From time to time, we are asked by our members how the U3A organisation originally came about and how our local organisation is structured. Here is a brief description to answer those queries.
U3A is an independent, not-for-profit and world-wide organisation for people over the age of 50 who are retired or semi-retired. It was started in France back in the 1970s to provide opportunities for its members to continue learning and to stay physically and mentally active, and socially connected.
Our Port Macquarie Hastings U3A started just over 20 years ago, offering 11 courses spread across 5 different venues that we rented. Now we offer a lot more courses mostly held in our current location. We operate under the umbrella of U3A NSW Inc and have a constitution as required by Fair Trading NSW.
We are entirely run by volunteers who offer courses, work in the office, manage all our technology needs and resources, care for our gardens and organise social events. We are self-supporting with our only income being annual membership, course fees, morning/afternoon tea refreshments and book donations.
So, where does that money go?
We currently have a three-year lease within St Agnes Village, Lochinvar Place. A large part of our income is used to fulfill our lease’s financial commitment. Other costs include insurance, technology (internet, software, hardware, licences), electricity, phones, cleaning, pest control, office supplies, morning/afternoon tea, gardening, maintenance and replacement costs (e.g. air-conditioners). Together our costs add up to the total expenditure recorded in our Annual Reports.
The management committee meets each month to monitor those expenses. One of our main priorities this year is to update and replace some of our technology resources. We need to ensure that those resources can continue to reliably support the technology necessary to meet our administration and course requirements. This expenditure will be in addition to our everyday costs.
The management committee appreciates all the effort made by so many people to ensure we can continue to provide opportunities for our members. We obviously rely on our members’ loyalty in enrolling in courses and also in paying for everyday expenses such as your refreshments in class breaks or when buying book donations.
From your 2024-2025 Management Committee.