When was the last time AOPA asked you for money?

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Ravioli

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Was it that last time you opened your email?

OMG!
 
Common complaint. Nothing new.
 
Few minutes ago when I checked email. Didn't open it, just deleted it.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Common complaint. Nothing new.
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It does seem to be a bit of a dead horse around these parts. At any rate is AOPA really the only entity blanketing your email with donation requests? I know they are not in mine. Not saying it justifies it, but the delete button is right there.
 
Pro tip: Set up another email for junk mail. With all the annoying mail colleges send during app season I had to set up another account to keep my sanity. All my important email from the old account gets forwarded over and there's no crap mail there.
 
My AOPA number is 6xxxxx, which tells you I've been with them for eons. And I can't recall the last time they've asked me for any money. Must have been a very long time ago, or my short term memory is eroding fast. :)
 
Aopa has sent a few requests since the pilots bill of rights has moved forward.
 
I got off their list about a year and a half ago by sending them one of my 'love notes' that apparently incinerated my name from their database when they opened it. :D Before that it was around 3 a week. Now I'm only on the ASF email safety letter list.
 
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I sent an email to AOPA explaining that I was born at night but not last night. I never got another AOPA email.
 
30 years of both nra and aopa .. once a week asking for $$, going to drop them both for that one and only reason . i asked them both for there financial statements showing salaries a few times and never got a response . its all bs . welcome to the usa
 
Today.

I've now marked all email from them as junk.

I visit their site, and they do provide some benefits, but I'm sick of the solicitations.
 
I Need YOU... Just a few more dollars.... Your fair share. Really gets effing old.
 
Unit74 said:
I Need YOU... Just a few more dollars.... Your fair share. Really gets effing old.
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You know, it's not even that with me. If they did what I felt they should be doing to promote what I feel is in the best interest of GA and myself, hell, I'd give them $500 a year; but they don't. They either fail, or take the opposite side, on every issue I consider important. Medical reform, fail; Pt. 23 reform and Exp Non Commercial, haven't heard a word in over a year. That should be their primary objective and get the aircraft limitation up to 6000 lbs and allow twins. What we wil end u with is again a half measure that falls far short of doing what it needs to do to affect the future viability of GA.
 
hotprops said:
... i asked them both for there financial statements showing salaries a few times and never got a response . ...
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www.guidestar.org

Get the tax return for any nonprofit. Free after a no-hassle, no-spam registration. Nonprofit tax returns (form 990s) include salaries.
 
Never. I told them 15 years or so ago that if they wanted to retain me as a member they could avoid calling or emailing me. Haven't heard a peep since. I get an occasional snail mail but even that seems to have trailed off. I don't even think I got my offering of ASF Christmas Cards this year.
 
hotprops said:
30 years of both nra and aopa .. once a week asking for $$, going to drop them both for that one and only reason . i asked them both for there financial statements showing salaries a few times and never got a response . its all bs . welcome to the usa
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Not planning to renew my NRA membership when it expires in 2017. Partly because of the panhandling and partly because of the completely illogical paranoid spam email I get.

AOPA was great with a student membership. Flight training magazine was good, discounted tests... so it really just paid for itself however I didn't renew. I have received no less than 10 'Final Notices' about needing to renew. But given that their services are outsourced out, their Executive salaries are bloated and my interested align more with EAA... just decided to not reup.
 
OkieAviator said:
Not planning to renew my NRA membership when it expires in 2017. Partly because of the panhandling and partly because of the completely illogical paranoid spam email I get.

AOPA was great with a student membership. Flight training magazine was good, discounted tests... so it really just paid for itself however I didn't renew. I have received no less than 10 'Final Notices' about needing to renew. But given that their services are outsourced out, their Executive salaries are bloated and my interested align more with EAA... just decided to not reup.
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That was pretty much my deal too. I liked the magazine yes but the main reason I joined in the first place is because they were the only ones that had the online resources for flight planning and weather at the time (at least in an easily accessible form.) Since then their resources have not been valuable to me, and to just pump money into GA advocacy, I have to see a LOT more in return than I'm seeing.
 
