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awhip80 6 years, 6 months ago.
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I am creating this forum for specific topics the membership would lke the BOD to discuss as t our February meeting.
This was emailed to the BOD and i am putting this communication out for visibility of examples we would like membership to throw at us.
1. FUNDRAISING/PATHTAGS/GEOCOINS. There are a lot of possibilities that can be done with trackables that we as an organization can do to both raise awareness of the WGA and raise funds. I posted something about this in the WGA pathtag forum a few months ago here. Specifically, we can state in three areas (WGA website on its own tab, Facebook website on its own pinned post, and the actual pathtag website) that pathtags/coins are available for purchase to help the WGA raise the needed funds to promote geocaching in Wisconsin. See attached PDF for 16 examples of what other geocaching organizations have done to use pathtags to promote fundraising and organization awareness. Some brief pathtag examples (see attachment for graphics and the full text): – “Arkansas Geocachers Association is promoting this tag as a fund raiser for our organization” – “The sale of these tags helps the Michigan Geocaching Organization raise needed funds to help promote the activity of geocaching state wide.” – “We do not trade tags or fulfill wishlist requests directly as we design, make, and sell our pathtags to fund the cost of our webserver.” (Geocaching Australia) – “This tag is the second in a series of fundraising tags to be made by the Iowa Geocachers Organization.” – “This pathtag is one of five of the fourth annual fundraising pathtags for GeocacheAlaska!…The tags will be available as sets only via direct sales from GeocacheAlaska at…” – “Proceeds from the sale of this tag help to fund the annual GONIL Picnic.” (Geocaching Organization of Northern Illinois) – “This tag is the fifth IGO fundraiser. Thanks to all who purchase this tag to help support our mission.” (Iowa Geocachers Organization) – “These tags will be made available to SLAGA members and anyone else who would like one. SLAGA will NOT be trading this tag. It will be sold to raise funds for SLAGA.” (St. Louis Area Geocaching Association) I suppose if I thought about it I could figure out that the WGA makes a profit on the sale of coins and pathtags (and other merchandise), but I don’t recall it being clearly communicated with a call to help fund the organization. Pathtags (and extagz) cost significantly less than geocoins, so people are potentially more likely to purchase them, and in greater quantities with the right promotion. We could encourage people online to purchase packs of five pathtags (or more) for a discount to drop in caches ($3 each, 10 for $25?). Some other organizations do this. Think of what that could do for promoting the WGA; finding WGA pathtags in caches! If people knew it was for raising funds and promoted/encouraged to drop extras into caches, I bet we could sell a bunch more that way. It’s unlikely most geocoins would get put out in the wild because of their cost, but pathtags or similar could possibly be a great promotional tool when placed in caches for a very reasonable price. It’s all about marketing. 2. COMMITTEES As you undoubtedly know, WGA committees are formed to work with the BOD to expand involvement opportunities for the WGA membership, and to improve programs, events, and services to the Wisconsin geocaching community. Some committees are ongoing, and some are formed for short term specific tasks or goals. One of the ways I got involved with more active participation in the WGA was by being invited by Chris Walker (or was Zuma first?) to serve on a committee, as a non-board member. Maybe non-board members are participating in those committees; I don’t have visibility of it. If it’s not being done, it is a wasted opportunity. There’s something about a title of “committee member” that can motivate people to take ownership and action, not unlike the title of being a board of director’s member. It works. Just like a pro football team needs a practice squad to develop new talent, or a professional baseball team needs a “farm team,” having non-board members serve on committees can be a good first step to expand their involvement, and hopefully take some of the load off of board members. As a reminder, here are the committees I’m referring to (copied from GC4NBQA Meet the WGA #5: WGA Committees, which itself was copied from the bylaws): 1. The campout committee includes all 9 members of the WGA Board of directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The campout committee starts new each February, and dissolves 3 weeks after the annual campout is held. The campout committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and task assignment. The campout committee will hold at least one face to face meeting approximately 3 weeks (plus or minus a week) prior to the campout at the location of the campout for final planning, recognizance and cache placement. 