At our AGM last year, members voted to change how we work. One of those changes was to remove the annual membership fee. We don’t want cost to be a barrier for anyone who is thinking of joining the MS Society, so instead of charging a membership fee we’re now asking people to contribute what they can.
If members would like to receive a printed copy of MS Matters three times a year, then they will need to pay a £5 magazine subscription.
Upcoming communication to our members
When a current membership subscription is due to expire, we’ll send the member a letter informing them of the changes and that, if they would like to continue receiving MS Matters, there’s a £5 cost.
Processing membership – what changes for groups
As the £5 payment is now an MS Matters subscription, groups should no longer accept payment for membership subscriptions.
Please advise any members who have previously paid their subscriptions directly to your group that payments for MS Matters should be set up and paid for via the MS Society website, or by contacting the Supporter Care Team on 0300 500 8084.
These are the safest ways to make a payment and ensure members’ contact details are correctly added to our system.
If your group has received any membership payments in January, don’t worry. Please just contact the Supporter Care Team so we can make sure they’re added to the MS Matters recipients list.
Group income
We’re committed to maintaining groups' income from membership for the future. After three years, we intend to review how the arrangement is working in consultation with local groups, making sure that this total income is being fairly divided between our groups.
Frequently asked questions
We’ve also produced a set of frequently asked questions to help you answer any queries regarding the membership changes. These can be found on the volunteer website here.
Support for you
If you have any questions around the changes to membership and what this means for your group, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Volunteer Support Team on 0300 500 8084 (option #3) or via [email protected].
