Mensa's Special Interest Groups

November 1998

SIGnet

Volume 6, Number 4

I thought I'd turn this column upside down this time and take the opposite viewpoint of something near and dear to every coordinator's heart (and pocketbook). What can you do if your dues more than cover the costs of running the SIG? Maybe you've had a few donations or your cost of production has been reduced (i.e. paper costs have dropped or, due to lack of contributions, the planned 2oz newsletter is mailing at the 1oz rate). In any case, as SIGs are not to be run for profit, how should you spend the extra?

The first thing you should check is that you actually have a surplus. Make sure there are enough funds set aside to cover the future issues folks have paid for - plus a little extra for the "surprises" (you are aware that mailing costs are going up a penny early next year). Ensure that money is available for the overhead of running a SIG - such as the newsletter to the SIGs Officer and to the Communications Officer, to have a stock of samples, routine correspondence and to mail back the semi-annual update (which is enclosed, don't forget to return it!).

After determining the amount from your SIG treasury that is needed to meet the commitments above, that is your surplus. Now, what can you do with that bounty? Well, it can take a number of directions depending on the needs of your SIG and the wants of your members. If the SIG could use an influx of new members, you might try some advertising or recruitment efforts. Take out an ad in the BULLETIN or send a mailing (mini-ads for space filler) directly to local groups (this can also be done through a single mailing to AML who will distribute them). You might inquire against the PDQ and send a sampler mailing to the folks who list that interest.

Lastly, you might contact an RG and ask if they would set out samplers of your newsletter or include them in their "goodie bag" (the SIGs Room at the AG is another good place to send copies of your newsletter).

On the other hand, if you're receiving more material than can fit into your normal sized newsletter, you might try producing a double-sized issue. Another way would be to send out a bonus issue to all your members - one that doesn't count against their subscription. This could consist of the extra letters and articles you have or even be a special, themed, issue. If you aren't receiving enough material to fill your newsletter, you might want to use the extra moneys to buy reprint rights to professionally printed articles or materials. For small print runs, such as SIG newsletters, most newspapers and large circulation magazines will only charge a nominal fee. Of course, if you're trying to reprint an article by Tom Clancy the costs are going to be much more than if you're going to reprint something by your local newspaper's staff writer.

Including a bonus item with the newsletter is another route to reduce extra funds in your treasury. What Mensan doesn't read? So print up a "SIG" bookmark on card stock. If you have a color photo that is relevant to your SIG, reprint it and send it along. One of the best bonus items I've seen was from the Nag SIG who sent along small, flat horses on one anniversary. Stickers are another great item. A way to increase participation in the SIG is to use spare funds to reward contributors. I'm not saying pay them cash for a letter, but giving them a subscription extension for a page-long article is reasonable. And, for those regular contributors, an unexpected card thanking them for their efforts always brings a smile and makes them feel appreciated!!

Lastly, if you find that your treasury is growing, maybe it is time to reduce the dues. I encourage every coordinator to review their costs and balances every time they review their SIG blurb. Since this is the time to do that, take a moment and make sure you aren't overcharging for what you deliver - and to make sure that you aren't losing money either. No coordinator should be expected to take pay for the costs of running a SIG from their own pocket (well, unless they really want to).

Now, to some housekeeping things and updates. Yes, this is the time of year to send in the semi-annual updates. Please have them back before the due date - with the transition to a new editor and a new style of doing things, I don't know how much wriggle room I'll actually have this time.

Speaking of a new style of doing things, we are changing the SIGs listings in the BULLETIN. In the past, a listing consisted of a title, a 200-character blurb and contact information. In the past few years, the contact information section of the listing has grown. From a name, address and, maybe, a phone number. We now add Email address, home pages and fax numbers - and there have been requests to allow multiple listings of each.

To make this as fair as possible, SIG blurbs can now consist of 500 characters (including spaces). This should include the SIG title, everything you wish to say about the SIG and all the contact information you want provided. Don't worry, the indicators we add don't count against your limit. From glancing through the current listings, this should be more than everyone uses - though a few are close. Feel free to rewrite, expand or otherwise refresh your listings for the Spring Directory.

Please note there is a new check-box. If you wish to participate in publicity through the National Office, check this "Yes". If you do and there is a publicity inquiry from outside or AML plans on doing some directed publicity to a periodical that covers your SIG, you and your SIG can be included in those plans. There should be an article from National regarding this in a future issue.

In this issue, there is a discussion of Mensa Name and Logo concerns. This is serious business, as carelessness with Mensa trademarks and names can result in a loss of the protections they currently have. As always, if you are unsure about something regarding this, contact myself or the Name and Logo Committee. We are here to help answer your questions!! Have a safe, enjoyable and just plain fun holiday season!!