2. The picnic committee includes all 9 members of the WGA Board of directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The campout committee starts new each June, and dissolves 3 weeks after the annual picnic is held. The picnic committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and task assignment. The picnic committee will hold at least one face to face meeting approximately 3 weeks (plus or minus a week) prior to the picnic at the location of the picnic for final planning, recognizance, and cache placement. 3. The web committee includes 2-4 members of the Board of Directors and up to 6 other members of the WGA. The web committee is a permanent committee of the WGA. The web committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making and discussion with the web master(s). The primary mission of the web committee is to assist the web master(s) and the Board of Directors to maintain and improve the WGA website. 4. The community education committee includes 2-4 members of the Board of Directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The community education committee is a permanent committee of the WGA. The community education committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and arranging for community education programs. The primary mission of the committee is to advance awareness and understanding of geocaching within Wisconsin. Part of this mission includes the development and implementation of basic geocaching training programs. 5. The membership committee includes 2-4 members of the Board of Directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The membership committee is a permanent committee of the WGA. The membership committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and arranging for membership growth and assistance programs. The primary mission of the committee is to advance awareness and understanding of the WGA among Wisconsin geocachers and grow the membership of the WGA. Part of this mission includes the development of regional events to attract new members and the development and implementation of advanced geocaching training programs for new geocachers to help them grow in their enjoyment of the game. New committees are formed as the need arises. Any new committee that is created needs to have a designated expected life expectancy, a well-defined mission, a description of number of members expected to serve on the committee and at least two Board members on the committee. We are hoping that many WGA members will consider volunteering in some capacity, whether just for a day helping out at an event (the annual campout, the annual picnic, pancake breakfast, geocaching 101 event or continuing education event, etc.), or serving on a committee. Anyway, that’s my brainstorming for the evening. Number one on my list of issues in the past has been Facebook usage of the WGA, but I’m tabling that issue since the board historically prefers to keep it as is. I’m hoping the two topics above will lead to helpful discussion with the new board for 2019 and beyond!
1. FUNDRAISING/PATHTAGS/GEOCOINS.
There are a lot of possibilities that can be done with trackables that we as an organization can do to both raise awareness of the WGA and raise funds. I posted something about this in the WGA pathtag forum a few months ago here. Specifically, we can state in three areas (WGA website on its own tab, Facebook website on its own pinned post, and the actual pathtag website) that pathtags/coins are available for purchase to help the WGA raise the needed funds to promote geocaching in Wisconsin. See attached PDF for 16 examples of what other geocaching organizations have done to use pathtags to promote fundraising and organization awareness.
Some brief pathtag examples (see attachment for graphics and the full text):
– “Arkansas Geocachers Association is promoting this tag as a fund raiser for our organization”
– “The sale of these tags helps the Michigan Geocaching Organization raise needed funds to help promote the activity of geocaching state wide.”
– “We do not trade tags or fulfill wishlist requests directly as we design, make, and sell our pathtags to fund the cost of our webserver.” (Geocaching Australia)
– “This tag is the second in a series of fundraising tags to be made by the Iowa Geocachers Organization.”
– “This pathtag is one of five of the fourth annual fundraising pathtags for GeocacheAlaska!…The tags will be available as sets only via direct sales from GeocacheAlaska at…”
– “Proceeds from the sale of this tag help to fund the annual GONIL Picnic.” (Geocaching Organization of Northern Illinois)
– “This tag is the fifth IGO fundraiser. Thanks to all who purchase this tag to help support our mission.” (Iowa Geocachers Organization)
– “These tags will be made available to SLAGA members and anyone else who would like one. SLAGA will NOT be trading this tag. It will be sold to raise funds for SLAGA.” (St. Louis Area Geocaching Association)
I suppose if I thought about it I could figure out that the WGA makes a profit on the sale of coins and pathtags (and other merchandise), but I don’t recall it being clearly communicated with a call to help fund the organization.
