took action to do so in 2012 and 2016, then why did it need to bring this proposal to the National Council?  I had recently become a National Delegate Alternate, so I asked this question on a delegate webinar sponsored by GSUSA.  Here was their answer and my rebuttal.  This post initially went even more viral than any of the others.

In essence – their reply admits that they can’t modify the membership dues amounts if they are located under the Membership Requirements section of the Credentials because it’s very clear in the GSUSA Constitution (Article VIII/Credentials/1. Requirements) that the National Council has the SOLE authority to “establish requirements for certificates of membership, local council charters, and all other credentials.”   The National Board can only “administer the requirements” (Article VIII/Credentials/2. Administration).  If the National Board had the same power as the National Council as it claims, there would have been no need to bring this proposal to the NCS.

So… does it kind of bother you that the National Board can now decide to raise dues and create new levels* and promotions** to whatever amount it feels is necessary without the National Council’s approval?  Especially when at one time in the past, the National Council was the go to?

Now you might say as many others did in 2017 when these blog posts hit the scene, what’s the problem with $25?  That’s a great deal!  My response is the same now as it was then – how much will it take for you to have a problem with it?  $50?  $100?  But wait – you heard like I did that the National Council voted to give the National Board the authority to raise dues.  Nope – never happened.

There are a LOT of you out there that want the National Council to take back control.  My post about the Farthest North council’s lawsuit status is one of the higher viewed posts on this website.  Many are pinning their hopes on this lawsuit trusting it will prove that the National Board doesn’t have the authority it’s claiming to have.  Unfortunately, Farthest North lost the initial ruling.  I’m not sure if they are appealing, They are appealing, but even if they win, the decision will only affect dues collected in the state of Alaska.  Each council would have to file suit in its own respective state(s), and that ain’t gonna happen.  So it won’t be settled in the courts anytime soon.

During discussion of the proposal involving lifetime memberships at the 2017 NCS, multiple delegates questioned who controlled membership dues amounts and asked if amendments could be made to make it clear that the National Council should be the one to approve them.  Things got a little tense when the National Board doubled down and stated it had the authority.  Additionally, Steven Gilliland, a National Board member, made an analogy about shareholders not setting the price of the iPhone, much to the disapproval of many in the audience.   A delegate from the Nation’s Capital council – complete with the obligatory Nation’s Cap straw hat covered with swaps – asked if a proposal could be brought up at the next NCS to take back control.  The National Board member who answered said yes.

At this point in time, it’s not about interpretations of the Blue Book or lawsuits.  Doing it via the governance route is the way.

Here’s a proposal called Reestablishing the National Council as the Authority to Determine Membership Dues Amounts on the Girl Scouts Governance (GSG) website which would make it clear that the National Council has the sole authority to modify membership dues amounts:

Proposal: Reestablishing the National Council as the Authority to Determine Membership Dues Amounts

I’m not going to go into a lengthy explanation about the rationale that’s presented in the proposal because you can read through it (and further discuss it on GSG if you wish).  It’s a rebuttal to the National Board’s claims in the 2008 NCS Workbook and why the National Council should have the sole authority.  Here’s a summary:

• The National Board claims it will gather input from councils before making a decision on dues.  The National Council – the voice of the membership (volunteers, girls, staff, and board members) – is who should be consulted, and the National Board caused an enormous amount of discontent when it raised dues $10 showing that it didn’t do its homework properly.
• The National Board claims the practice of bringing proposals about dues to the National Council is slow and outdated and it needs to act accordingly when it sees fit.  The NCS is every three years.  Can the Board not forecast, manage, and plan finances between a three-year time period?
• The National Board states there is a check and balance system still in place since it claims it shares authority with the National Council.  So if the National Council feels like a raise in dues needs to be adjusted, it can present its own proposal at an NCS, only for the National Board to disagree and raise them again during the interim?  This would result in a power struggle, and who wants to see membership dues amounts go up and down and up and down like a yo-yo?
• This proposal moves language from the Credentials/Membership Dues and Procedures for Registration section to the Credentials/Certificate of Membership/Membership Requirements section.  Remember what I said earlier about the National Board not having the authority to establish credential requirements? There’s also added language in the Credentials/Certificate of Membership/Membership Requirements section that makes things CRYSTAL CLEAR:  “Membership requirements and membership dues amounts shall be established solely by the National Council.”

