FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Q: Who is eligible to become a member of the association?

Anyone who has graduated with a formal qualification from the Macquarie School of Management (or its predecessor forms) is eligible to join our association. In other words, if you were awarded either an MBA, Master of Management or Grad Certificate of Management or any equivalent award, you qualify for membership. Unfortunately, this does not include those who commenced courses and didn’t graduate nor those who undertook the Executive Education courses.

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Q: How will the money raised be used?

There are a long list of activities that have to be funded to start-up and run an association like this. To this point we have been funded primarily by voluntary members providing time and expertise, financial contributions from board members and by various in kind donations of facilities and services.

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However to move to a more sustainable operational model we will need to be able to fund the provision and development of various software platforms, development of branding and marketing assets, and professional administrative services. These will all take cash prior to us being able to fund the ongoing operations via membership subscriptions and sponsorships, etc.

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It is this seed capital funding gap that foundation membership is designed to answer.

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Q: Who will be responsible for the management of funds raised?

One of the first steps we undertook was to create a professional board and institute a suitable governance regime. This ensure that not only are key strategic decisions made with due process but that financial oversight is an integral part of the management of risk and compliance.

 

Q: How long is my foundation membership valid for?

The Foundation Membership phase is an initial start up phase where we have time to complete the funding, piloting and building activities required for an ongoing membership organisation. The target is therefore quantified in a membership target, however we estimate this will take us somewhere between 4 and 6 months.

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Q: What happens if we don’t reach 500 foundation members?

We have a big vision of what the MGSMAA can look like when it is built. Accordingly, we have mapped out a strategy that will replicate many other top line profession membership associations offer.

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Whilst 500 members is our aspirational target and represents both a critical mass of people committed to our vision and a recommended funding level, it is not a hard and fast number. If the Board feel that reaching a target of slightly less than this still provides the foundation to move forward with our plans, then we may do this with less than 500 foundation members.

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If we are unable to secure a foundation membership base sufficient to warrant moving ahead with this plan, the likely outcome will be a recalibration of the scale and activity of the association. In this circumstance all foundation memberships would convert into annual membership subscriptions.

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Q: Is there a possibility that the association may be wound up in the future? What would happen to any un-spent funds?

In the unlikely event that the association chose to wind up operations at any time, any unspent funds would be donated to a charitable organisation or program compatible with our organisational charter.

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Q: Is there any financial relationship with Macquarie University?

No. The MGSM Alumni Association is an independent registered organisation with its own charter, board, treasury and associated governance functions. As such, MGSMAA does not rely on and has never requested financial assistance from the university.