For Special Interest Groups of American Mensa

I once was a coordinator of a couple of American Mensa Special Interest Groups. I was always proud of the name Mensa, and wanted to use it, but also, to use it correctly. I know that most, if not all, of SIG coordinators wish to do the same thing. With that in mind, I thought I'd put on a different hat - that of Name and Logo committee chairman and explain not only how to use it correctly, but why.

The "How" is simple. Don't. Why is a different matter. The American Mensa Committee has tried to remove itself from the governing of SIGs, not because we aren't proud of the SIGs, but because our insurance coverage dictates it. Imagine trying to pay for insurance that covers accidents that might happen within several of our SIGs - such as the motorcyclers, or the sky-divers, or even the pugilism SIGs. We (read that Mensa) just can't afford it.

Why is it OK for a Local Group to use the logo when a SIG can't? Local group members subsidize Mensa through Mensa members' dues and in return, Mensa subsidizes the groups. Local groups must conform to certain rules and regulations that adhere to our International Constitution and to our By-laws. SIGs do not monetarily subsidize Mensa; they are purely a voluntary (and a valuable) activity of some of Mensa's members and their friends. Mensa does not subsidize the SIGs at all,*except for making the SIGs available to members through the directory. Local groups may only use the name and logo with their group as long as they make it clear they are speaking for the local group and not Mensa as a whole.

Certainly any member can use the logo that is available to all of us, the logo with the designation "Mensa Member." Certainly you can call yourselves a Special Interest Group of American Mensa. Certainly, since you are not calling yourselves Mensa groups, you may have non-Mensan members as members of your group. All in all, as a former coordinator, I enjoyed the freedom that a loose affiliation with Mensa afforded us. It let us have access to Mensa names for our group, but with very little of the governance - just enough to keep Mensa out of the courtroom and into the living rooms where it belongs.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at CIS: DarleneCriss; write to Darlene Criss, 2311 S. Santa Fe, Wichita, KS 67211-49042, or call at 316/264-5234. *With the possible exception of the Isolated M which is purchased by American Mensa for members who are geographically located in other countries and who do not wish to join local groups within the U.S.

On another note: a friendly reminder - we still have time slots left in the SIG room at the 99 AG. So let me know when you would like to do your thing, and we will do our best to accommodate you. ebw

CORRESPONDENCE

Date: 26-Aug-98 19:13 PDT
From: Mensa Email Directory > INTERNET:[email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Subject: For SIGnet

Andy York wrote:
"The assistance from AML is on a limited basis - ie, is Mr Jones #XXXXXX or Mr. Smith #XXXXXX a member? It isn't intended for someone to submit 100 or 200 names in bulk. Ditto with the address bit, you lose a member or two and ask for current addresses.

I have had very good cooperation and response from AML with membership verification. For the Email Directory, I have a response "form message" that I reply and carbon copy AML over the submitted membership number and name: " ...I will ask for confirmation of your member number from American Mensa in Arlington, TX, and make your entry after your membership is confirmed. ... Below that is a SIG questionaire form for the member to complete and return if one did not accompany the initial request for SIG membership, and I file the email message and my copy of this response in a "HOLD" folder. When AML responds, they return the member's name and number with a simple statement to the effect that

1) "Mr. Jones is a lapsed member" or
2) "Mr. Jones is a current member, or in some cases now,
3) "Mr. Jones is a qualified applicant and need only to pay the $45.00 membership fee to become current."

This caused some confusion when AML began issuing applicant numbers that resembled membership numbers, so SIG leaders need to be aware that just because it looks ok doesn't mean it is valid. With case one, I never seem to get a response from the member. Two gets an immediate membership in the SIG and three sometimes is accompanied by impatient replies from the applicant: "I mailed the check the day before yesterday!" ;-) The problem with International SIGs is verification of membership in foreign Mensas. It would be very helpful if the SIGs of American Mensa could band together to develop some process by which individuals claiming to belong to other Mensas could be verified as current members. In some SIGs, there may be no real harm done; with the Email Directory, I have had a couple of SPAMing incidents from which I want to protect my SIG members in the future and I think taking every precaution to keep non-Mensans out is the best protection I can provide. I get several requests a quarter just outright asking for the list and some accompanied by made up numbers that imply to me the requester is just trolling for email address lists.

Regards,
Dale
--
Dale M. Parish (409)745-3899 | THE EMAIL SIG
email registrations only | Home of the
[email protected] aka | Mensa World Wide Email Directory
[email protected] | http://hal.lamar.edu/~lumensa

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

From: "David, Jill and William", INTERNET:[email protected]
TO: (unknown), wandrew
DATE: 8/28/98 07:32 PM

To: [email protected]
From: "David, Jill and William"
Subject: correspondence in the SIGnet

Hi- To address Lisa Shea's dilemma, which I think is the same as the rest of ours: I write a "member profile" every issue and invite everyone to send me information for them. Since most folks like to read about themselves, especially if they can provide the content, I've had a fair response. With my itsy-bitsy SIG, I may run out soon, in which case I'll send notes asking the non-contributors to tell me about themselves. After that, maybe I'll make up people????? I also write (or find clippings etc.) most of my newsletter. One person in particular has sent me a regular column, and a couple of others submit occasional jokes or recipes but that's about it. You know, it's lonely at the top.......
Jill Forman, Veggie SIG

Editor's Note: Jill with regard those clippings - do be careful about publishing copyrighted stuff without the copyright holder's permission. That can lead to BIG trouble. We have never had a problem getting permission to reprint - although sometimes it may take awhile. And always give the credit "Reprinted with permission from...."