So what has to happen in order for this proposal to get on the 2020 NCS agenda?  Per the GSUSA Constitution in Article VI/Proposals to the National Council/1a, the National Board has the authority to determine what proposals will be presented at a NCS.  I’m guessing it wouldn’t be approved to go on the agenda.  However, there is a bypass.  If you look at Article VI/Proposals to the National Council/1b, fifteen percent, or seventeen councils have to support this proposal in order to override the National Board (assuming they deny it).  One council has to step up and initially sponsor it, and then sixteen more have to send in paperwork supporting it.

Volunteers, you might feel like you’re just the little guy here on the ground floor and there’s nothing you can do at this high of a level, and governance stuff is over your head.  But unlike other proposals about governance mumbo jumbo, this one affects you, your parents, and your girls DIRECTLY.  Do you remember how upset everybody got when your council announced membership dues were jumping by $10? I do because I saw it firsthand.  Council staff, do you remember dealing with angry volunteers and parents and struggling to explain why there was an increase and making vague promises about supporting volunteers?  And maybe your financial aid resources were impacted?  This could have been avoided if the National Council had been the ones to approve it.  Delegates could have found out if the membership was open to another raise.  This would have also given everyone a heads up that one might be coming.

So what can you do on your end?  If you are currently a National Delegate, get in touch with the leadership of your council, including the CEO and your board of directors, and tell them about this proposal (here’s the link again:  https://www.girlscoutgovernance.com/submitted-proposals/proposal-reestablishing-the-national-council-as-the-authority-to-determine-membership-dues-amounts/) and state why you think it’s important.  Volunteers, do the same.  Not sure how to get in touch with your board of directors?  Find out who your National Delegates are and talk to them.  Also share this blog post to get others on board.

This proposal might be a total long shot, and I am probably sticking my neck out to promote it.  Council staff and council board members, you might feel some reluctance to sponsor or support this proposal because let’s face it – it deals with power and money which, like it or not, are the two things that seem to run this world.  You’re probably going to feel some pressure if you support it.  Maybe a lot.  But I refer back to “courageous and strong” in the Girl Scout Law.  Isn’t that what we want to teach our girls?

People have to speak up and bring this proposal to their board of directors’ attention.  Board meetings have to be held to approve proposals.  All of this has to be done by August 31, 2019.  We’re running out of time.  If this isn’t put on the agenda at the 2020 NCS, it may not ever happen.

In a way, I might be stoking the Us versus Them fires that I’ve written about before, but that’s not my intention.  It’s just that I think it’s in the best interest of the Movement (which includes ALL levels – volunteers, girls, parents, councils, and national) for the National Council to determine dues amounts.  And I know many of you also feel this way.  A power struggle between the National Council and the National Board cannot continue.

There can be only one.  But instead of chopping heads off, let’s do it the way it’s supposed to be done, and that’s through governance.

* In April of 2017, the National Board created another level of membership dues: “Effective May 1, 2018, new girl members who sign up on or between May 1-September 30 of a membership year may elect to pay $35 and their membership will start immediately and continue through the end of the following membership year.”  In 2018, this option was extended to adults per the National Board.

** Addendum 2/5/19:  Apparently the Nat’l Board approved a limited time promo in April 2019 and updated the Blue Book (again).  The one month promotion offers Lifetime Memberships for $200 for any 10+ year volunteer or GSUSA/council staff.  No word if there will be a promo later in the year for 20% off LM every time Georgia runs back a kickoff return for a TD.  Maybe a free drink with any LM purchase?