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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Lifetime membership option?
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 10/11/2008 11:11:44 AM · #1
Not for DPC, but in general. Let me explain.

The astronomy club in which I'm an active member (link to MAS) has a membership level of 35$ for a regular member, and $70 with observing privileges at our well equipped observing site. These fees are imposed yearly, like most clubs.

Many clubs offer a "lifetime" membership option, whereby for a onetime fee, you can become a member for life and never have to pay a yearly fee again.

So, to set this up, how much does one charge? Obviously it should be based on the estimate of how long an average person is an active member, but other considerations need to be weighed also: it's a philanthropic ploy, designed to get people who are supportive of the club to write a big check. It's a publishable way to reward people who are generous to the club, etc.

I've done some googling but have turned up no discussions of how to go about setting up a fee structure.

So please, DPC members, discuss. How do YOU think a lifetime membership should be structured? What would YOU be willing to pay? How much would be too much?
 10/11/2008 11:24:47 AM · #2
Oooh - a finance problem!

Assuming the cost of membership remains constant in perpetuity and an interest rate of 5%, the cost of a lifetime membership would be $500.
 10/11/2008 12:39:16 PM · #3
I don't know if DPC turns a profit or not, but if it does not, then "lifetime membership" might be predicated on a "donation amount", say, starting at a donation of $500 or more.

My assumption is that Challenging Technologies LLC, the corporation they've set up to run this thing, is for-profit, and actually turns a profit. (They'd have to be nuts to put up with you rubes otherwise.) In that case, they could sell lifetime memberships at L2's $500. They could also give them away as a sort of community incentive to people who tangibly add to the experience here, such as the person who started the League thing (SDW?), or the person with the most posted comments, or whatever criterium is deemed worthy.
 10/11/2008 01:18:47 PM · #4
Originally posted by L2:
Oooh - a finance problem!

Assuming the cost of membership remains constant in perpetuity and an interest rate of 5%, the cost of a lifetime membership would be $500.

I was making a gut-level estimation that it should be between 10-25 times the current price -- looks like I at least hit the right order of magnitude ... :-)
 10/11/2008 03:25:22 PM · #5
Thanks for the analysis Laurie, I'm going to get my daughter to help me slog through the math! To clarify, was your figure based on a DPC life membership, or the example of my astronomy club?
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