Membership and Additional Costs
- Joining costs $40 per family, annually
- Most events are free and some cost money
- You have no obligations
- We collect small donations from our member families to pay for operations and subsidize some costs
The cost per event varies a lot. Many are free and the most expensive currently are around $100 per person (a roof for two nights, plus meals and activities for the weekend). We’ll always be very transparent about the costs, do our best to estimate them as far ahead of time as possible, and give everyone time to schedule and commit to anything they want.
Sample Costs
Instead of having a higher base fee and trying to balance that across the wide variety of events types and costs, we just ask people to pay as needed for specific events. You’ll know when you RSVP what the costs will be, but here are some examples from typical events over the past years:
- Hike in the metro parks: FREE
- Board game night: FREE (with potluck snacks)
- Bowling: $10/bowler
- Tent camping at Findley State Park: Free, but you need to bring your own food and gear, and we might do a group pizza order
- Camp Fitch Winter Weekend: $100/person, includes 4 meals and heated lodges with bunks for everyone (shared quarters). YMCA staff provides activities all day, including archery, rock climbing, crafts, sledding
- Pinewood Derby: car kits are under $10
Funding Everything Else
Running a group like this does have some basic costs. We spend a little bit on pizza parties, and on recruiting, and on having a website. We also pay for some group events, especially where the cost is low and flat regardless of how many people show up, so that we can have more “free” events. We buy supplies routinely for events, like dishware or crafting supplies or lemonade.
To pay for this, we ask periodically (hopefully just once a year) for donations. This process is new, as we used to just have a higher registration fee, but we want to make the group as financially accessible as possible.
After you become a member, you’ll receive a request for donation. It’s optional. We’ll explain how much money we need and offer some suggestions for donations that will sustain our operation for the year. If you aren’t able to donate, then don’t. If you are, we’ll put it to good use.