Female Club Leadership and Misogyny Problems

[Homercidal]

The irony is that today is Women's Equality Day.

http://www.nwhp.org/resourcecenter/equalityday.php

Disrespect of anyone because of race, class, gender or sexual orientation diminishes us all.

What a coincidence! I was just saying the other day that women need just one day a year where they are equal. They deserve it!

 

[SudsyPaul]

I'll echo what others say. I used to run a local car club, and it was fun and simple, then we started getting more sponsors, and people wanted X and Y and nothing was ever good enough... after a few months of people just bitching about everything that was going on, I decided to pass the reigns on to someone else that was willing to deal with that BS. I put up with a lot of BS at work, I'm not gonna do it in my spare time.

My local club sounds like a complete disaster compared to what you have going on, in size. Local beerfests and competitions are organized in conjunction with the local beer club, but not BY the beer club. I'm not an officer or anything, nor would I want to be, though.

Kudos to you for your efforts, but it seems to me like you're trying to save a sinking ship with a sieve. Unless you coordinate a mass lay-off of all ****** members of your board, you're better just starting your own club with them and have a really strong base to build on, rather than the insane game of Jenga that you're currently playing.

 

[judsonp]

It sounds like misogyny isn't the primary problem here.

The primary problem is that you're surrounded by ****ups who are upset that you're not a ****up. Or something like that.

A lot of these behaviors are just seriously problematic. If people are going to support you privately and question you publicly, if the club president is going to essentially to force you to be confrontational on his behalf... you can't really win.

What I would do is stop being involved in the leadership. It sounds like too much trouble and stress. The other option seems to be becoming the club president and fixing the mess.

 

[Mongrel]

In my 5 years of brewing, I've never encountered a brewing club the way you describe yours.

Are you even sure it's about brewing?

I mean, donating to charity is one thing, but non-profit tax exempt status? IRS forms? Radio and media cross-promotions? Catering?

Good God, that's not at all about brewing: that's running a large organizaton for the sake of running a large organization.

Homebrew clubs are like book-reading clubs; they're not supposed to be like the Kiwanis. Nor the Fraternal Order of the Water-buffalo. People get together to discuss brewing, beer, and how to improve your skills. (Or to discuss plot points and writing styles for the book clubs).

Maybe it's done alongside a potluck. Or pairing cheese with your beer. (Or which wines pair better with Historical romances compared to murder-mysteries). Catered events? Jeez-Louise, that's just weird.

IRS forms? Accounting? Homebrew clubs are about everyone chipping-in for pizza, not keeping tax reciepts.

Just my two scudi.

As it has been mentioned, setting up tax exempt status has real benefits. I belong to two clubs, and both are set up as not-for-profits. This gives our sponsors a tax ID they can record when they make donations to our events. It doesn't let them write off the expense, but many wouldn't sponsor us without that number. It allows the club to open a bank account. Being a legal entity also helps protect our officers from being held personally liable in case something unfortunate happens.

As for the OP, I'd probably post that rant to the club's Facebook page followed by a **** you all. OK, you probably shouldn't do that, but it may be time to walk away.

 

[feralparakeet]

Wow. I made this post, went to bed, and didn't think much would come of it. I did take a mental health day for myself today though, which was nice.

I'm still on the fence about leaving or not, but I have chatted with a few other women about starting a separate club.

As to the nonprofit status... we bring in a LOT of money from our festival each year, and we can either be a nonprofit (as we were before) or pay a lot of money out in corporate taxes. From the accounting standpoint, it's actually easier to be a nonprofit, because we don't do anything that's considered UBI.

But most of all, I wanted to say thanks for all of the support I've seen in this thread. I'm so accustomed to other parts of the internet that I was half expecting to be trolled to hell and back.

 

[unionrdr]

I still say you should just walk away & let them crash & burn alone. There is absolutely NO OTHER WAY! They must be taught the hard way from the sound of things. It's like being in love with a gold digger. Sooner or later, you're in the red & must give up the ship...
I was a line foreman for 13 of my last not-quite- 14 years at Ford. You are NOT the boss till you're prepared to make the shizzy call. Only then are you the boss. Seems like we all have to learn that the hard way. Do it. Do it now...you KNOW you want too...

 

[fosaisu]

Reading your description, it's hard to tell what you're getting back from this club that you're dedicating so much time to! It really sounds like it's time to step away from the club and enjoy your time brewing beer alone or with real friends, either informally or in a much smaller -- or at the least better managed -- club.

 

[DrunkleJon]

...I was half expecting to be trolled to hell and back.

Nah, that isn't our way. If it were, I wouldn't have stuck around this long.

This is the finest group of (as Yooper calls us) imaginary friends I have met online. The Mods keep the riffraff in line or away and the community is always happy to support you when you are being reasonable, tell you when you are being unreasonable, encourage you to try new and unusual thing (Okra Mead for one), and throw in a little good natured razzing all the time. I see you have been with us for a while, but welcome anyway.

 

[fuzzy2133]

OP I am with all the others that your current club is at its self destruction point. It can be fixed if all the officers will back each other and deal with the members that are causing problems. Sadly if that can not happen then it is time to leave.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you're already willing to put that much work into a social club, you'd be a great candidate to lead a small succession group. Write the mission statement and describe how you'd run the new club, shop it to some of your favorite like minded people and off you go.