And if so, for what reason? This organization issues press releases.  I guess their theory is, the more announcements they make, the more likely people are to believe what they say.  Well, here's something that you can ask them.  I encourage you to email your Zone chairman or the OFAH directly.

 

On January 20th, 2009 this organization claimed to have 83, 000 members and 655 member clubs.  This information is printed at the bottom of this release about native species restoration.

 

 

Two days later, on January 22nd, 2009, they had over 100,000 members and 655 member clubs.  You can see that here:

 

 

A typo?  Maybe.  I believe that they are trying to inflate their numbers for some political end.  At any rate, you have to wonder what their web editor is doing. 

 

In December 2007, they said there were approximately 82,000 members.  If we trust that figure, they increased their number by 1,000 in 2008 to 83,000.  In two days in January, 2009 however, they managed to inflate their roll by 17,000!  Quite an accomplishment for the membership chair.  One has to wonder who's doing their books.  They had better hope the same person isn't doing their taxes!

 

Can you trust them with your money?

 

I've never believed what they told me after being two of the 80,000 members.  Yes, you read that right. When I discovered that I was two members - complete with two membership cards and two magazine deliveries - it occurred to me that all I was was a source of easy cash.  I did contact them and they did stop my second magazine.  Wasn't that nice?  Even after bringing this double billing to their attention, they continued to take my money and refused to refund me anything.  I know because I asked.  But they were nice enough to change the expiry date on my membership card - incrementing it by 2 years instead of one.  What a great way to make money! 

 

How many other people are paying two, three or more times and don't even realize it? Why do they treat their members this way?  And how many members does the OFAH actually have?  I'd be willing to bet that they have significantly less than 100,000.  If they keep taking people's money multiple times in one year, what does that say about the OFAH?

 

 If they aren't telling the truth about membership, what other tales are they telling?

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The OFAH must have got wind of this story somehow.

They changed the original January 22nd release and changed "over 100,000 members" to read something different.  Now it reads "over 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters."  They have added subscribers and supporters to the tagline of their media releases. In all previous releases they only referred to actual membership numbers.  Why mention magazine subscribers or supporters?  To me, it suggests that they want to inflate their numbers. Are they trying to sound like they represent more people? Reality check: Their actual membership number hasn't increased, but they want you to think so.  Are they in financial trouble?

Some of their annual revenue comes from donations.  They are obviously down.  Perhaps as much as 50%.  They are likely worried about renewals. As a result, you can bet that they will be more closely watching their expenses as well.  To me, this suggests that they may be in a worse financial situation than last year.  The economy is part of it no doubt, but perhaps contributors are beginning to see them as a bad investment.

 

Other conservation organizations are probably better choices for your dollars and personal time.

NWTF - http://www.nwtf.ca
COHA - http://www.coha.net
DU - http://www.ducks.ca

to name a few.

You can also contact your county office and get their recommendations for what areas in your region need help.  Clean up a stream. Help make deer feeding stations. Fix up a park.  Donate some time to a local cause.  Make inquiries with other outdoor clubs in your region.  Everyone is feeling the economic pinch.  If you have any extra money this year, spend it closer to home.

Stop sending money out of your area and into the hands of the OFAH executive!