Membership fee for the NHBC

[Rossa]

Don't forget that anyone who entered the competition gets a 50% discount so in reality it is €5 to be a member this year which I would imagine you will save in a heartbeat with the affiliates and group buys.

Members will be shown accounts and they will be externally audited to ensure everything is above board.

This club has evolved since inception and is in a continuous evolutionary state. Members will drive this and shape the future.

[Ciderhead]

+1
but hey nothing wrong with a bit of brainstorming
just be ready for a rat ta da tat as your idea may get shot down.
I suggested discounts at my "gentlemans club" but that went down like tourettes in the library.

[Rossa]

What about a small charge per person at tasting evenings? Even say €2 per person per tasting night with all money going to the club. Would work out at €250 to €300 per club per year being raised.

Interesting idea. It might well work in the future as clubs needs arise...rent or whatever may need to be paid.

We have talked about trying to get people at the TOG brewdays  to contribute as there is a cost on the brewer and there may well be electricity cost in the future but figured it would probably drive numbers down. If we ran a one day course as Capital Brewers and asked for €2 a head it might help that local club but then does the local club need a treasurer and bank account or can the money be lodged at national level and be drawn down later by the club..all to be worked out by the members I suppose. As a club we can put these ideas into action..as a forum only we cannot.

[LordEoin]

We hope to be up and running and offering membership by May but we are migrating the forum to a more user friendly system and everything is dependent on that.

Why change the system?
I like the current system (apart from the poor structure of sections), that's why I'm still here and not on other Irish brewing forums.
What changes are coming? Will current threads get lost in migration?

I see why some sort of income for the NHBC is needed, and I have no problem in paying the membership fee.
However, apart from the NHBC getting money the affects seem to be (based on the posts so far)
a) unsure unclear discounts from unnamed associates
b) Smaller pool of potential group-buyers
c) discounted entry into NHBC events
d) door-charge on regional club meets/tastings (very bad idea in my opinion. 'hey guys, lets meet at my place instead and then we dont have to pay' - a new club is born, the same as the last club but specifically non NHBC affiliated.)

[JimmyM]

We hope to be up and running and offering membership by May but we are migrating the forum to a more user friendly system and everything is dependent on that.

Why change the system?
I like the current system (apart from the poor structure of sections), that's why I'm still here and not on other Irish brewing forums.
What changes are coming? Will current threads get lost in migration?

I see why some sort of income for the NHBC is needed, and I have no problem in paying the membership fee.
However, apart from the NHBC getting money the affects seem to be (based on the posts so far)
a) unsure unclear discounts from unnamed associates
b) Smaller pool of potential group-buyers
c) discounted entry into NHBC events
d) door-charge on regional club meets/tastings (very bad idea in my opinion. 'hey guys, lets meet at my place instead and then we dont have to pay' - a new club is born, the same as the last club but specifically non NHBC affiliated.)

a) unsure unclear discounts from unnamed associates

there will be discounts available exclusively to NHC members that is sure. We need to work out the details re how much how often and until everything is finalised the names of the businesses involved cant be disclosed.

b) Smaller pool of potential group-buyers

Members will get priority on group buys, non-members will only be invited if the numbers dont stack up for paid members.

c) discounted entry into NHBC events

That cant be bad can it?

d) door-charge on regional club meets/tastings (very bad idea in my opinion. 'hey guys, lets meet at my place instead and then we dont have to pay' - a new club is born, the same as the last club but specifically non NHBC affiliated.)

That was a mis-placed suggestion made during the discussion of the thread - it was put forward as a alternative to membership (which has already been decided on) it wasnt in the original post, so please dis-regard.

...
Lads, most people agree we need to pay something in the form of membership into the NHC to keep the show on the road. And people have no problem with it, from feedback received. We are just trying to find out what are the things we can offer (not take away) to make paying the membership more worthwhile for members - making sure we are getting the most value out of our tenner.

[delzep]

The fee at tastings wasn't meant as a replacement of an annual fee.

[Ciderhead]

If you want to sell something on the site you will also need to be a member

I have another question and that is what would members like to see us doing that we are not currently?

