LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Sponsors and Members,
First, thank you for ongoing support to the Goodtimes Dance Club. Your past, current and future support will be vital to the continuation of our ability to provide the highest quality dancing experience to everyone.
It has been my pleasure to serve as your President for two years now, and as Vice President and Secretary prior to that. As a member for the last 10 years, there have been many changes and I’ve been blessed to meet so many people and become such good friends with some of you. Our Club has grown in breadth and depth and it is exciting to see a full dance floor every month of enthusiastic, positive dancers of all ages.
My Presidency will end June 30th and Lisa Boesen, our current marketing and communications Board chair (and fabulous emcee at our breaks) will transition into the President’s role on July 1st. I am confident she will provide us with strong leadership as we move in a new direction.
As shared at the April dance, we will shortly become a different type of IRS designation club by transitioning from a 501(c)7 private club to a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We have been fortunate to utilize a non-profit consultant to assist us in this endeavor. Although the process has been challenging, we are making progress and hope to have the final IRS designation letter soon. None of this would have happened without Lisa’s foresight, determination and hard work that this is the right thing for the club going forward. In the meantime, we have been given clearance to begin functioning as a true 501(c)3.
I’m sure many of you have questions about what this change means and how it might impact your membership status. Please carefully read the details below:
1) Name - We were able to maintain our 35-year-old name, so we can continue to share ourselves as a “Club” in marketing and community engagement conversations. This is great news as it allows for continuity of communication and gives all of us the ability to stay connected with our individual “club” verbiage.
2) Status - Since becoming a 501(c)3, we will no longer have private club memberships options.
3) Sponsors - We will still have Sponsor options that will offer the most affordable opportunities for those wishing to provide core financial support by taking advantage of the yearly package. This will not change. The Sponsors will not have to pre-register for a dance. As now, they will have access to the website, receive permanent badges, and be given precedence for special offers, etc. – not unlike other non-profits providing special recognition to those who are supporters of the organization.
4) Members – We will no longer have this category of membership. The general public who wish to attend a dance will just register online and pay before the dance, but there will not be a $5 membership, as is the current option.
5) Board Structure– The non-profit consultant was invaluable in assessing our current function and structure and recommending changes to improve. With this new designation, we have a new set of Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. These will be posted on the website for anyone who wishes to read them. The biggest change is that, in July, the Board structure will reduce and consist of five members instead of 12 (our current number). This smaller Board will allow for decisions to be made quickly and more nimbly.
7) Committees – Our committees are the foundation of getting work done at the actual dance and provide feedback to the Board for decisions. The current Volunteer Reception, Decoration, and other Committees are what creates a great environment for everyone. We will continue to seek your commitment in these roles.
8) Future Opportunities – Changing our IRS status will allow us:
The best discount on the room rate for the Sr. Center
Pursue other non-profit status discounts which in the end, allows us to keep our rates for sponsorships and ticket prices low.
Allows us to apply for grants and fundraise in a way we could not before.
9) Continue Process Improvements – We are continuing to benchmark other clubs and non-profits for best practices, look at our efficiencies and use of volunteer time. Of utmost importance is the imperative to move our Club to a cash-less system. Next season, we anticipate having a card-reader option for those who do not want to pay online.
The Goodtimes Dance Club has functioned and flourished for 35 years without the need for paid staff. From the Board members to those who clean the tables at the end of a dance, we are a completely volunteer organization. Because of this charitable effort, we are able to keep our dance prices and packages some of the lowest, if not the lowest in the area.
This is where you come in. As we move towards launching our seasonal campaign in June, we hope as many of you as possible will take advantage of Sponsor packages. We appreciate your past support and hope we can count on you in the future.
In addition, we are open to ideas to make this group stronger with new ideas, interesting opinions and an opportunity to help our community grow.
I look forward to seeing the success of this new structure and the way the club uses this to continue the tradition of social ballroom dancing in Northern Colorado.
See you at the next dance!
Sincerely,
Alissa Dasta Coletta