What is the subscription fee for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025?
| Date of Joining | Total Subscription | WI Share | CFWI Share | NFWI Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April-30 June | £48.00 | £23.60 | £11.30 | £13.10 |
| 1 July-30 September | £36.00 | £17.70 | £8.48 | £9.82 |
| 1 October-31 December | £24.00 | £11.80 | £5.65 | £6.55 |
| 1 January-31 March 2025 | £12.00 | £5.90 | £2.83 | £3.27 |
Your WI may be altering the amount you charge for the WI portion in line with the new flexibility policy. For more information on this, please see MyWI.
When and how should WIs collect subscriptions?
For the new subscription year that begins on 1 April 2024, WIs must collect subscription payments from their members as soon as possible. WIs should send the federation and NFWI portion, with the accompanying information, to their federation by 30 April. After this time WIs can still send subscriptions to their federation for members who join or pay later in the subscription year.
WIs must also ensure Membership Communication System (MCS) Reps keep the MCS up to date with member information and committee/board roles.
WI subscriptions can be collected in the form of cash, cheque or via online or telephone banking. Asking members to pay their subscription fee using online or telephone banking if they have this is easier and quicker to administrate than cheques. If WIs are collecting subscriptions by post, or any method which is not completely secure, please do not use cash.
Why is it important that subscriptions are paid to WIs and sent to CFWI and the NFWI as soon as possible?
At the beginning of each new subscription year, MCS Reps add or update members’ personal information on the MCS. This ensures members who have joined or renewed receive communications from their WI and federation, get WI Life sent to them, and have access to MyWI. MCS representatives can only do this when they know which members have joined or renewed and which members have not.
WIs, federations, and the NFWI need to be able to use the MCS to get accurate membership data including membership figures, members on committees/boards, and member contact information. Also, all three levels of the organisation rely on their portion of the subscription fee for budgeting, planning, and running costs.
What should a WI do if a member does not renew their subscription by 30 April?
The WI Secretary, or the appointed person, should contact the member by telephone or email and ask whether they intend to renew their subscription. It is important this is handled sensitively as in addition to the practical difficulties of the past year, members may be struggling emotionally, financially or with their health. If the member does wish to renew, agree on a reasonable time period for their payment, e.g. one month. Payment can be delayed further than one month if the member is struggling with making a payment; we ask that the emphasis is put on member safety.
If the member is renewing an existing membership please make it clear they will be paying the full amount even at a later date and not the pro-rata rate.
If the member has not paid by the agreed date, contact them again to see if there are any difficulties. A second time period for their payment may then be agreed upon. If the member has not paid by the second agree date, contact them to inform them their membership will be suspended until payment is made. Follow up all telephone conversations with emails or letters reiterating what has been agreed if possible.
The MCS Rep must ensure that when change occurs, i.e. when members renew or leave the WI, the MCS is updated promptly. This is because only members who have paid their subscription for the year should receive the benefits that membership includes such as receiving WI Life. Further, if the subscription is paid (meaning the membership is being reactivated on MCS) the member must receive her benefits as soon as possible including WI Life and access to MyWI.
I can understand the reasoning behind these STRICT new guideline’s but feel that both National and County should realise that committee’s work very hard on a voluntary basis and have commitments outside of WI and should not be put under this extra pressure.
Janis, please contact your WI Adviser if you need help. Federations are under the same pressure as WIs when it comes to making sure we collect subscriptions in time, and all of the Trustees and Advisers are, like you, volunteers with other commitments. But this is something we’re all going to have to help with as late subscriptions result in a huge financial loss for our organisation.