Membership Contribution Calculation
Each spring we send out our BIG SU Survey which unions are requested to complete. This provides an opportunity for unions to supply their block grant figures.
A 'Block Grant' is the annual funding provided by your institution to fund the work of the Students' Union/Student Council. We use the Block Grant to base our calculations for your Membership Contribution which is based on a percentage of your Block Grant (see below).
Every year we refresh our data with the information from the completed SU survey which provides us with the majority of block grant information. However, this is not complete. There are unions that do not complete this survey and therefore we sometimes have missing data. If we do not have data from the survey then the block grant figure used for the previous year is used, with the addition of 5% to allow for an inflationary increase.
Every year in May or June, all member unions are emailed with the calculated membership contribution. This includes a breakdown of the calculation and requests that unions let us know if the calculation is incorrect (and to supply relevant evidence). If you have a question about your membership contribution, you can contact us using this form.
Every year in September we send all member unions the invoice for their membership contribution. This is often the point when we receive queries on the calculation.
Membership contribution levels for NUS Charity are as follows:
• The headline membership contribution is 1% of block grant/financial contribution from institution where the member is affiliated to NUS Charity only. The minimum is £100 and the maximum £15,000
• This is reduced to 0.5% of block grant/financial contribution from institution where the member is also a member of NUS UK, discounted to reflect the shared service savings. Minimum £50, maximum £7,500.
• This is reduced to 0.5% of block grant/financial contribution from institution where the member is also a member of NUS UK, discounted to reflect the shared service savings. Minimum £50, maximum £7,500.
If an organisation is a member of NUS Charity and a participant in the NUS Services purchasing consortium but not a member of NUS UK, the board may take the value of their purchasing into account and reduce the contribution accordingly. But not below that which would be paid were they a member of both, £7.5K. If you choose to affiliate to just NUS Charity, payments are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate.
It should be noted here that when we state block grant, for the calculation of membership contribution, this is shorthand for effective block grant. The reason for this subtle difference is an attempt to equalize what is included in the block grant figure as each institution includes or excludes different items.
What should you include as part of your Block Grant?
Items that are included in your Block Grant are:
- Staff where they solely work on student union work regardless of whether they work for the union or parent institution.
- Any elected officers part-time or full time, regardless of whether they work for the union or parent institution.
- Any (block) grant funding from the parent institution.
- Funding allocated for general expenses, such as pension costs or sports funding (typically drawn from the general funds of most members), should not be excluded from the calculation.
Items which may be excluded are:
- Where a member receives funds with the intention of them being remitted back to the institution (for example for payment of rent or utilities) the value of these funds would be removed to calculate the effective block grant.
- If a member receives funds that are specifically for a restricted fund as detailed in accounting SORP, then this figure should be removed to calculate effective block grant.
- If a member receives funds to help bail the member out of a fine or similar, then the figure should be removed to calculate effective block grant.
- If a member received funds to help with a building project, capital expenditure or similar investment, then the figure should be removed to calculate effective block grant.
- Project funding may only be excluded for a maximum period of three years. After this period, it is considered grant funding and should be factored into the calculation.
Incorrect Block Grant Figure
We are aware that we may not always use the correct block grant figures due to the methodology that we collect this information and it not being complete. Provided a member can evidence the block grant figure that requires correcting, this will be amended. Evidence can be in the form of:
• Sight of the statutory accounts disclosing the block grant figure, by any of Companies House,
Charity Commission or forwarded accounts
• Copy of a letter from the institution confirming the block grant value and the period for which the
block grant was awarded
• Sight of draft statutory accounts disclosing the block grant figure.
Financial hardship support
For your peace of mind and planning purposes, below are the options available to members who may be in need of financial support
HARDSHIP
Hardship is another existing scheme that seeks to support members who find themselves unable to pay their membership contribution. The principle underpinning hardship is that a students' union could not have reasonably planned for the financial hardship.
TRANSITION RELIEF
In certain situations, a member may see an increase in membership contribution. This could be for a variety of reasons including (but not limited to) an increase in block grant, new information arising from a review of financial/block grant information, a change in the calculation of membership contribution or an increase in membership contribution agreed by the members of NUS/NUS Charity.
In such circumstances, it is possible to stagger the increase in membership contribution. This is known as transition relief. The aim of transition relief is to stagger a members’ move from the previous level of membership contribution to the new over a period of time.
A member may apply for transition relief if;
• Their membership contribution is 20% or higher than the value of their previous membership contribution. Increases of less than 20% are not eligible for transition relief.
• They are an existing member of NUS/NUS Charity. New members are not eligible to apply for transition relief
• The member has not previously been in receipt of transition relief in the last two years
• The member has been specifically put in a list to not receive transition relief
Value of transition relief
Transition relief can be applied up to a maximum of three years. The transition relief calculation is based on the principle that the increase is spread evenly over the transition period, with a third of the difference payable each year. It can only be applied to the difference between the old and new membership contribution levels.
Example
Union A’s membership contribution is £10,000 but following an increase in block grant this increases to £19,000. They would pay
Year one: £10,000 (original contribution) + £3000 (1/3 of difference) = £13,000
Year two: £10,000 (original contribution) + £6,000 (2/3 of difference) = £16,000
Year three: £19,000 (full new membership contribution level)
Full Hardship and Abatement guidance can be found here.
If you have any questions about your Membership Contribution please email Membership@nus.org.uk.
