- Does the SAA organize class reunions?
- Does the SAA charge a fee to attend events?
- Why should I become a paid member if I receive a free e-newsletter and free access to most of the content on the website?
- What are my membership benefits?
- How are the membership-dues used?
- Are there any membership discounts?
- Why has there been an increase on the yearly dues?
- If I am a reunion planner, can I use the SAA tax ID number to open a bank account for reunion funds?
- Does the SAA provide its Tax ID for reunion use?
- Is the SAA categorized as a non-for-profit?
- Does the SAA offer use of its insurance policy for reunions?
- What's the SAA mailing address and who should I make the check out to?
Does the SAA organize class reunions?
Sorry, we don't!
The association does not organize any reunions events. Your classmates who are chosen as reunion planners organize your class reunion events. The SAA does provide help in the following areas: (1) sending an updated class contact list (2) collecting reunion tickets and fees on the SAA website (3) posting the reunion as an event on our website, (4) providing insurance coverage under our policy for a fee of $500.
Does the SAA charge a fee to attend events?
No.
The SAA hosts two or three events a year and none of them request payments from alumni.
Why should I become a paid member if I receive a free e-newsletter and free access to most of the content on the website?
The reason why we are able to provide and maintain a free website, e-newsletter, Facebook and LinkedIN groups is because of the generous memberships contributions of our supporting members.
What are my membership benefits?
With a membership, you have access to the online directory as well as number of benefits that you can find on the "Benefits" area on our website. Throughout the year, we also give away tickets to shows and premiers by alumni in the arts, newly published books by alumni writers, and exclusive complimentary invitations to events and galas organized by alumni in different industries.
How are the membership-dues used?
It is not cheap to run a successful alumni association (even one made up of volunteers!). The association requires $30,000 year to operate.
Without contributions from our alumni, quite simply, you would not have an alumni association from Scarsdale High School.
To give you a tangible idea of how the dues help the association, last year, the price tag of our new content management web platform was very hefty, and this was only one line in our budget allocation. Behind the scenes we have over 20 different vendors providing our technology needs: centralized servers, backup, webhosting, web-development, flash-development, database improvement services, payment processing services, Facebook Connect and Ads, web 2.0 application developer tools, software, online polling, remote chat support, Google Adwords, Skype Business, VoiceOverIP services etc. In addition to this, we have the standard budget lines: accounting, insurance, mailing, materials cost, office expenses, maintenance, events, etc. Furthermore, to ensure the continuous improvement of the association, there's always the need for additional funds.
Are there any membership discounts?
YES.
Free membership to recent grads (SHS2004-2009) and senior alumni (SHS1930-1949)
$25 membership for young alumni (1999-2003)
We are also always ready to accommodate any alumnus wanting to be a member that might need a discount based on current personal financial challenges.
Why has there been an increase on the yearly dues?
Our new dues structure allow us to provide more dedicated attention to our supporting member’s requests. It also allows us to offer great additional and original benefits and products to our new members like a beautiful digital class directory and a newly limited edition t-shirt that they receive when then join us today. That said, the most important result from our dues restructuring has been achieving our goal of offering all the website features at no charge to all alumni. The online directory, once accessible only to our alumni members, is now completely accessible by all alumni. Without the financial support of alumni like you, we simply cannot operate.
Our change in dues also allow us to continue developing great new initiatives and adopting new technology that has, and will continue to reduce the time our volunteers spend in administrative tasks and enrich the level of community interaction.
We are here to better serve you. Under the current dues, we actually CAN and WILL be very helpful.
If I am a reunion planner, can I use the SAA tax ID number to open a bank account for reunion funds?
No, although the SAA can help create reunion event pages, collect reunion funds and pay vendors by creating a sub account for your reunion.
Does the SAA provide its Tax ID for reunion use?
No, we do not provide our Tax ID number for the use of reunions.
Is the SAA categorized as a non-for-profit?
The SAA is a 501(c)5, not a 501(c)3. Thus, we are not categorized as a non-for-profit and have no special tax exemptions.
Does the SAA offer use of its insurance policy for reunions?
Yes, we do! For a fee of $500 paid by check, you can use the SAA's insurance policy to cover your reunion event, assuming that the event location's insurance rider requirements fit our plan. You will need to provide us with (1) the name, address and contact information of the venue and (2) the date of the reunion. Please send an email to [email protected] for more information.
What's the SAA mailing address and who should I make the check out to?
Our mailing address is:
Ricardo Garcia-Amaya
SAA President
825 Marshall St.
Suite 610
Redwood City, CA 94063
Checks should be made out to: Scarsdale Alumni Association