The Finances of Importers

All members in Importers agree to financially sponsor each of the four Importer dancing weekends in a calendar year, whether or not they attend any of the sessions. (Special dispensation has been granted in extreme situations.) The Importers is not so much a square dance club like other square dance clubs. It's more of a syndicate organized to financially guarantee a fixed number of challenge weekends per year.

The foundation of the Importers finance is centered in the idea of a fixed balance in the checking account.

(This was a positively brilliant creation, possibly by that same "short, quiet guy in the corner," but no one's sure at this point. The person's exact identity is probably lost to the world just as the discoverers of the wheel, fire, capri pants, and the beehive hair style.)

At the conclusion of each of the four dancing weekends when all the bills are paid, we want to again bring the checking account balance up to the fixed amount. This is done by calculating the difference between the fixed balance amount and the current balance. This difference is divided by the number of members in the club, and each member then pays his share. (Members do not pay separately for the individual dancing sessions.)

Currently, the fixed balance amount is $1,500. Our four-dance weekends have been averaging approximately $40 per member, or $80 per couple.

When a new member enters the club, the fixed balance is again utilized to determine his initial contribution. The balance is divided by the number of members, and the new member must ante-up his portion upon acceptance of the invitation. The balance is temporarily higher than the fixed amount, but it will be adjusted at our next dancing weekend.

The same principle is invoked when a member resigns. He is simply refunded his portion of the current balance. Again, the balance is returned to its prearranged amount at the next dancing weekend.

So you can see that this fixed balance idea is the cornerstone of our organization.