Pathtags (and extagz) cost significantly less than geocoins, so people are potentially more likely to purchase them, and in greater quantities with the right promotion. We could encourage people online to purchase packs of five pathtags (or more) for a discount to drop in caches ($3 each, 10 for $25?). Some other organizations do this. Think of what that could do for promoting the WGA; finding WGA pathtags in caches! If people knew it was for raising funds and promoted/encouraged to drop extras into caches, I bet we could sell a bunch more that way. It’s unlikely most geocoins would get put out in the wild because of their cost, but pathtags or similar could possibly be a great promotional tool when placed in caches for a very reasonable price. It’s all about marketing.
2. COMMITTEES
As you undoubtedly know, WGA committees are formed to work with the BOD to expand involvement opportunities for the WGA membership, and to improve programs, events, and services to the Wisconsin geocaching community. Some committees are ongoing, and some are formed for short term specific tasks or goals. One of the ways I got involved with more active participation in the WGA was by being invited by Chris Walker (or was Zuma first?) to serve on a committee, as a non-board member. Maybe non-board members are participating in those committees; I don’t have visibility of it. If it’s not being done, it is a wasted opportunity. There’s something about a title of “committee member” that can motivate people to take ownership and action, not unlike the title of being a board of director’s member. It works. Just like a pro football team needs a practice squad to develop new talent, or a professional baseball team needs a “farm team,” having non-board members serve on committees can be a good first step to expand their involvement, and hopefully take some of the load off of board members. As a reminder, here are the committees I’m referring to (copied from GC4NBQA Meet the WGA #5: WGA Committees, which itself was copied from the bylaws):
1. The campout committee includes all 9 members of the WGA Board of directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The campout committee starts new each February, and dissolves 3 weeks after the annual campout is held. The campout committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and task assignment. The campout committee will hold at least one face to face meeting approximately 3 weeks (plus or minus a week) prior to the campout at the location of the campout for final planning, recognizance and cache placement.
2. The picnic committee includes all 9 members of the WGA Board of directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The campout committee starts new each June, and dissolves 3 weeks after the annual picnic is held. The picnic committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and task assignment. The picnic committee will hold at least one face to face meeting approximately 3 weeks (plus or minus a week) prior to the picnic at the location of the picnic for final planning, recognizance, and cache placement.
3. The web committee includes 2-4 members of the Board of Directors and up to 6 other members of the WGA. The web committee is a permanent committee of the WGA. The web committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making and discussion with the web master(s). The primary mission of the web committee is to assist the web master(s) and the Board of Directors to maintain and improve the WGA website.
4. The community education committee includes 2-4 members of the Board of Directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The community education committee is a permanent committee of the WGA. The community education committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and arranging for community education programs. The primary mission of the committee is to advance awareness and understanding of geocaching within Wisconsin. Part of this mission includes the development and implementation of basic geocaching training programs.
5. The membership committee includes 2-4 members of the Board of Directors and up to 9 other members of the WGA. The membership committee is a permanent committee of the WGA. The membership committee has a folder at the WGA website for use in decision making, communication, and arranging for membership growth and assistance programs. The primary mission of the committee is to advance awareness and understanding of the WGA among Wisconsin geocachers and grow the membership of the WGA. Part of this mission includes the development of regional events to attract new members and the development and implementation of advanced geocaching training programs for new geocachers to help them grow in their enjoyment of the game.
New committees are formed as the need arises. Any new committee that is created needs to have a designated expected life expectancy, a well-defined mission, a description of number of members expected to serve on the committee and at least two Board members on the committee.
We are hoping that many WGA members will consider volunteering in some capacity, whether just for a day helping out at an event (the annual campout, the annual picnic, pancake breakfast, geocaching 101 event or continuing education event, etc.), or serving on a committee.
*****
Here’s to hoping the two topics above will lead to helpful discussions with the new 2019 BOD and beyond!Following the signals from space.
