Let's Talk about Clubs

[PulpFaction]

Are there benefits to having more than one club operating in a given area? Right now there are three clubs in Alaska, two of them cover the same basic part of the state but one of them is more or less defunct. Is it worth it for me to step up and try to save this club, or should I focus my energy and effort into the other club that is still plugging along. (Though it, too, seems to be struggling.)

Any tips or suggestions for making a club work well and bringing in funds? I guess we are in a rather unique situation here because we only have a couple of in-state judges, and it is quite expensive to fly in out of state judges. How can we make our higher membership fees worthwhile to members without dropping a lot of cash that we don't have?

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

YOU ARE in a bad situation> although Alaska IS the largest state in square miles (sorry, Texans, but that IS the truth), the population density just doesn't cut it when trying to keep an organization alive that depends on dues/membership fees, and that organization also has to shell out money to help carry on it's function. Money is what keeps a club afloat...

You can suggest a merger of two clubs-- combining the assets.Then, see what can be done, locally, to stimulate interest in the hobby of raising meat and show rabbits. You may be able to have 'fun shows'(dog people call them Match Shows) tohelp generate income and interest. Get your best rabbit people to volunteer as judges, and include some silly classes, to generate interest from kids with mutt rabbits, such as 'prettiest eyes' 'longest hair' or ' biggest feet"

 

[cedarrun]

I imagine that running a rabbit club in a less populous region can be a whole other ball game. We have a few areas that have two or three clubs within an hour or so of each other. They are also in an area that seems to have a large number of breeders to support them. I love having the large number of shows within a reasonable distance. If I were in your shoes I would do what I could to save the failing club. I assume that it was very hard to start the club in the first place. Once its gone you may never get it back and there may never be enough interest to start another in the future.