Deliberation 1: Membership
What will it mean to be a member of The Miracle Inn?
None of us are members of The Miracle Inn yet. We have merely signed up to a newsletter (you have haven’t you?) for a proposed project that is anti hyper-individualism and pro interdependence.
I do hope, however, that many of you will decide to join as a founder member when The Miracle Inn launches in the spring. I think there is far more chance of that happening if you have helped shape what it means to be a member.
Listed here are 13 thoughts I’ve had about membership of The Miracle Inn.
I’m not wedded to any of them; and would love to hear what you think (please use the comments section below):
Firstly, to address the elephant in the room: I think that yes there will need to be a membership fee of approx. £30/yr to cover basic staffing and running costs. This will give us a base of unrestricted income to ensure The Miracle Inn has core activities to run.
Key principle: as a member you will feel part of something You won’t just visit The Miracle Inn, you will be part of The Miracle Inn; part of what makes it tick.
Members will have a responsibility to each other and to the mission - they will have a role to play.
BUT how many people - right now - want to take on another role, another obligation? Potentially not many.
So, should members have to take on a role? No. But can they, if they want to? Yes.
Some roles will be formal and paid and therefore carry more responsibility; others will be less formal, unpaid, and therefore less accountable.
Members will be invited, not obligated, to deliberate on what The Miracle Inn does and doesn’t do. Any member can propose an idea for how The Miracle Inn might tackle hyper-individualism, and/or nurture interdependence.
But decisions on what The Miracle Inn does, and how it does it, will be made collectively. The core team will make them happen.
Membership will be low cost to help us include as many people as possible. But we might need a ‘solidarity membership’ tier so that we can give some memberships away.
Should we have an under 23s membership level too?
This is an ‘inn’, so membership is for over 18s only. That’s not to say that a junior section isn’t something to plan for soon.
Membership fees will not cover everything The Miracle Inn decides to do. For more ambitious activities, specific income will be sought from other sources, including trusts and foundations, businesses, the public sector, and some crowdfunders.
Final thought (for now): every year, all members of The Miracle Inn will receive a membership pack in the post. The contents will be a surprise!
So, those are some thoughts on membership. I’d love to hear what sounds good (and not). And I’d love to hear your ideas.
Please use the comments section below to feedback, or if you’d prefer email via the contact page.
If you’re pushed for time, do feel free to keep it brief, e.g. ‘Yes to 4, 8, 9, 12; Not sure about 1, 6, 7 and 5.’
Thank you!
