Club - and Forum - survival

In the course of this September's AGM the Treasurer's report highlighted an alarming trend of declining funds, which could potentially mean the Club, and therefore the forum which is supported in the main by membership fees.

In the light of this it was agreed that a number of measures be taken - these include economies in internal admin, and not displaying a Coupé at the NEC Classic Car Show for at least a year (next one potentially November 2023).

At current rates the Club is losing around £800 per annum so, with support from many members who have commented on it, the membership fee will increase from £10 to £15 p.a. from 1st January 2023. This fee is still regarded by many as minimal but it is this income which pays for the forum.

The Board would like to state in the strongest terms that if the Club is not supported it may not survive and this will of course have a knock-on effect outside of it.

There are many people who visit the forum to take advantage of its resources and who are not Club members. Likewise there are probably more on the FaceBook Club who are not FCCUK members but still benefit from visiting our forum.

We urge these users to consider joining our Club in order to maintain its existence.

(If you wish to avoid the increase then now - before the end of December - is the time to join.)

Simon Coverdale
Club President

Sad to hear, but £15 is still great value. Just a thought, would it make sense to amalgamate with another Fiat Club e.g. Barchetta if there is one for that model?

Thanks Andrew, yes there is indeed a Barchetta Club.

I'm not sure about the logistics of amalgamating Clubs, I imagine it could be quite complex - not wishing to sound too stick-in-the-mud I feel our Club needs to sort its own house out without taking on other Club's baggage and vice versa!

It is something the Club has considered as far as a presence at a future NEC show is concerned though...

Needs to be done. I've certainly got more than my subs worth of benefit from this club.

Would it be possible to add an (optional) donation option? For those who are able to give a little more.

This has indeed been a feature of thr distant past Andrew, before my recollection anyway - unfortunately whenI enquired as to its success, the answer was "zero" !

I've always thought the club has been run very well by the volunteers behind the scenes and it's appreciated.

All these years and Ive still never managed to get into the workshop manual.
If this club could create a hard book type workshop manual it would be fantastic.
And to put money where my mouth is I would be willing to pay up front for one and would be happy to give a donation to help it become a real thing.

As a club member of many years I've never understood why we keep getting the 'membership package' it's a total waste of time and resources.
Just my member number on my avatar is fine with maybe a message in receipt of payment.
Stacks of cards,stickers and tax disc holders are only taking up room in my couoe history file.

Lastly,giving members monetary help in any form to attend anniversary events,other events,shows etc is not good and I'm totally against it.

Thanks Joe, indeed the stationery you refer to is to be limited.

I can't understand (although you've probably documented this many times) why you can't access the Workshop Manual, most of which is available.

Sorry to be a pain but would you mind describing again where you are prevented from accessing it?

I'll re-check your permissions

Now "I" can't get in!

I've escalated this Joe, bear with us...

Mystifyingly I can now get in

Joe, can you see this page at all when clicking the link

Joe, try logging into the workshop manual with the username of "joe maguire" and your forum password

Beat me to it!

You have a PM Joe

I may have to use a computer with a keyboard to get into it I think. Being a technophobe is probably the main reason. But when I get the chance I will have another go.
Thanks.

More than happy with the increase. It’s long overdue especially considering the amount of information available and assistance given.

I'm guessing Facebook is part of the issue as those groups are free, it would be sad day if this forum wasn't around

I'm happy to put a donation in (Happily commit to £50 right now), in addition to being a paid member if this is what the club is open to

Regards Jamie

That's an extremely generous offer Jamie


It's difficult to compare like-for-like; this forum and FB come from such a different financial base. They are funded by advertising and we are not, they are able to afford a more colourful exterior and perhaps more transient, we have a more elderly and less expensive website (which we neverless have to pay for annually) but a vast store of knowledge.

For those that prefer not to be regaled by ads this is your haven (unless one or two selected/auto-related companies are invited in a modest way to provide an extra income stream) and this is the eventual repository of most of the info and experiences you'll ever need.

There is a high element of autonomy here which may not be prevalent in FB, but the latter is probably easier to join and use - we aim to do something about the registration process...

...and so on. I reckon there's room for both and I'm inclined to disagree with those who forecast an imminent demise.

no problem Simon

PS_ it took me many attempts to get into the workshop manual as well

Cheers Jamie

Simon I'm sorry if my comments earlier seemed negative. That's certainly not my intention. I want what's best for this club. To me that's simple.
Transparency is top of the list with no hidden agenda from any contributors.

The impression I'm getting is that we are fighting a losing battle. I don't think so,as the ethos of the club remains the same.
Good car,good people. And that's from all over the world not just uk.

