Adding member value: STC's "growing" concern

by Rahel Bailie, Region 7 Director-Sponsor 

(Adapted from an article by Bonni Graham, Region 8 Director-Sponsor)

By now, you've noticed that the STC web site has a members-only section, where STC has moved some of the site content. You can get to this content by entering your STC membership number—for members like me who never remember our numbers, look on the mailing label of any publication—and a password that was recently emailed to you by the STC office.

Why did we do this? The short answer is that in January 2001, the STC Board of Directors voted to change our policy to allow chapters to restrict certain informational items to members only. The longer answer is that we evaluated the variety of information available on chapter and the Society web sites, and decided that some of it could legitimately be placed behind a login. The distinction lies in STC's status as a charitable organization.

Bill Stolgitis, in the October 2001 Tieline provided the following background and insight:

"Since 1968, when STC was re-organized as a 501(c)(3) charity, STC has devoted the substantial part of its efforts to activities within the scope of its charitable purposes. These activities (e.g., publications, conferences, research, scholarships) can be found in STC's Articles of Incorporation and its bylaws.

"In keeping with its charitable status, STC has made these services available to members and non-members alike. The IRS, however, recognizes that while conducting the daily business of a charity, there will be some activities essential to the charity's well-being that are not, strictly speaking, charitable in nature. The IRS allows these activities so long as they do not constitute a substantial part of the organization's activities.

"For STC, such activities have included selling advertising (magazine and journal), renting the mailing list, and providing employment information (clearly not within the scope of STC's charitable purposes). These activities have always constituted an insubstantial part of STC's total activities.

"STC is fully engaged in many activities that are within the scope of its charitable purposes. And these services must be made available to members and non-members alike. As mentioned above, STC is also allowed to engage in activities that are not within the scope of its charitable purposes so long as these activities are "insubstantial" (a minor financial burden). These non-charitable services may be restricted to members only."

The new STC site at www.stc.org has been arranged to better show the value of STC membership. For starters, as a charitable institution, American STC members can claim STC dues as a charitable donation. For all of us, STC membership remains the best value around, and is an investment in our professional development. I call it my "professional insurance": my STC membership is the insurance I need to keep my professional skills up to date.

The web site's "behind the curtain" items are the Society-level job listings and online content of STC publications (for membership enhancement value), and the member directory (to protect your privacy). At the chapter level, you may also choose to limit access to various services you provide, as long as it does not create an undue burden on chapter finances. Bear in mind that events contributing directly the STC's charitable purpose, such as seminars or chapter meetings, may not be restricted to members only, although members may be charged preferential attendance rates. (If you have any questions, your Director-Sponsor can help chapters figure out ways to implement changes at the local level.) Rather than provide rules for chapters to follow, we can provide guidelines, the foremost being this: give non-members a reason to join STC.