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I have a question which has come up recently. I act as the Treasurer for a 501c3 non-profit in the US (Based in California). We have a membership dues structure in place which is primarily used to pay for member benefits. Up until recently, we had a statement on our website under an FAQ question "What does my membership pay for?". The posted answer previously stated (paraphrased): "Your membership dues pay for the cost of the news letter and management of membership. Conservation, Education, and Research programs are supported by your donations"
The implication here was that membership dues are not used for these other programs; however, over the years we have developed a fairly large surplus of unused membership dues and would like to apply some of those funds to these other programs. In having this statement on our website- have we obligated ourselves to only using these funds for these purposes or can we safely repurpose these funds?
My understanding has been that Membership dues are a fee charged for services rendered and hence not a restricted fund (once earned). As such we are free to repurpose the surplus.
The implication here was that membership dues are not used for these other programs; however, over the years we have developed a fairly large surplus of unused membership dues and would like to apply some of those funds to these other programs. In having this statement on our website- have we obligated ourselves to only using these funds for these purposes or can we safely repurpose these funds?
My understanding has been that Membership dues are a fee charged for services rendered and hence not a restricted fund (once earned). As such we are free to repurpose the surplus.