International Dues in Context
The depletion of the international treasury began before Dave Remine's terms (July 1, 1999 - June 30, 2003) as International Chairman. Action taken by the International Board of Directors (IBD) at its 1996 meeting initiated steps to decrease the international reserves. [See sidebar for the actual motion considered and passed at the 1996 meeting.] The Minutes of the 1996 meeting do not record the amount of the international reserves at the time, but the intention was to reduce the reserves to £125,000. Total expenses for the fiscal year ending 3/31/96 were £187,730.
Some historical information is necessary for a full understanding of the present situation.
During the early 1980s, American Mensa stopped paying its international dues component. At the time, there was a good reason: Each National Mensa had one vote on the international board; American Mensa was paying probably 60% or more of the Mensa International Ltd. (MIL) income, but it still had only one (1) vote — the same as Ivory Coast Mensa, which had seven (7) members total. It took the drastic step of American Mensa withholding payment of its component for the other individuals on the then International General Council (IGC) to know they had to do something about the egregious imbalance.
The result was a spate of proposed new constitutions, and the current Constitution adopted in 1982 was the final outcome. The international dues component at that time was 10% of dues collected by a National Mensa. In 1982, international Mensa was deeply in debt. The debt was owed to British Mensa, which had carried the international expenses during the time that American Mensa had withheld its payments.
Over the ensuing years, with careful budgeting and managing of international's expenses, the debt was paid off and international Mensa began to accumulate some reserves. During that period, a responsible IBD presented a Constitutional Amendment to decrease the required number of meetings of the IBD from "at least twice a year" to "at least once a year," resulting in a substantial reduction in the amount of money spent on meetings. The fiscal prudence was so effective that the IBD determined that it could reduce the component from 10% of National Mensa dues to 8% and still meet its responsibilities, set out in the Constitution of Mensa.
The Going Forward section that initiated this essay referred to the dues component being "brought back up to 8%." A clarification of terms is necessary: The component was never lowered from the 8% once that number had been established. Temporary (annual) amounts were allowed as rebates during the fiscal years ending March 31, 1998 through March 31, 2003 for payments made two years before in each case. What occurred at the October 2003 IBD meeting was a determination that the reserves were inadequate, and that consequently no rebate should be given in the coming fiscal year.
The 1996 discussions to institute the rebate program (setting the rebate at 25% of component paid) focused on whether a reduced reserve would provide adequate funds for development of new Mensa groups, with the National Representatives (NatReps) from the two largest Mensas and two of the elected officers assuring the rest of the IBD members that the "reserves were larger than needed for `safety'"; the rebate would leave the "financial position `very secure'"; that MIL should not "sit on a mountain of cash"; that sending money back to National Mensas would help to lessen "any unease felt … about how MIL spends its money"; that "existing reserves" would be available if there were a "major development spend"; and that "the financial situation is good" — that "even if one of the two largest component contributors did not pay for one year (which would represent 50% of income), MIL would not go bankrupt."
The IBD decided to retain the 8% designation of international dues components,
but to authorize a rebate to National Mensas, to be determined on an annual
basis until such time as the international reserves were reduced to what
that body might consider appropriate.1
At the 1998 IBD meeting, the rebate was increased from 25% to 37.5%. The discussion this time was more diverse. One officer felt that keeping the 25% rebate in place provided international "Mensa with longer-term balance and stability." A NatRep said that "going back up" from the then-current 25% rebate to the full 8% component would be hard, but going back up from a 37.5% rebate to an 8% component would "be impossible." Others said that "the reserve is more than adequate to support" the further increased rebate; that "MIL could in fact afford" the increased rebate; and that British Mensa was at a critical time, so it "needed more funds for `local purposes,' and an increase in the rebate would provide that." A significant number of NatReps (eight) are recorded as voting against the larger rebate.
In 2000, the rebate was increased to 50% of the established 8% component. One relevant comment was that "the reserves are not decreasing fast enough."
The effect of all these rebates was to lower the effective component payment to 4%. American Mensa members should not bewail the termination of the "rebate" system. They can, of course, appreciate the six years during which American Mensa fattened on the depletion of the MIL reserves.
A very important question is "What is the appropriate amount of reserves for MIL to accumulate?" Opinions on this question will vary. For a period of seven (7) years preceding the 2003 IBD meeting, the IBD accepted £125,000 as being the appropriate amount, with the focus on the amount of money needed for developing new Mensas. In the opinion of this writer, reserves should be not less than one year's budget. If either American Mensa or British Mensa should decide at some time in the future to stop paying component, MIL needs to have funds for the orderly closing of the international office, including meeting all existing contractual obligations such as the lease of the office premises and the employment contract with the Executive Director. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2002, MIL's expenses were £244,817; the general reserves at that date were £126,891, only 51.8% of the year's expenses.
With the annual budget determination of American Mensa at hand, it would be interesting for members of that National Mensa to compare the ratio of American Mensa's reserves to its annual expenses.
— Velma Jeremiah
1 It is significant that the Constitution (Article XI.A.) allows the IBD to assess levies on the National Mensas, but any increase (Article XI.B.) requires the affirmative vote of national representatives of National Mensas whose combined memberships constitute at least 51% of the worldwide membership of Mensa. Thus, the component could not be increased without the vote of American Mensa's NatReps.
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