Club membership seeks to boost monthly dues increase to $2
National Press Club President Jen Judson came to the Club’s General Membership Meeting Friday, Oct. 21, with a proposal for a $1 per month dues increase. She left with a bigger hike to take back to the Club board of governors.
The members in attendance voted in favor of a $2 per month increase after several people backed a stronger show of support for the Club. There was no quorum at the meeting, which means the higher increase was a “sense of the membership” action.
Judson will now present two options to the board. One is for the original $1 per month increase and the other for the $2 boost. The $2 increase would be for all membership categories except Young Members, which would have a $1 increase. The board must approve the dues adjustment.
The Club is considering raising dues for the first time since 2019. There was no dues increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the Club offered a buy-one-get-one-free membership for a brief time in 2020. The approximately 500 members who took advantage of the deal received both a 2021 and 2022 membership when they paid 2021 dues in advance.
The Club is now returning to its usual practice of proposing a modest dues increase.
“While the Club is getting back on good financial footings, we still have more than $1.6 million in debt remaining from the pandemic, and so we need several years of strong business performance to retire that,” Judson said at the GMM. “Dues revenue is part of business performance.”
Almost all of the 48 members in attendance supported for the $2 increase after a motion was offered by Andrea Edney, a former Club president who is now serving as secretary of the National Press Club Journalism Institute board. Five people opposed the motion.
“When you love something, you’re willing to pay for it,” Communicator member Shawn Bullard said.
Journalist member Ellyn Ferguson drew applause when she explained why she is willing to pay $2 more per month to be part of the Club.
“I view my dues not only as an investment in the Club but as an investment in journalism in D.C.,” Ferguson said. “I would ask everybody to look at it that way.”
The Club’s finances are strengthening as business continues to climb back toward pre-pandemic levels. The Club anticipates a profit in 2022 and has budgeted revenue growth and a modest profit in 2023.
Since the last GMM in May, the Club has had some of its best financial months. It achieved revenue of greater than $1 million in May, June and September, and anticipates profits in October and November.
Judson received a couple of questions at the meeting about the Club’s plans for further reopening to in-person activity. The Reliable Source is open for lunch each week day and for dinner on Thursday and Friday.
But the Club has to see greater demand before adding more nights of dinner service. It’s an example of how the Club’s reopening depends on the number of members who participate in it.
“We want to be back and fully opened,” Judson said. “We’re just not there yet. People say they want to come. They’re just not coming. We need all members to support the life of the Club. For us to succeed, we need to come home to the Club.”
The Club has approximately 2,700 members, Membership Secretary Mike Balsamo said. That number includes 1,400 Journalist Members and almost 1,100 Communicator Members. The fastest growing category is Young Members, which now totals 323, a 14% increase since May.