Hope you don’t mind I formatted the email for easier reading, Dan. This was not my post but worth consideration by the members and the BOD.
My experience with committees will be given if asked for otherwise I’ll sit back a bit.
Following the signals from space.
My experience with committees will be given if asked for otherwise I’ll sit back a bit.
I speak only for myself, but I would appreciate your insight on both of these topics. I’m curious how our opinions align on fundraising and committees.
My posts should in no way be considered as the views or opinions of the WGA or its Board of Directors. All posts made under my name are my personal opinions only.
Thank you WA… when I posted it my phone showed it different than it posted. I saw the paragraphs.
Our meeting is just around the corner and yes we are looking for members not just BoD to step up therefore if any members want to help the sooner the better.
For most state parks we need more than 8 months notice to reserve a location. Early planning helps create larger success.
Glad to see we have action here 🙂 Any and all suggestions will be put on the agenda for the WGA BOD annual face to face meeting sometime in February.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
Chris, please do feel free to add your feedback… not only I, but the membership visibility should be seem. Whether some agree or disagree thats going to happen, but at least others see the feedback.
PATHTAGS
I like the idea of introducing pathtags for the purpose of raising funds for the organization. They are small enough to fit into most caches that are larger than micro sized. They are a great marketing tool for the WGA. And they are a reasonably priced item to place and share in caches throughout the state.
My reservation is; what kind of funds will they bring in if they are offered along side all other memorabilia at the events? Attendees will be purchasing shirts and hats, geocoins and bison tubes; which could surely add up to one’s budgeted event expenditures very quickly. Where will the purchase of the pathtags fit in there? Maybe it would be best to offer these as an online sale during a certain time period, other than to compete for sales along with all the other goodies at the events?
COMMITTEES
I had no idea that these committees existed. I’ve heard talk of committees being formed for purposes such as those listed above. The post above provides a link to a cache which focuses on the committees set forth in the Bylaws. I then looked through the Bylaws which are provided on this website and found nothing referencing those committees. Maybe I overlooked them somewhere??? Getting more involvement from the members in such things as committees, would be great, but if they have no idea where to find the information the rate of volunteering will remain low.
Create a topic on the WGA website for people to post their 2019 geocaching goals, with a drawing for one lucky winner to receive a one-year premium membership to geocaching (or something else, but a premium membership would be optimal). Not only would it be fascinating reading, but would drive traffic to the WGA website. It could also be posted on FB with a link to the WGA website.
COMMITTEES I had no idea that these committees existed. I’ve heard talk of committees being formed for purposes such as those listed above. The post above provides a link to a cache which focuses on the committees set forth in the Bylaws. I then looked through the Bylaws which are provided on this website and found nothing referencing those committees. Maybe I overlooked them somewhere??? Getting more involvement from the members in such things as committees, would be great, but if they have no idea where to find the information the rate of volunteering will remain low.
If you look in the ANNOUNCEMENTS forum topic, it contains all of the WGA announcements and board minutes going all the way back to the WGA beginnings in 2002. Those WGA board minutes, even from year 2002, are still there. Every February they are/were posted. The 2/22/2009 board minutes have the complete text of all committees. This illustrates why having long-term members on the board can be so important. If every board member serves two years and is then done, I think the WGA can lose touch with its history and experiences with member turnover (even though the history is buried in the board forums). Thank you to all board members that are serving even just one term – I’m thankful for all of you – and I recognize that those that serve multiple terms of office provide a continuity that is valued (at least by me) by me in a unique way!
If you look in the ANNOUNCEMENTS forum topic, it contains all of the WGA announcements and board minutes going all the way back to the WGA beginnings in 2002. Those WGA board minutes, even from year 2002, are still there. Every February they are/were posted. The 2/22/2009 board minutes have the complete text of all committees. This illustrates why having long-term members on the board can be so important. If every board member serves two years and is then done, I think the WGA can lose touch with its history and experiences with member turnover (even though the history is buried in the board forums). Thank you to all board members that are serving even just one term – I’m thankful for all of you – and I recognize that those that serve multiple terms of office provide a continuity that is valued (at least by me) by me in a unique way!
