Here is why!
Being a political powerhouse is not good enough. 80-20 must forever be the property of the community, by the community, and for the community.
To achieve such a goal, 80-20 must be (1) open, (2) democratic, and (3) governed by its own written bylaws.
(1) To be open,
80-20 invites any interested person to have a voice in 80-20. To achieve that goal, without creating chaos, there must be dues-paying members.
(2) To be democratic,
80-20's bylaws provides all members with the right to vote and run for office. In addition, 80-20 requires that all Board members and its officers, with at least two candidates for each contested position, be elected by dues-paying members.
(3) To be governed by its own written bylaws,
80-20 has adopted a set of detailed bylaws, and posted them on its web site. In the long future, any change in the bylaws will required the 2/3 approval of dues-paying members.
The Basic annual membership is set at a modest $35 -- only 10 cents per day. You spend much more than that for your daily coffee.
Is 80-20 urging you to join because it wants your money? Perhaps. You be the judge. Here is the statistical breakdown for the $78,000 in membership contribution that 80-20 has collected in its first 6 weeks.
Those who pay the minimum $35 or $50 represent more than 90% of 80-20's voters, while providing less than 22% of its revenue. 80-20 has anticipated such a trend and deems it ideal. 80-20 is a grassroots organization with the unique mix of the elite. Visit: http://www.80-20initiative.net/members.html to see how many generous persons have paid $1,000 to $10,000 to be Life members.
You must join, if you want 80-20 to work for you now and for decades to come. Many of the current leaders will soon fade away.
"Why have members, II?" will be in your mailbox soon.
