FMCA

[kev]

Today in the mail was my membership renual notice.  It is now doubled in price.  So I started to do some digging.  Found this

and I am here wondering what is going on. There is conversation on rvforums.com also.   

 

 

[erniee]

My dues are paid up till next year. I use to post on here for flooring. But since I got too old-77- don’t need it anymore. 

[bobww]

FMCA is in the process of changing to Family RV Association (FRVA). This is part of our expansion to provide resources and benefits to all owners of recreational vehicles and those interested in owning an RV. This is a long term recognition that we are a great resource and the changing RV marketplace (fewer coaches and more towables). The decision was made by the Governing Board back in August. We have been working with a professional branding consultant on a logo and other items since. We are in the process of fully rolling out these changes to our various platforms.  In addition, the Governing Board approved increasing the dues. This is the first dues increase in many years. In retrospect, it would have been less of a shock if we had made smaller increases in dues during this time. Why the need for the dues increase? Our membership has been decreasing (part of the reason for the name change) and our expenses have been increasing. We have run in the red for eight of the past ten years. We needed to address this issue before we ran out of reserves. We have substantially decreased expenses including reducing our staffing levels but this did not resolve the issue. We needed to increase revenue as well. I hope this helps you understand what is going on. If you have additional questions, either post them here or email them to me at bobww.fmca@gmail.com

[rayin]

Bob, it is my opinion you/ governing board have 2 choices;

 #1, Continue on  the present path, which is try to please everyone to increase membership; which from my experience never works well.

#2. Revert to the old format of being an exclusive club for motorhome owners only, and cater to these members. If a person owns a motorhome they usually have greater finances and enjoy the company of other MH owners.

Sorry, I forgot #3. File bankruptcy and hope Harvest Hosts buys the club, with the same downsides as Escapees is now experiencing.

Edited Monday at 02:21 AM by rayin

[erniee]

Don’t sell it to Thor~

[elkhartjim]

FMCA/FMA/FRVA/ etc, raised dues a few years ago by a few dollars and there was such a drop in membership renewal that they had a dues rollback very quickly. Just look to Washington and you should realize you can't tax (raise dues) your way to prosperity.

"This is a long term recognition that we are a great resource and the changing RV marketplace". Are you kidding me, there are no resources available from FMCA that aren't available free or for a reasonable cost from other groups. I know, the medical evacuation plan, but do you really believe the younger crowd you're trying to attract will be interested since they rarely travel more than a few miles from home on their weekend trips?

Apparently, Escapees and Good Sam are hemorrhaging but their leadership had the wisdom to cut their losses and move on. How many more major rally's can FMCA finance when they are all losing operations?

IMHO, FMCA will fail and not because there aren't enough members but because the leadership has failed to lead. 

[erniee]

Raising the dues to help get new members is like shooting yourselves in both feet.

[palibs]

I would like to thank everyone on this forum for taking the time to provide your thoughts and ideas about the future of Family RV Association. 

The Governing Board made the decision in Redmond to increase the dues to $99.00 per year. The increase was more than the Executive Board expected but in retrospect we think it was a good decision. Our Dues were raised to $50 in July 2015, and except for the 16 months in the middle when dues were raised to $75 and then dropped back to $50, they have stayed the same. I think the EB and the GB should have been raising them every year during this time frame to keep up with inflation and minimize the appearance of such a large increase. 

I firmly believe that the benefits we provide along with the discounts we negotiate, make the $99 dues a bargain. 
To purchase a Medical Evacuation Program that even gets close to the benefits we provide with our membership, will cost well over $200.00 annually. 
The cost of everything to do with our Magazine has increased significantly during the last 9 years. Our options are to do away with the magazine or fund it so our members can continue to enjoy what they list as one of our most important benefits. Postage has increased almost 60% during this time frame. 
Our tire program and our Family RV Association insurance both save our members a significant amount of money which more than covers the cost of our annual dues.

Our dues increase is going to allow us to maintain our current benefits and expand what we provide our members.  This will ensure our continued position as the Premier RV Association in the RVing community. 

Thank you for being the best part of the Family RV Association, 

Paul

Paul G Mitchell
Family RV Association
National President
https://fmca.com
209-815-1837
 

 

 

[dp26]

It could be a disservice to be irresponsible. If $99 and inflation increases get to or close to break even, then it must be done or perish. Same decision any business makes. Well, the ones that survive do. 

Taking away services to keep the price low is surely fail. I suspect the benefits are why most join and stay. Sure, some enjoy he club aspect, but that number seems like a small percentage.