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The Society:
From Birth to Maturity
page
6
Introduction
SAA Membership
SAA Leadership (Council & Officers)
Research and Publication
Annual Meeting Analysis
Financial Profile
Presidential Perspective
SAA in a Comparative Context
End Notes
Financial
Profile
(Click on
images to enlarge.)
SAA's growth in membership, publications, and annual meeting attendance is mirrored
by the increase of its budget and the rise in its dues. In 1940, registration
for the two-day annual meeting was $1, and the annual dues that year of $5 accounted
for most of the total annual income of just over $2,000. By 1965, the annual
registration fee for the three-day New York meeting had jumped to $30 for members
and $40 for non-members. Dues had increased to only $10. Total income that year
rose to nearly $22,000, a more than ten-fold increase over 1940.20
By the 1990 annual
meeting in Seattle, member registration was nearly $100. Dues had changed to
a graduated structure, ranging from a low of $30 for students to a high of $75
for members earning $30,000 or more. The Society's income had mushroomed to
over $800,000, including substantial grant funding. The largest individual expense
category was for personnel, reflecting the growth of our national headquarters
staff, both permanent and grant-funded.21
 
An inflation-adjusted
analysis of this data presents a more accurate picture. Dues for most of our
members have declined, and the cost of our meetings declined in the period from
1965 to 1990. During the same period, our budget grew substantially, aided by
significant membership growth.
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