In April 2025, a proposed dues increase measure is on the AAUW California ballot. Here is an open letter from the President of AAUW California, Charmen Goehring, with some background on the issue and reasons she urges each member to vote “Yes.”
Your AAUW California Leadership Team thanks you for the trust you have put in us to deliver resources and support to help our branches grow and become sustainable. Indeed, that is literally our mission.
In changing climates, we have adapted and pivoted to bring you the very best that we could offer as a team of volunteers. As costs have risen, we are finding this more difficult to do. We are therefore placing a state dues increase from $20 to $30 on the ballot next month and requesting a yes vote from all members.
Some of the services we are most proud of include:
- Our robust website is filled with information to assist branch members and leaders. We have such a quality website that it has become a go-to site for other advocacy groups that look to AAUW California for leadership and content. Because of the volume of documents and pages, we must pay to host our own site in order to continue to provide these resources.
- Julika, our part-time office manager in Sacramento, is often the first contact for branches looking for answers. She also manages our mail and maintains our records.
- Our part-time advocate in the State Capitol helps to organize our successful Lobby Days in April and keeps AAUW California’s name, mission, and member-driven public policy priorities in front of the legislative members. Having support for our Public Policy team has made the difference in getting legislation for women and girls passed.
- We are able to provide engaging programs such as Lobby Days, the School Board Project, webinars on a variety of useful topics for branches and leaders, branch support on a variety of issues, and an insurance policy so that branches and their boards are covered from any potential mishaps during branch events and programs.
While the cost of business and running our website and programs have continued to increase, we have worked to cut costs. We have:
- Closed our Sacramento office space and moved Julika to her home office
- Consolidated or disposed of equipment and extra supplies in order to close our storage unit
- Moved all Leadership Team meetings to Zoom with the exception of the annual retreat
- Moved our Convention and annual meeting to Zoom, rebranding them as the Annual Event
- Moved Committee Day to Zoom (while we did meet in person in 2023 and 2024, the only times since 2019, we cannot justify another in-person day with our current financial situation)
Our last dues increase was over 10 years ago, when we went from $16 to $20. We have also seen our dues-paying membership numbers drop as our number of Honorary Life members, who do not pay state dues, increases yearly. In addition, we are committed to having a healthy reserve to sustain us in case a dire need arises.
If passed, the dues increase would be effective as of the July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026 business year. It will not affect students or Honorary Life members.
I want you to know that your board does not make this proposition lightly. There are more ways we could sustain our mission throughout California if we had the financial means.
- A part-time bookkeeper to help with the increasingly difficult financial tasks
- In-person member gatherings around the state
- Additional in-person branch support
- Necessary website upgrades to maintain robust offerings
I know not everyone will welcome this change, but I hope that you will consider all that the State provides branches and members in terms of support and resources. We intend to continue being a leader throughout California and the nation and to assist our branches in meeting the mission of AAUW. I hope you agree it is worth an extra 83 cents a month!
Thank you for your continued membership in and support of AAUW.
Sincerely,
Charmen Goehring
AAUW California President