Consultation report
How should we use next year’s surplus?
Riverside Members Club · Members · 18 September 2026 – 25 September 2026
- Took part
- 164
- Votes cast
- 1888
- Statements
- 12
- Response rate
- 39%
At a glance
Participants want a say over large spending and clearer accounts, reject a one-off event, and are divided on whether to hold the surplus in reserve or hire a coordinator.
Control and openness
Participants agree that members should vote on large spending and that the accounts should be published in plain English.
Giving something back to members
Participants agree with lower fees and with a grant fund for member projects.
What they do not want
Participants disagree with a one-off event and with the committee deciding alone.
Reserves and staffing
Participants are divided on keeping the surplus in reserve and on hiring a coordinator.
Where participants agree
A clear majority agreed with these statements.
-
We should publish a plain-English summary of the accounts every year.
89% agree 4% disagree 7% unsure 156 votes
-
Members should vote on any spending above £10,000.
81% agree 9% disagree 10% unsure 160 votes
-
Some of the surplus should go on lower fees for members.
71% agree 17% disagree 12% unsure 158 votes
-
A small grant fund for member projects would be money well spent.
63% agree 20% disagree 17% unsure 156 votes
-
We should refurbish the main hall before anything else.
62% agree 24% disagree 14% unsure 156 votes
Where participants disagree
A clear majority disagreed with these statements.
-
The committee should decide how to use the surplus without a member vote.
11% agree 82% disagree 8% unsure 160 votes
-
We should spend the surplus on a one-off event for members.
14% agree 75% disagree 11% unsure 158 votes
Where participants are unsure
“Unsure” was the most common answer to these statements.
-
We should merge our reserves with the regional federation’s fund.
20% agree 23% disagree 57% unsure 156 votes
Where participants are split
Agreement and disagreement were both substantial, and close to each other.
-
We should hire a part-time coordinator with the surplus.
43% agree 46% disagree 11% unsure 158 votes
-
The surplus should stay in reserves until the lease is renewed.
44% agree 41% disagree 15% unsure 158 votes
No clear result
The votes lean one way, but not clearly enough to call.
-
The surplus should be split equally between fees and the building.
47% agree 31% disagree 21% unsure 156 votes
Leans towards agreement.
-
We should keep fees the same and improve what members get instead.
51% agree 33% disagree 16% unsure 156 votes
Leans towards agreement.
Suggested next questions
These are suggestions for what to ask or look into next. They are not findings.
- What would members need to know about the regional federation’s fund to take a view on merging reserves?
- What lies behind the division over holding the surplus until the lease is renewed?
- Which fees matter most to members?
Who took part, and what this does not show
- These results describe the 164 people who took part. People choose whether to take part, so participants may differ from those who did not. This is not a poll of everyone who was invited, or of the public.
- A result is called only when the votes clearly support it, allowing for how many people voted. With few votes, even a large majority is reported as “no clear result”.
- Percentages are of everyone who voted on that statement, including those who answered “unsure”. People could skip statements, so the number of votes differs between statements.
- Taking part was anonymous, with one set of answers per device. Someone using two devices would be counted twice.
- This example uses made-up votes. In your report every figure is counted directly from the votes; the headline, themes and suggested questions are written by AI from those results and checked by software, so they describe the results and do not add to them.