Reply To: The finances of running a games club

[angelicdespot 4689xp 2]

Many years ago I used to be involved in running a gaming club.   Firstly, be thankful you’re in this position rather than having too little money!   Secondly, I wouldn’t lower the subs if your current members feel its value for money.   If you want to return the money to the members than either just share out the money or let people come 3 times and get the 4th one free.   Not necessarily per month – as that would penalise those who game less regularly.   This would be a way of reducing your income without reducing the flexibility you get from your current subscription level.

You might want to consider a reduced or even free membership for those who’d like to come, but can’t afford to.

Another ‘giving money away’ option would be to do just that: give the money to charity.   Perhaps have members vote for a charity and give 50 eur to every 3/4 months.

Perhaps you could search for other clubs in cities / towns nearby and offer to help them if they’re struggling.   If there’s another club in another city which is barely breaking even, you could offer to contribute to their running costs (perhaps donating to cover specific things would be more helpful than covering regular expenses).   You could turn it into a ‘twinning’ partnership, with members from the two clubs meeting up every couple of months to play tournaments, etc.    (And if the other club gets to the point where it no longer needs help, between you find another group and set up another club.)

You could also see if any local schools have an interest in starting a gaming club, and you could offer to buy them the stuff they need to get started.

Do let us know what you end up doing!