[Rossa]

We hope to be up and running and offering membership by May but we are migrating the forum to a more user friendly system and everything is dependent on that.

Why change the system?
I like the current system (apart from the poor structure of sections), that's why I'm still here and not on other Irish brewing forums.
What changes are coming? Will current threads get lost in migration?

I see why some sort of income for the NHBC is needed, and I have no problem in paying the membership fee.
However, apart from the NHBC getting money the affects seem to be (based on the posts so far)
a) unsure unclear discounts from unnamed associates
b) Smaller pool of potential group-buyers
c) discounted entry into NHBC events
d) door-charge on regional club meets/tastings (very bad idea in my opinion. 'hey guys, lets meet at my place instead and then we dont have to pay' - a new club is born, the same as the last club but specifically non NHBC affiliated.)

As Jimmy said...
a, We can't name names now but in the next couple of week we should be in a position to.
b, Group buys will be offered to the public only if they are not fully subscribed. The public will pay a higher premium for using the club facilities (bank account, delivery - if at all)
c,Yep - competitions.
d, That would be a club thing to help pay for a venue or whatever a local club might need to pay for.

What would you like to see? What would you like to see your club become?

On the new system, Jimmy or Johnrm can probably answer better than me but it will be more mobile friendly I believe and will take the plugins we need going forward.

[delzep]

Can we get downloadable hops onto edible paper?

[Hop Bomb]

If you want to sell something on the site you will also need to be a member

I have another question and that is what would members like to see us doing that we are not currently?

Lobby whoever makes up whacky whatever days (like the recent national burrito day) & push for a National Homebrew day.

Get all the suppliers in one venue with stalls, have some live brewing demos, diy homebrew kit conversions, etc. I guess kinda like what Capital Brewers do in TOG but on a more national level. Make a day of it.

[Ciderhead]

National Homebrew Day I like it, I think they do that in the US

[Ciderhead]

If you want to sell something on the site you will also need to be a member

That was knocked on the head as it may mean members miss out on good deals.

"I've 100 cornies at €20 each I wanna sell. Hmmm, have to be a member on NHC, I'll just stick them on adverts.ie instead"

Thats a sellers perogative and why sellers on here also post on Beoir, Adverts and Done Deal all for the same item.

Are you in or out make your uckin mind up.
Either way please make you comments constructive to the notion of membership which is going to happen.

[Rossa]

If you want to sell something on the site you will also need to be a member

I have another question and that is what would members like to see us doing that we are not currently?

Lobby whoever makes up whacky whatever days (like the recent national burrito day) & push for a National Homebrew day.

Get all the suppliers in one venue with stalls, have some live brewing demos, diy homebrew kit conversions, etc. I guess kinda like what Capital Brewers do in TOG but on a more national level. Make a day of it.

Yep we had talked about that. It is a great idea. Certainly something we need to prepare for.

[JimmyM]

On the forum, which was just mentioned in passing...
We're looking at converting to a new forum which will basically make it easier for us to tie into the main web-site and manage things like charging membership, possibly faciliating group buys - making it more than just a place to write words (which is what the forum is now)
So the underlying software will change but the old content will still remain.
Like with most things it will be possible to tweak it to do different things - and different people will complain that they prefer things a different way - we'll deal with those issues as they arise (almost left the 'i' out of that word) after we switch over.

[loftybush]

I think its great to be adding incentives for members, such as discounts at the NHBC events and with homebrew suppliers.

I'd be wary of suggestions that seem to penalize non members.

It's my opinion that most active members would pay the membership fee without any incentives or discounts, because what they are already getting out of the club is worth more than a tenner a year.

There are alot of new homebrewers out there all the time, and I think it is important for the NHC to be a welcoming place for them, in order for the club to grow.

If it was up to me the only difference between members and non members would be a discount for members (For NHC events, from whatever homebrew companies, and for groupbuys)

I wouldn't restrict anything from non members (restricted forums, restricted buying / selling privileges, blocked from participating in groupbuys) as it creates an us and them clique, in my opinion. As I said above, when new members become more active and see how valuable a resource the club is they will have no problem paying.