I appreciate that you have provided an explanation as to where to find a discussion about committees on the forum, but after skimming through 10 of the 118 pages of topics in ANNOUNCEMENTS and not finding what you referred to I gave up. If these committees are set forth in the bylaws, shouldn’t the language regarding them be easily found within the bylaws that are posted under the “INFO CENTER” tab on the web site?
I also agree that long tenured BOD members are very important, but also see the value in what new members can bring. It is important that there is turnover in the leadership of the organization so that it, too, can change with the times. But, that also means that all past documentation and governing works should be transparent and readily available to membership and those stepping into new leadership roles.
Thank you to all that give so much of your time!
I’m going to throw my two cents in on a couple of these topics in hope of generating some discussion and hopefully action. These are very interesting topics, and both have weight that has been discussed at length, not only at the annual board meeting, but also at just about every monthly meeting.
First, I would like to address the idea of the pathtags as a fundraising tool. Funds are critical to successful operation of our organization, and as we saw several years ago, when things get tight we need to get creative. Pathtags are a quick and easy way to garner attention and funds, but can be problematic if you aren’t careful. Too many or a bad design can result in the WGA sitting on tags that don’t move. The WGA currently offers a small number of tags for sale year round, and we offer a limited edition pancake tag for West Bend. In the WGA’s current state, additional fundraising is not necessary, and could compromise future fundraising activities if the need arises. If the membership demands change in a way that the WGA finds a need to spend more money, then more money will have to be raised to support these activities. Keeping unique sources of revenue in our back pocket for times of need is a good idea.
On to committees. I am in favor of general members being on the committees with the support of the board members. I would be excited to work together in larger groups to help make our events even better. With the involvement of the membership, it would make the events more theirs and less belonging to the board of directors. My only hope would be that we can get enough involvement to make the committees a success and not just return to the board being the only participants in organizing the events.
Keep the great discussion going here, we need feedback from the members to help us do a better job in making your Wisconsin Geocaching Association the best it can be.
My posts should in no way be considered as the views or opinions of the WGA or its Board of Directors. All posts made under my name are my personal opinions only.
On to committees. I am in favor of general members being on the committees with the support of the board members. I would be excited to work together in larger groups to help make our events even better. With the involvement of the membership, it would make the events more theirs and less belonging to the board of directors. My only hope would be that we can get enough involvement to make the committees a success and not just return to the board being the only participants in organizing the events.
I 100% agree with this. More membership involvement is needed in the events.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
I will leave the pathtag/coin topic to those who create and collect them. This is my input regarding committees.
My past experience: At one time, I was on a WGA campout committee. I joined because a general request went out to members who might be interested. It was sort of a local location for me. The committee names always showed up on the website at the bottom (this was several website iterations ago), but if you clicked on them and didn’t have access, it didn’t allow access. Committee members started their own threads for questions and input. We did everything online, but I remember going to the campout site to measure some things. As stated above, it was a temporary committee. I am sure the record of communications continued on in cyberspace somewhere if someone needed to access it. That is helpful, because I also remember helping with the pancake breakfast, and the previous committee members showed me things like how to pack the supplies and how to have things ready for the next breakfast. As in the childhood game of telephone, I think some things get lost in the translation.
Like me, I think many WGA members are happy to help, but can’t commit to long term service. Perhaps they can organize ahead of time, but can’t be at an event. Maybe they can do “day of” tasks at an event, but don’t have the time to do “plan ahead” tasks. Some people might like to be on a permanent committee, for as long as they are able or needed. Since I don’t know what the current status of these committees are, I don’t know how much further participation is needed. Even if WGA members aren’t part of a committee, they could have a way to offer input to the committee. So, it is my thinking that I would contact a BOD member if I had any time or ideas to share, and the BOD member could direct me to the people in charge of that. If there is a better way to do that, I don’t have any immediate ideas, but I am sure the board can decide that.
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