Page 42 - ALG Issue 3 2018 (printable)

General
Allotmenteers Liability Insurance benefit. The Facebook page is still very popular
and useful, the e-news service which is available quarterly reaches associations, individuals, local authorities and we have a non-member version. This is a very cost- effective way of contacting members and has proved useful for circulating information about the new insurance benefit.
We have this year retained 93% of
our existing members, with 108 new Associations, 194 Individuals and 39 Local Authorities joining
during 2017/18.
Work has begun to improve the member journey as already mentioned, with
the new database.
We are looking at
a new strategy for
member retention with
additional personal
contact, to ensure that
those associations in most need of support gain maximum benefit from being part of our membership.
Support: Providing leadership, best practice and direct advice to new and existing allotment associations, council members, landowners and Individuals on
the fundamentals of running a successful allotment is a key element of our work. We provide model policies, Tenancy Agreements, Constitutions and assistance with forming limited companies and governance arrangements. Also, in the early part of
2017, we undertook a pilot Governance Training session; these are suitable for
those associations who operate as limited companies. During 2017 the Mentors and Regional Representatives have supported delivery of a new training session for Parish Clerks in six regions, and we have bookings lined up for 2018. We held Allotment Officers Forums in six regions during 2017 and will be continuing to offer this facility to council allotment officers in 2018.
Events: The 2017 show season was extremely successful. Once again we must thank all volunteers who put so much hard work into the displays they create and give
up their time on the show stands. Also
a thank you to the staff, with a special thank you to our Horticultural Adviser, Mike Thurlow, who added his expertise to our offer at several shows.
National Allotments Week: Our theme
for 2017 was ‘Growing the Movement,’,
a celebration of all the hard work put in
by voluntary association management committees, plotholder volunteers and councils managing, creating, developing and safeguarding allotment sites. We produced
Treasurers Report
Dave Morris, Treasurer
“We maintained our current level of fees from the previous year, having increased them by roughly 10% in each of the preceding four years. It is pleasing to
note that despite this our accounts show
an increase in affiliation fees for the year.
Our investments have fared reasonably
well despite significant fluctuations in the stock market. It is also hoped that our new database will enable the organisation to
act quicker in following up when members don’t renew their subscriptions. The National Society is in a sound financial position.
One of the significant changes we
are introducing this year is including the provision of insurance for all of our members within the existing fees. I was keen to see this as when talking to many prospective members they wanted to know what the tangible benefits of membership were. I explained about the seeds and insurance schemes and the availability of legal advice as well as the action that the organisation takes to promote, preserve and protect allotments, but despite these benefits not
all associations were keen to join. I realise that not all of our member associations may wish to take up this offer but I am sure that it will appeal to many, especially the council managed sites. I think that it is a worthwhile investment that will pay for itself in future years.
As I said in last year’s Annual Report we only represent the minority of allotmenteers, but if all of our member associations were
to contact their nearest non-member site and explain the benefits of membership, including the new insurance element, this could have a huge impact on membership and strengthen the impact of the Society. Your Regional Rep should be able to let you know the nearest non-member site to you. I recently undertook an exercise for the North West Region. It was amazing to see the differences between areas, with some having almost 100% membership and some Local Authority areas having less than 5% of sites in membership. I do appreciate that in areas of low membership we can’t simply rely on our few members in that area to attempt to
One of the significant changes we are introducing this year is including the provision of insurance for all of our members within the existing fees
a new NAW logo, a Facebook page, and we had 65 events listed compared to 18 in 2016. The Press Association sold a NAW story to many local and regional papers and we had interest from Northern Ireland for the first time. There were
regional TV articles in South Wales, South West and the Midlands. The theme for 2018 is ‘Living and Growing’, which highlights the importance of growing your own food, and encourages everyone to incorporate fruit and vegetable gardening in some way into their lives.
Campaigning: We work hard to protect allotment land and where it cannot be saved we endeavour to secure the best possible outcome for allotment holders, in terms of alternative land and enhanced facilities in our negotiations. Our campaigning work extends to promoting allotments to other bodies
of influence and the wider public. A large number of new allotment sites have been created in 2017 all over the country; many are local authority sites, others private, but all achieving the ultimate aim of food growing.
I would like to thank all our members and the staff for their continued support during 2017. I am immensely proud of what the whole team has achieved. We are a much stronger and united Society, and despite challenging times have a great future ahead of us”.
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