Summary of the June 25th Board Meeting

Osher Board of Directors Meeting Highlights for the WE

At the June 25 meeting, President Jeffrey Swoger thanked those who made significant contributions to Osher during the fiscal year, which ends on June 30. He offered special thanks to Neelam Dwivedi, who recently completed her three-year term on the Board, for her dedicated service.

Based on a recommendation from the Curriculum Committee, the Board approved renaming the committee the Study Leader Recruitment Committee (SLRC). The change was made to better reflect the committee’s primary purpose and activities: recruiting Study Leaders to develop and teach courses of interest to Osher members.

The Board also approved the Finance Committee’s recommended budget for the 2026–2027 fiscal year.  Key budget changes, driven by steadily increasing costs and covid caused membership decreases, include streamlining operations by eliminating a part-time paid staff position; increasing the member registration fee from $60 to $70 per term; raising the prospect registration fee from $95 to $105 and increasing the per-course fee for courses held at facilities that charge Osher a rental fee from $10 to $20.   The member registration fee increase will take effect for the winter term; the other changes  will take effect for the fall term.

These are the first fee increases since January 1^st, 2019,  7+ years ago!  Even with these adjustments, the budget projects an operating deficit of approximately $40,000 for the year; although, Osher’s financial situation looks sound when projected investment income is considered. To reduce the projected operating deficit, the Board has been developing and implementing a broader, more aggressive marketing plan aimed at increasing membership.