October 9, 1998

We've received word from Lisa Shea there are more problems with her e-mail. Correspondents may contact her at [email protected] or lshea @cwix.com.

The SIG web page is at

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1484/sig/index.html

It has links to everything - rings, on line information, new SIG forms, curent SIG bi-yearly updates. It has a page for showing what SIGs are signed up for the 1999 AG.

From: "Lisa Shea" [email protected]
To: "Andrew York" [email protected]
Cc: "E. Bunny Warsh" [email protected]
Subject: Hmmmm

Now that our SIG page is getting traffic and has all the important forms on it, I'd love to put more information up that SIG coordinators can actually use to manage their SIGs. I'm quite interested in hearing how newsletter-based SIGs organize themselves, since I run two of them. My Gardening SIG and Feudal Japan SIG are $8/6 issues, and each one puts out a "booklet" (8.5 x 5.5 stapled) no-envelope-needed that runs 16-24 "pages" (4-6 pieces of paper). I don't print in color, but the cover is on "colored paper". What do other SIGs send out, and how much do they charge? I think this chart (without SIG names, but just with price/paper ratios) would be greatly helpful for people who want to start a SIG and want to know what other SIGs provide! Also, I'll remind people again that there is a master listing of SIGs available on the Mensa web page - if you have an email address and want your SIG listed, just let us know and we'll put up a blurb. Also, if you have access to the web, www.geocities.com provides FREE web pages to anyone who wants one. This could be a great place to list your SIG! Remember, this CANNOT have any pricing information at all. GeoCities doesn't deal with the "hassle" of non-profits so if you list money, you're considered a commercial site and you have to pay a fee or have your site yanked.

Lisa

Date: 03-Nov-98 15:15 PST
From: "Lisa Shea" > INTERNET:[email protected]
Subj: SIGnet

A SIG coordinator just asked me about advertising for SIGs. We should make sure editors know about the SIG listing on the web, where they can always get up to date information on all SIGs that are listed there. Also, if SIGs want to make up graphic logos for their SIGs, I'd gladly post them! If we distributed these to local groups that have web pages, they could make them clickable - have this icon for "Mensa SCUBA SIG", say, and if someone clicked on it they'd jump off either to the SCUBA SIG page (if it existed) or at least to the SCUBA entry on the master SIG page ... anyone who has graphics like this for me, send them right along to [email protected] and I'll post them! Don't make them too big - a webmaster might balk at a 5" by 5" graphic, but wouldn't mind a 1.5" x 1.5" icon in the corner of the page or as a story break marker ...

Lisa

Permission is hereby given to publish the following letter in any publication of American Mensa or the SIGs program. I hope all of you will share this with as many Ms as you can.

Dear Fellow Ms:
By now, we have all heard the news of Margie Mandelblatt's untimely demise. Margie was a rare treasure, and we are so very fortunate for having had her for the all-too-brief time we did. She was a bright, beautiful, albeit fragile, flower. It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with her these past 6 years. I liked her, and I will miss her. Margie will be a tough act to follow. I do not envy our next BULLETIN editor. She has some very large shoes to fill.

To honor Margie in perpetuity, I am asking each Mensan to donate $5.00 (more if you can afford it) to MERF for the establishment of a Marjorie Mandelblatt Memorial Scholarship Fund to be awarded to a journalism or an English major. Inland Empire Mensa is donating its 1998 RG profits to the Marjorie Mandelblatt Memorial Scholarship Fund. Margie was extremely supportive of the local groups within Region 9. She came to our RGs, and she was always very gracious about presenting editorial workshops. Checks may be made payable to MERF, and indicate on the check that this is a donation for Margie. If 40,000 Mensans donated $5.00 each, that would come to $200,000! What an honor that would be to her legacy; I believe she would be pleased. Donations can be sent to MERF in care of our national office at:

American Mensa Ltd.
1229 Corporate Drive West
Arlington, TX 76006-6103

I mailed my contribution on October 5. I hope all of you will join me in honoring this great lady.

Thank you
E. Bunny Warsh

SIGnet, the SIG Coordinators' forum, is published approximately four times a year as a vehicle for communication among coordinators of Special Interest Groups of American Mensa Limited (AML), and between the coordinators and the American Mensa Committee (AMC), via the SIGs Officer. SIGnet is published with funds provided by the AML as part of the budget approved for the SIGs Officer by the AMC.

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