I wanted to add some things that I had looked into for when the club was ready. Many of these take a lot more money in the bank than we had, and with all the people complaining that we had too much money (when we don't) I never bothered to mention this stuff. It also takes participation..which was low too...but if the club starts to grow again we can look into these things...
Since I'm on my way out here, I thought I throw in my $0.02 now and let you know some of the things I thought about as well as researched....
Member Education Reimbursement Program:
Have a set amount (something like $1000 a year) given to fund a program that allows members to submit their receipts to seminars or other reefkeeping related gatherings (NON-NCPARS) to be refunded a certain amount. The committee would need to pre-approve to make sure there is funding left for the year and that the event is acceptable for the program. Each member would be limited to submitting a set amount per year..like $25 per member or $35 per family membership members and on a first reserved first served basis.
Baltimore Aquarium Trip:
NCPARS gets the bus, we start at PSU go cross state and down to Baltimore. The rates for a group of 10 or more:
Adults: $21.50
Seniors (ages 60 and up): $20.50
Students (ages 12 to18): $15.50
Students (ages 3-11): $13.50
..There is also a 1 hour behind the scene tour of the shark exhibit for $315 for 10 people...this would include the admission to the aquarium. I thought NCPARS could pay the $10 (or so) to upgrade 10 lucky people to have the tour. There's a dolphin one too but that's twice as long and twice as much ($575).
Traveling Tank Exhibit:
Instead of the hefty expense of setting up a permanent system in a school, we work with vendors to develop a semi-portable system. The system would spend a month or two at a school, or some other location and them be relocated to the next stop. The tank would need to break down easy (a few large Mo-Rocks would do it) and then the livestock could be sold off every swap and more bought new so the poor creatures don't become permanently messed up from constant travel. This would take a lot of organization and people willing to give presentations, prepare handouts, and be available for emergencies. Each place we'd have to teach a handful of people to maintain it for the duration.
I had some other thoughts too..but that's enough for now.
--Fizz
