CONSEQUENCES of Not Volunteering for Our Club
I gathered some estimates of our 2024 expenditures and found that we luxuriate in about $37,000 a year, made possible by volunteering and earning money through Seattle to Portland and our Pioneer Century®. Our current membership fees bring in about $14,000 (466 members x $30 apiece, average).
So, with about 466 members divided into the costs of items we know and love about our club, that would be about $80 a year for membership to offset the lack of income from our two events.
Volunteering for PBC is essential for us to exist as we know it. We have two big moneymakers each year to fund our activities: Pioneer Century® and the STP Finish Line. Too tired, busy and/or apathetic to help? Please consider what PBC might look like without our willing volunteers. The table below doesn’t reflect everything but is designed to help you realize what we have. ✎
Please be involved and volunteer. While rides are the most important element of our club, PBC is much more than that.
| ACTIVITY | CONSEQUENCES | $$$ |
| Banquet | No awards, no gifts of appreciation, no club subsidized meal, no engraving of shared awards, NO DESSERT!! | $9,400 |
| Club Wear | Any jerseys or vests or other club gear would need to be pre-paid. We would have to meet the minimum order as the club could not order a couple extra to reach the minimum. | $180 |
| Club Meetings | Bring your own snacks and drinks. Not sure where we would meet because we would be unable to rent a meeting room. | $1,400 rent
$450 snacks |
| Board Meetings | We use Zoom now, but they have a subscription fee to allow enough time to actually discuss things. | $98 |
| Ride Leader Workshop | No money to pay for a meeting room or pizza. | $400 |
| Pioneer Century® | We need to spend money to make money. Food, porta-potties, publicity, etc. | N/A |
| Seattle to Portland | While Cascade pays us back for our expenditures on their behalf, having our own money gives us flexibility to handle tasks then wait for reimbursement. | N/A |
| Picnic | It would have to be entirely POTLUCK. Bring your own drink too. And we pay for the picnic spot. | $1,559 |
| Storage Facility | No place to keep our stuff. | $4,200 |
| Publicity | No club promotion, or at least minimized. No brochures, posters or business cards. | $550 |
| Charitable Donations | Our generous spirit may remain, but the ability to act on it would be gone. You can’t share what you don’t have. | $12,000 |
| Website Hosting | We have great folks maintaining our PBC website but sometimes we need help. | $3,000 |
| Library | No new books or videos | $100 |
| Insurance | Membership fees would have to cover that expense. Or, if no events, maybe we could just skip it? Would the board want to serve without directors’ insurance? | $3,600 |
| Membership Fees | Your membership fees currently do not cover fixed costs. They would go up significantly. | +$14,000 |
Ann Morrow, President