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Thursday, April 16, 2020 09:24 AM

Dear Membership,


It is hard to believe it has been almost one month since we last reached out to you in the immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across our institutions; if you are anything like us, the last month feels to have simultaneously lasted several months and disappeared in a blink. We hope this message finds you well, in all senses of the word.


We would like to take a moment to share some important updates with you. As many institutions have frozen spending and/or are drastically shifting fiscal priorities in this moment, we know you may have concerns about renewing your Consortium membership, particularly if your renewal date is near. To that end,if your membership expired or will expire between March 1, 2020, and July 31, 2020, we will extend your membership benefits through August 1, 2020, with no penalty or lapse in membership. These dates will be continuously reassessed as we observe developments with COVID-19 and its impact across the higher education landscape. 

If, during this grace period, you are able to pay your or your institution’s membership dues, please do so as those funds allow the Consortium to continue to support our members through our programs and creates opportunities to subsidize memberships for those in need. There are more than 90 institutional and affiliate memberships that will benefit from the extended grace period; these memberships translate to at least $8,000 in revenue for the organization. If even a small portion of members due for renewal in this time period are able to renew as planned, it will make a significant positive impact on our organizational financial well-being. 

The Consortium board will engage in contingency planning through the end of our fiscal cycle (December 31, 2020), anticipating potential budget implications of COVID-19 on our members, as well as the organization, going into Fall 2020.  Potential contingency actions include, but are not limited to: 

  • Extension of lapsed membership grace period or offering reduced rate renewal of membership for those whose budgets are cut or frozen.

  • Dip into Consortium savings to fund continued membership engagement (e.g., Creating Change, webinars).

  • Bolster our current fundraising platforms to offer a venue for those positioned with resources to support the Consortium to do so during this time.  

As we assess our financial standing as an organization, we are temporarily suspending the awarding of co-sponsorship funds. We will continue to reassess this decision as we move forward and the long-term impact of this pandemic is realized. If you have questions or concerns about co-sponsorship, please reach out to the Membership Engagement Collective at [email protected]

If you have any questions about your membership, please email [email protected]

To close, we offer our sincere hopes for peace and well-being for each of you in this time of stress and challenge. We have enjoyed engaging with many of you on our recent constituency calls, and we hope you will continue to consider us as a source of community and support. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us and to one another. 

Sincerely,

The Consortium Executive Board