A Guide to Understanding NAHJ’s New Membership Dues Structure

By Sam Diaz, NAHJ Financial Officer

Change is never easy – but sometimes, leaving things the way they are is even tougher.

Remember that when you are trying to make heads or tails of this new membership dues renewal structure announced by NAHJ's board of directors at the annual convention held in Fort Worth, Texas.

NAHJ is coming of age as a voice for Latino journalists through such endeavors as the Parity Project. As a result, the association’s membership has surpassed 2,000, a figure NAHJ hopes to double in the coming years.

That is a lot of membership renewals for the staff in Washington to process each month. And frankly, the administrative time it takes our staff to maintain the membership rolls, from sending reminder notices to processing payments and more, is time that could be spent advancing the mission and the services of the association.

The board believes that a change to a calendar-year,membership-renewal structure is the right solution. But, making that switch is easier said than done. Membership dues will expire throughout this year and next year under the new dues structure. Some members have already renewed their membership this year, while others have taken advantage of the discounted two-year renewal rate that will result in their dues expiring in 2007.

There are plenty of scenarios to consider and the board did not want members to lose any membership time or money while the organization made this change.

Is it a complex process? You bet. Does it happen overnight? No way. Is it fair to the members? We believe so.Will it make life easier for our hard-working staff? Absolutely.

There are several important factors to remember as you reflect on the action the board has taken in making these changes:

• Not one member will lose membership time or money.

• NAHJ will take a slight financial loss by giving away a few free months of membership – there was no way around it. But the loss is minor compared to the larger loss of members who do not renew their membership.

• The one-time $75 renewal rate for some members is not a rate increase but rather a discounted rate that will bring all members to the same expiration date of Dec. 31.

• There will be a renewal grace period through the last day of February, that will allow members continued access to NAHJ's resources.

• Finally, this is a one-time change. By the end of 2008, every NAHJ member will have an expiration date of Dec. 31.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.Why is NAHJ changing its dues structure?

A common renewal date for all memberships will help the NAHJ staff to streamline the processing of membership dues. It will also help the staff to better manage the membership database and reduce lapses in membership.

Q.Why are some people being charged $75 and others $55?

Members renewing at the $75 rate are actually receiving a discounted rate of $20 to bring their expiration dates to the end of the next calendar year. Those paying $55 will be receiving about a full year of membership benefits.

Q. I renewed my membership as part of the convention’s early-bird registration in March.When will my membership expire and what will I pay for renewal?

Anyone who has already paid dues this year (2005) will receive the full year of membership. In 2006, when the membership expires, the renewal rate will be $75 but the membership will carry through the end of 2007.

Q.My membership comes up for renewal in October.How much will my dues be and when will my membership expire again?

Your renewal rate will be $75 and it will expire on Dec. 31, 2006.

Q.My renewal date is February 1. Why isn’t my renewal rate changing?

Memberships that expire in the months of January and February will fall into the grace period for the new calendar year dues structure.

Q.Under the new structure,when do memberships expire?

Eventually, all memberships will expire on Dec. 31 of each year. Renewal payment will be due on Jan. 1 of each year but will have a grace period through the end of February.

For more information on the switch to calendar year dues, please visit www.nahj.org and click on “membership”.