what's your WI like?

Chewbacca, from the £42, a small amount stays with Institute, some goes to local federation and some to national. At my Institute we do not pay for teas and coffees, the raffle is optional and we do not have expensive outings unless they are organised by County, we cannot aford to hire a coach so we do local trips with vol drivers.

I am hoping my WI is friendlier than some of the ones described here! But I relate to the statement ‘we have always done it like this’ - if only we could break away from this attitude maybe we could attract younger members and not be constantly scrabbling around to get a committee

Thanks hillwalker but what do they do with all that money? I appreciate that of the 50% of annual fees (£21), the local institute has to pay for the hire of the hall, insurance etc. Then the monthly magazines are to be paid for by national WI but what happens to the rest? If the WI is staffed primarily by volunteers; what other overheads are there?

On the issue of the magazine; I'd been a member of WI for 7 months before I even got a copy!

I joined my local WI for a year but didn't go back after that. Most members were a lot older and not particularly welcoming. I couldn't get to grips with all the formality of reading of minutes etc and the competitions! Best key ring, best teacup and saucer! I joined because I had heared the organisation was modernising - but not in my area obviously. I can't imagine any younger women feeling this was for them. There were some I interesting speakers but when we went on an outing and I was left to sit and have supper on my own that was the end for me.

I’m a little puzzled about how the annual subs are distributed . We are a WI in a very poor town. £42 is a lot of money to some of our members. Our own WI are only allowed to keep a small portion of that money with the rest going to regional HQ and National HQ . What happens to that money ? Does it finance wages? Jollies for the big wigs? Denman? Fancy HQ buildings? And Those rubbish magazines full of adverts for holidays no one can afford and nylon trews ? I’m genuinely concerned .

I've just had a look at their website gillybob and it says that they employ 70 paid members of staff. Plus they have new offices in Parsons Green, London, which are quite prestigious apparently. A 2 day cooking course at Denman is approximately £350, so well out of the reach of many people.

.......and isn’t that quite sickening chewy ? I could die at the Denman “courses” we are in the NE and the travelling alone would be way out of the reach of most of our members. Of course their HQ would have to be in some fancy building in London . I mean does anywhere else even exist ?

Just found this from the Telegraph earlier this year, (apologies for the length of the cut and past GNHQ):

WI groups fear closure as almost a third of their subscription fees are being taken to help fund the charity's expensive London headquarters.
Grassroots groups across the country, facing dwindling membership in rural areas, are angry that the charity's national office and its regional federations are demanding almost half of their vital funds.

Membership subscription to the Women's Institute has risen to £41, an increase of 13 per cent in the last three years. Of the £41, £11.70 goes to the national council and £9.30 to the county federation, leaving just £20 for the local branch.
The fees have almost doubled in a decade and members say people in rural areas can no longer afford it.
They are calling for its multi-million pound head office in London's Parsons Green to be sold
to save funds and for it to relocate to its 17th century picturesque Georgian Oxfordshire retreat Denman house.

A spokesperson for the WI added: “We believe that the annual subscription offers excellent value for money. The 2018 membership subscription has been set at £41, which equates to 79p a week. The 2018 rate is an increase of £2 from 2017, which in absolute terms is just 4p per week.

"WIs have always been encouraged to fundraise to supplement their income, and for many
WIs this is a central part of membership.

"Far from losing members, the WI today is flourishing, with approximately 222,000 members and almost 30,000 new members joining last year alone."

Its income in 2016 was £7.2million, £2.4million came from subscriptions.

£7.2 MILLION!

Oh dear, oh dear..... so our poor WI ( who struggle to support a huge foodbank and a women’s refuge) are sending half our subscription money to fund a fancy London HQ and (the newly renovated ) Denman that I would guess no-one in our branch would ever get to visit . There’s something sadly wrong but I’m not at all surprised. Thank you Chewy .

indeed!

Have big birthday next year and thought that I would be mature enough to join the village WI.
I hadn't realised there is would be an annual fee, I presumed that you would pay weekly shows how much I know

I always or more to the point DH always heads for the WI cake stall.

I was also under the impression that the WI carried some political clout.

Having read the previous posts and the diversion of funds to London to be spent on plush offices, I don't think I will bother.

Next on my list is the village garden and/or flower club. (open to both sexes)
Surely their funds won't be whizzing of to London.