Calendar on the WWW

[Lori Jones]

>Leonardo said:
>how much of the production cost for the Black Star gets
>back to the Kingdom to pay for other things? (This is a legitimate
>question, I really do not know the answer and would like to.)

The Black Star is run from an entirely separate bank account from the 
Kingdom's.  This account is subsidized by:

1) checks from Corporate which represent the percentage of our 
    membership dues that are designated to produce the kingdom 
    newsletter.
2) Late fees.
3) Income from event adds, paid advertisements, and 
    submissions (notes & challenges, etc.)
4) Anything else that generates income to the Kingdom newsletter 
    which I might have forgotten or am ignorant of.....

None of the money from the Black Star's account goes back to our 
Kingdom account (at least none that I am aware of after working 
with the Kingdom treasurer for over a year).   Knowing very little 
about the Black Star's account, I am assuming that the Corporate 
Stipend supports the majority of the publication expenses.  Should 
the Black Star's expenses exceed their available funds, the Kingdom 
can transfer funds to the Black Star's account to make publication 
possible (something which hasn't happened in quite a while).  Any 
surplus in the Black Star's account is used for expenses of the 
Kingdom Chronicler's Office and printing of the occasional 
supplements (like the A&S issue of the Black Star).  It is not sent 
to the Kingdom account.  To my knowledge, publishing the Black
Star does not produce income to the Kingdom.

> Leonardo said:
>.... I could agree that we need
> the Black Star to be the main point for all of that information
> and it should stay there, unless we found some other way to 
> make money for the Kingdom for operational expenses. But if 
> the cost only really covers the cost of production, reducing 
> the number of subscriptions by making the Black Star available 
> on line might be a viable alternative to reducing some of the 
> costs associated with creating the newsletter.

It would not do this.  As I said, a percentage of our SCA membership 
dues is the primary source of funding for the production of the Black 
Star.  We don't sell subscriptions, per se.  The Black Star (and all 
it contains) is a direct benefit available only to paid members.

>> Gunnora said:
>> If the calendar is available outside our official
>>publication, where is the incentive to become a paid member?  Are we not
>>doing the organization as a whole a disservice? 

>Leonardo said:
>This where I do not have the experience to make any 
>arguments. I think we could be doing a great service by making
>information we would normally receive easier to retrieve. 

Sure, it would be a great service.  Especially to those who do not 
pay their memberships.

>Leonardo said:
>Personally I think that to reap the benefits of just having an 
>SCA is worth paying for, I just don't know what the percentage
>of people is who would lose that incentive if they could get 
>information form someplace other then in a Kingdom newsletter.

I would imagine that very few people pay their memberships JUST to 
recieve a Black Star.  Most people pay their memberships because they 
realize that an organization such as ours requires a constant 
and dependable source of income - it takes many people working full 
and part time jobs to keep the SCA offices running.  It goes back to 
that saying "you can't get something for nothing..."  Someone always 
has to shoulder the expense.  Truth is, the people who do not pay 
dues, for one reason or another, usually benefit from the dues paid 
by someone else (borrowing a Black Star to read, contacting a corporate 
officer for some reason, etc.).  
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying people who aren't paid 
members don't contribute AT ALL.  After all, they do pay site fees,
which benefit local groups and, sometimes, the Kingdom.  (Besides,
I was once a starving college student.  I know how tight money can 
get and what it takes to justify certain expenses).  However, I have 
to agree with Gunnora, if it would reduce the number of people who 
pay their membership dues, then it does our organization a disservice.

Bs. Kat MacLochlainn   /   a.k.a. Lori Jones
Barony of Wiesenfeuer  /   Oklahoma City, OK