[chapter-delegates] New Expanded membership program

[Patrick Vande Walle]

Lynn St.Amour wrote:

> we look forward to receiving constructive suggestions on how to 
> better meet all member needs.
Lynn,

Here are my, hopefully, constructive suggestions on how to extinguish 
the fire.

1. Associate member

Let us return to "global members" and find a new name for the new 
category. I suggest "contributing member", but options are open, should 
we wish to keep this category at all.

2. Complementary memberships offered to org members

I am not convinced there is a demand from org members. Further, it looks 
  like a way to offer then a discount on their contribution. Finally, 
this could be seen as a way to reinforce the org representation within 
the BoT. I do not mean this _is_ the hidden agenda, but is how it is 
perceived. If we wish to lift this perception, we should get rid of 
these complementary memberships.

3. $75 amount

We should have different levels according to the region and special 
rates for students. Whatever amount we ask, we must offer a return on 
investment which justifies the amount paid, not just a voting right. 
Also, we should offer alternatives to credit card payments, which are in 
themselves a digital divide.

I witness we discussed this at length at various board meetings, but I 
would not say we achieved a broad consensus on the details. Further, 
this is a 3 year old project and the reactions on the chapter-delegates 
list show the context has changed and we need to adapt accordingly.

Let's start it over again and make sure we don't need another 3 years to 
implement it. Members have now voiced their concerns. To me, this seems 
more informative that whatever YES/NO surveys we have implemented in the 
past.

Patrick