From: Anselm Lingnau <anselm@strathspey.org> To: strathspey@strathspey.org Subject: RSCDS Membership/Branches/Affiliation FAQ (was: RSCDS membership Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:26:54 +0200 Reply-To: strathspey@strathspey.org Wow. The amount of confusion is absolutely astonishing. It seems there is room for (tadaaa!!) ANSELM'S LITTLE RSCDS MEMBERSHIP/BRANCHES/AFFILIATION FAQ ========================================================= Please point out any errors or omissions. You may want to have a copy of the RSCDS constitution and rules handy for reference. This is available from the RSCDS web site at http://www.rscds.org/ . I may put this on the Strathspey web site in a few days' time if there is interest; if HQ wants to pick this up and run with it, feel free. Membership ---------- Q. What kinds of Society membership are there? A. The only kind available now is annual individual membership. This is �17 if you become a member directly through RSCDS headquarters; if you become a member of a branch the branch gets to pay a �10 capitation fee but may put some money on top to cover its own activities. You need to be 16 years of age to join. There used to be 10-year �long-term� memberships at 10 times the price of annual membership at the time the 10 years started; this did not look like huge savings up-front, but basically this was a bet by the member against the Society that annual dues would increase during their 10-year tenure. This bet was invariably won by the member. There also used to be a �life� membership, which must have been a wonderful deal when it was still available. Sadly, it no longer is, and hasn't been for 15 years or so. There is a motion on the table for the 2008 AGM to introduce various levels of membership as in youth, young adult, and couple-living-together, at different discounted prices and benefit/privilege levels. We'll see how this comes out. Q. What is better, headquarters or branch membership? Branch membership. Headquarters is not a branch and thus does not get to send voting delegates to the Society AGM, hence headquarters members have no representation there. Before you dress up as a Native American and throw tea chests from ships into Boston harbour, though, it is probably easier to join a branch instead. This may also get you additional benefits like a branch news letter, lots of local friends and acquaintances, and discounts on branch activities. Branches/Local Associations --------------------------- Q. What is the difference between a �branch� and a �local association�? A. None. It turns out that �local association� (LA) is the official name for what used to be called the RSCDS branches. This change came about because the Society had to ensure, for legal reasons, that the RSCDS branches were independent of RSCDS headquarters -- the idea being that, for example, if a branch went bankrupt, RSCDS headquarters would not be left liable for any outstanding debts of that branch. The situation nowadays is that LAs are legally independent entities that license, among other things, the right to use the RSCDS name and logo from RSCDS headquarters. We still call them �branches�, though. Q. How do RSCDS branches come into being? A. You get together with like-minded people in your area and convince the Society that you should be called a �branch�. This usually means agreeing to structure one's operations along the lines of a �model constitution� that the Society provides, and executing a �model license agreement� with the Society, all of which should be available from RSCDS headquarters. Other conditions include promising to behave, and to submit regular reports from the branch's AGM. The full chapter and verse is in section VI of the Society's �Rules�. (As a matter of fact you just need to convince two members of the Management Board, one of whom must be a Society office-bearer.) Q. What do you mean �model� constitution/license agreement? A. The RSCDS has certain ideas about how a branch should be organised, which are contained in the �model constitution�. This document is, however, exactly that -- a model that may have to be adapted to local laws and procedures. The same goes for the license agreement. The exact content of the documents in question is open to negotiation. Q. What about the two-teacher/two-class rule? A. Purportedly, it used to be that a branch needed to include two RSCDS-certificated teachers, and hold two dance classes separated in space or time. However there is nothing of the sort written in the current Rules. There are branches that do not hold regular classes at all, and it says nowhere that a branch must actually have any members at all, let alone a set number of members with an RSCDS teacher certificate. Q. Must I be a member of the Society in order to become a member of a branch? A. As of now, yes (this is Rule VI.2.a). There is a motion on the table for the 2008 AGM to lift this restriction. Q. Must I be a member of a branch in order to become a member of the Society? A. No. You can be a �headquarters� member. However, the headquarters membership do not get to send delegates to the AGM, thus do not get to vote (this is section 43 of the RSCDS constitution). Q. Must I live near where a branch operates in order to become a branch member? A. That depends on the branch. Many branches aren't very particular in this regard. There is also the �International Branch� that accepts members from anywhere. Q. Can I be a member of several branches at the same time? A. Certainly. The thing to watch out for is that you only need to be a member of the Society *once*. Usually branches collect the annual membership fees on the Society's behalf, so watch out that you only pay your RSCDS (non-branch) dues once unless you are well-to-do and don't grudge the Society the extra money -- we need it! Affiliated Groups ----------------- Q. What is an �affiliated group�? A. An �affiliated group� is a dance group or club that elects to pay an annual fee to the Society in order to show up in the Society's list of affiliated groups. As an additional sweetener, the group gets a spare copy of the RSCDS magazine. Q. What is the difference between an �affiliated group� and a branch? A. Branches agree to various things that the Society wants from them and get the right to use the RSCDS name and logo in return. Affiliated groups are free to do whatever they please as long as they pay their annual fee and don't get the right to use the RSCDS name and logo. Q. How does a group get affiliated? A. By applying to the Society and having the Management Board agree. There is an annual fee. Q. Do I need to be a Society member to join an affiliated group? A. No; the Society doesn't mind whether you do or don't. Q. Do members of an affiliated group automatically become members of the Society? A. No; if they want to join they have to do that themselves. However, secretaries of affiliated groups often handle the required paperwork on behalf of interested group members in order to become �headquarters� members (see above). It may often be advisable to join a local branch instead if there is one, or the International Branch, because headquarters members do not have representation at the Society AGM. Q. Is an affiliated group affiliated to the local branch or to RSCDS in Edinburgh? A. The latter. There is no official, Society-sanctioned way of becoming affiliated to an RSCDS branch although it is probably a good idea, on general principles, for an affiliated group to be on speaking terms with branches in the vicinity, and vice-versa. -- Anselm Lingnau, Friedberg, Germany ... anselm@strathspey.org Perhaps [job security]'s the reason so many of these complex and crufty systems are economically viable--and why so many academic systems aren't. Academicians should remember to add a healthy helping of cruft and complexity to their designs. -- Mark Kilgard