Our regular update on the work of British Naturism’s management team over the last quarter.
Arrivals and departures
We were sorry to learn that Maz Wallace had decided to step down from the post of Equality and Diversity officer for personal reasons, but are pleased to announce the appointment of Meleasha Carbado as our new Equality and Diversity officer.
We were very pleased to welcome Ian Munt to his new role as national sports officer. Ian attended a Zoom meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) in May.
Values Statement
Since the last report British Naturism has adopted its Values Statement. This is available as a download from the BN website. The statement affirms that Naturism is a normal, legal and non-shameful lifestyle that promotes good health and well-being, and BN’s support for the safe practice of Naturism in families and throughout the lifetimes of individuals. It stresses the organisation’s commitment to social inclusivity, self-respect and respect for each other, diversity and equal opportunity and sustainability. It also highlights how British Naturism values the work of its volunteers, and its working relationships with others.
Safeguarding Policy
British Naturism has been working with an expert consultant to update the safeguarding policy, and the new edition was adopted by the EC at the end of July. This key policy deals with how we look after children and vulnerable adults. The new document covers broadly the same ground as the previous edition, although it has been decided to divide it into two, one covering children, the other vulnerable adults. The safeguarding policy should be given effect at all BN clubs and events. Guidelines are available from head office for those organising events.
Subscriptions
There is no hiding the fact that the question of membership subscriptions, which form the lion’s share of BN’s income, has been high among the management team’s and the Executive Committee’s concerns in the last few months. Inflation is rising and forecast to reach 13% this year, and this means increased costs for BN, like everyone else. It was not sustainable to continue the present level of activity without raising fees to at least go some way towards matching inflation, and there was little appetite among the EC for the sorts of reductions in activities that would otherwise be needed. A motion with the AGM papers, proposes increases in fees averaging 8% - which is below the expected rate of inflation.
An innovation proposed alongside the subscriptions motion is the creation of two new membership tiers. During informal discussions it became clear that some members who are in a position to do so would be content to pay more for their annual membership. We propose to invite such members to become patrons or benefactors of the organisation by contributing a little more, a gesture that will be recognised in a variety of ways. This will help us keep fee increases in the ordinary tier to a minimum and enhance BN’s ability to work to promote and protect Naturism.
Opinion Poll
BN commissioned IPSOS-MORI to conduct a survey on attitudes towards Naturism. At the time of going to press the results have just been delivered and are being analysed. Whilst it is too soon to offer a detailed report, we can say that they appear to provide some interesting and positive news for us as Naturists.
British Naturism: Sunfolk
British Naturism has a special responsibility towards Sunfolk, a site it acquired from its previous custodians at the beginning of 2020. It has been used as a venue by Naturists for more than 90 years. Whilst the site has some great spaces and facilities already in place, investment is required in other areas to create the modern facilities visitors will expect in years to come.
The good news that planning permission had been granted for the redevelopment project we propose means that we are ready to instruct builders, architects and others to commence the work. To facilitate this, Sunfolk will close early this season, at the beginning of September. We expect to see quite a transformation by the time the site reopens in Spring 2023.
This is without question the biggest single project undertaken by British Naturism and it will surprise nobody that it occupies an appreciable part of the management team’s time.
Funding the project, which carries a price tag of over half a million pounds, is of overriding concern. Much of the finance will be available from cash reserves, including a substantial part of the proceeds of the sale of the Northampton office, but we need also to raise cash from other sources.
Jon Williams, who is leading on the topic, has been keeping members up to date through BN magazine, on the members’ forum and on “Forum Live” events covering, among other things, how members can help us raise the money. A crowdfunding platform has been set up to allow those who are able to do so to donate money towards the project. Commercial loans are being investigated in case they are needed. And a system of “member loans” is being initiated, whereby members can lend the organisation between £500 and £10,000 for three or five years, at a 3% rate of interest. This should be a “win-win”, because the rate of interest is better than offered by the banks, and less than could be expected through a commercial loan. At the time of writing there has been considerable interest in this scheme, and we are consulting legal advisers as to its finer details.
A face-to-face meeting of the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee currently meets once a month via Zoom, and the management team meets every two weeks on the same platform. We plan an annual physical meeting of the EC, which this year we propose should take place in November in Birmingham.