By Janine
Wildwood Tea group and the Walking group met at Gallup Park for a docent-led tour
through the art installation “Embracing Our Differences”
MAILING REPORT
At the end of August, 2023, 823 annual letters were mailed using our most current member list at that time. Of those, 107 were completed and returned; most contained donations. This is an increase of about 10% compared to the last several years. All donations go through a 2-step recording process by both myself and our treasurer. All requests for address or contact information changes were submitted to member data. There were 60 letters returned as undeliverable. This is down considerably from previous years. All our editing efforts are helping!
After checking addresses and emails, those deemed no longer in the area or non-responsive were deleted from the database.
Credit card donations were not as robust as I had hoped. Only a few donations have been made via this method since September. The majority of our donations continue to be in the form of checks and occasional cash.
I will continue with ongoing efforts to edit the database in preparation for this year’s mailing in August. I anticipate a significant decrease in our outgoing letters as a result.
Our mailbox at UPS/Plymouth Road will be renewed for an additional 15 months – to August 2025 – at a cost of $420.
At the International Neighbors Art Fair, 2022
NEIGHBORS REPORT
Fourteen Neighbors joined since September. I would like to have a better system of welcoming these new women with an email. We had talked about re-starting our new member orientation sessions. I think this would be helpful after the Fall Reception. At the Sign-In Table for IN Day, most members indicate they are receiving their newsletters. We are working on streamlining our sign in sheets.
BUDGET ESTIMATES
I anticipate a decrease in the budget for the coming year. Our mailing costs will be down by approximately half with the reduction in our database meaning less printing costs and postage. The mailbox will be renewed as stated previously for $420. We had also discussed having a schedule of IN days printed (green refrigerator list) as in Pre-COVID years which would be an additional printing expense.
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