We've had constructive comments from ex coupe owners very recently that shows they still have the passion.

I urge all ex members to think on and the fun we all have had in the past,to re join as members. It's the price of a couple of beers ffs. Which I will stand you when we all meet again.


Edit to add. It's very dissapointing to search on here and find various people that have earnt thousands of pounds from this club forum and can't be arsed to keep up membership. And that includes many that have sold thousands of pounds worth of parts,in past,over the years.

I don't post much on the forum, however I do visit it most days. I find the amount of technical information invaluable. There is always something to learn and I can usually find useful techical help when working on the car.

I am more than happy to pay the increased membership costs. £15 is great value for money considering the access it grants to all the accumulated knowledge and wisdom about the Coupe. It's less than a couple of gallons of super unleaded.

Fighting talk Joe - that's what survival is. Thanks for your support

@TonyB, thanks also, much appreciated

It's a healthy sign that club members are confident in putting forward their views.
I'm sure that the board listen to all sides, before making a decision that they feel best protects the club.
Best regards to all.
Paul

Also happy with a price increase. Even £20 would be cheap for all the good info and help on here. Plus the community feel.

I'm not sure what the answer is in the longer term, but I'm glad the forum has survived the fickle world of social media.

When I joined I was amazed membership was only £10, so perfectly happy to pay £15/£17.50/£20. The help, advice and community of the forum is well worth the membership even without all the other events.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and opinions. It's quite clear how much the Club is held in high regard - I myself have been strongly influenced by the previous work of others behind-the-scenes and their ethos. They have maintained the Club for the benefit of others and it is the present Board's continuing task to leave it in good shape for the future.

As you may be aware the Board has been holding regular meetings online, usually monthly, for almost two years now. I am of a firm belief that this helps not only to bring the team together by meeting "face-to-face" (connection permitting ) but to keep better abreast of current developments through live discussion.

Topics include Club matters, Forum issues and questions raised by members/users. As long-term users will know the Forum on occasion has presented challenges ranging from initial registration to unexpected glitches - it's worth pointing out again that with only modest resources this website was as much as was affordable and appropriate at the time of creation, configured without adverts, and maintained by one or two people who kept things tidy. New people, less familiar with the workings, have come on board and are learning, almost from scratch, the intricacies of its ways - yes there are issues which need tidying up and others which are gradually coming to light, and a rethink of these will hopefully streamline use for years to come.

I'll happily match Jamiepm's donation.

What about making the membership fee a voluntary sum with 15 or 20 pounds being the minimum amount?

Been a while since posting but had to comment. Forum is a fantastic, invaluable resource. Membership is currently too cheap and not reflective of the benefits/ information provided. Happy with any increase as I'm sure the knowledge here has paid for it ten fold in my experience, including discounts!

Absolutely agree with all those sentiments - £20 well worth paying for all the benefits

I'd happily pay £20 a year and would consider a donation too. Its a very small percentage of what I spend on the actual car each year!

The information contained within the forum is priceless and cannot be replaced.

Long live the forum!

Many thanks chaps for your supportive comments and for continuing your membership.

A few of you have mentioned donations. We've looked into restoring a long-defunct "Donate" button (which I can't actually remember ) which during its tenure produced nothing!

The good news - as far as the Club is concerned - is that several people have already been kind enough to submit either a donation (one substantial) or something extra on top of their membership renewal fee. This would be a good opportunity to say a big thank-you on behalf of the Club for their generosity; their details however have not been displayed publicly for the sake of their privacy. You know who you are

Edinburgh,

This is good news.

Whist I wouldn't want to impact anyone dealing with the incessant increase in costs, inflation, taxation and food shortages that are uniquely affecting those who live within the remaining realms of the UK - can I suggest that its important for the club to set a membership fee that covers the yearly outgoings.

I can't think of what else £15 per year would pay for - that would in anyway match the fantastic level of support, information, technical detail and guidance you get from this forum if your an owner of a Coupe.

The fee has been discussed as being comically too low for several years previously.

And it's got to be sensible for the club to at least set the membership cost level to the club to cover at least the standard outgoings annually so its not in deficit each year. Or relying on the generosity of a few members to make up the difference.

I hope this is taken as a practical suggestion by all that are club members/and those that use this forum but may not have felt like they should joint to this point.

Regards

Hi Simon,
if you can get the donate button sorted, I'll happily contribute

Cheers Jamie

community events is the answer, I think

to bring people together, to promote 'the family', which will in turn promote the 'forum & 'club


time for another Coupe Tour...