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I have attended a fair number of anniversary balls in my Rotary career, and lest I may be misunderstood, let me say upfront that I have enjoyed most of them. I had attended a good proportion in my official capacity, either as a government official or as a Rotary official, but regardless of the capacity, they were all fun. Well, mostly, anyway. The problem is that they are rather costly, particularly if they are to achieve the objectives for which the events were held in the first place. Annual Balls are primarily for fun, fellowship, PR and fund raising. Some of the objectives can be competing and conflicting. Many Rotarians have said that the total expenses on an annual ball can far exceed the net takings at the end of the day. Against this background, the founders of Kingspark had taken a conscious decision from the start that our anniversary balls would not be for fund raising primarily and that they should be a family affair. To ensure that we would have sufficient funds for service projects, we include in our monthly subscription or dues an amount. We think that this is the most equitable means of fund raising and would indeed fully meet the conditions of the 4-Way Test. Under the system, each member is committed to pay a minimum and equal amount towards the Club for funding the Club's projects, regardless of whether he or she attends the anniversary celebrations. A collateral benefit of the policy is that the Ball Chairman, normally the President-elect would not be under pressure to raise funds from the event which very often could detract and degenerate other objectives of the event. |