I probably get at least two emails each week from AOPA Foundation, Mark Baker, the AOPA PAC, etc. Just hit delete.

The snail mail will usually have a couple of fat letters every month asking for donations. They find their way to the shredder before even being opened.

That said, I have no problems with paying my annual AOPA membership. Also a member of EAA.
 
Again, if you contact member services they will stop phone calls, emails, or whatever else at your request. Like I said, I've been on the no-phone, no-email status for a long time and they've held to it.
 
I guess AOPA's stuff doesn't bother me that much because it's a mere drop in the bucket compared to the fire hose of begging e-mails I get from UCLA, my alma mater of forty years ago. I've asked them repeatedly to give it a rest (I didn't care for UCLA any more then than I do now) and have tried to block the senders' address, but they keep using different addresses to get around the blocks.

My professional e-mail is public record, so part of every day is spent pumping out the electronic bilge of all manner of get-rich-quick schemes, Nigerian princes who are holding vast inheritances for me, etc., etc.

:mad2:
 
24 months ago when I quit. Nothing since then.

They have a HUGE war chest - why do they need more? They are using PBOR2 and the upcoming vote as "...look how good we did. Give us more and we will do more."

Pure BS. Huge salaries, past prez salaries and payouts...they could do LOTS more and quit asking for $$ if they would trim their own budget.

Till then, y'all pay the freight. Not for this guy. Support EAA and other causes.
 
Pilawt said:
I guess AOPA's stuff doesn't bother me that much because it's a mere drop in the bucket compared to the fire hose of begging e-mails I get from UCLA, my alma mater of forty years ago. I've asked them repeatedly to give it a rest (I didn't care for UCLA any more then than I do now) and have tried to block the senders' address, but they keep using different addresses to get around the blocks.

My professional e-mail is public record, so part of every day is spent pumping out the electronic bilge of all manner of get-rich-quick schemes, Nigerian princes who are holding vast inheritances for me, etc., etc.

:mad2:
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Unfortunately that is pretty much a part of everyone's daily routine.:nonod:
 
I'm O.K. with their sevices, and they have some good resources via their web site. Never looked at salaries there, but I live in the area - KFDK is basically a suburb of DC, which is one of the high cost CONUS locations. Twixt local taxes, housing, etc., a working couple need to be bringing in well north of $200K to be middle-middle class. Your not gonna hire solid senior managers for mid-west or southern tier salaries.

The email and snail mail solicitations don't bother me. I could do without the phone calls.
 
thanks for the guidestar info .shocking info re aopa they have 80 million sitting in the bank and the pay/ benies per year is over %50 the income per year around 50 mill and thats only 1 of the 3 corps they have set up
 
airdale thanks for the Guidstar linkage .you saved me ALOT of $$$ .i dont give much but i just ditched 2 charities that were run worse than aopa and nra shocking. btw f... the aopa and nra
 
hotprops said:
airdale thanks for the Guidstar linkage .you saved me ALOT of $$$ ...
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You're welcome. I really try to be a missionary for that site for just the reasons you cite. And that is really the site's mission too: Helping donors identify unworthy recipients.

And, as you found out, AOPA is rolling in money. The size of the hoard is wildly beyond any conceivable operational need and really should be given back to the members, possibly in the form of a dues holiday. Some kind of a formula with x months of dues holiday for each year of membership.

Some could also be given to the Air Safety Foundation. IIRC the last time I looked ASF's endowment was a paltry $25M -- only 1/3 the size of the hoard.

The problem with the pile of money sitting there is the same as a teenager having $100 in his/her pocket. The urge to spend is irresistible. The teenager buys clothes and beer. The corporate executive makes "investments." A couple of years ago, in fact, AOPA floated the idea that they would become venture capitalists in the general aviation space. First, in the venture worlds a few tens of million $ is chump change. Second, AOPA staff knows nothing about venture investing. Third, the GA space is hardly where you'd go if you wanted to make money. "But, hey, the money is there. Let's invest it!"
 
Friday I received the "One final shot at renewing"..... Although I'm curious if it's REALLY my last chance.... :)
 
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