“Sportbonus” brings additional members to alpine clubs – salzburg.ORF.at
Sports
The “Sports Bonus” from the Ministry of Sports brings additional members to the alpine clubs in Salzburg – between 200 and 400 a year. The ministry pays up to three quarters of the membership fee for the campaign as support during the pandemic.
There are many reasons for being a member of an alpine association such as the Alpenverein or Friends of Nature: some benefit from courses and training, while others consider insurance cover to be important for all activities in the mountains.
And the reduced membership is also a good argument for advertising. There is still a bonus until the summer: “This is a really great support from the Federal Ministry, which makes the situation in which we find ourselves as an association a lot,” says Sophia Burtscher from the Naturefriends Salzburg. “We can inspire people who are perhaps in difficult difficulties to still complete such a club membership for a year.”
Sports bonus brings members to alpine clubs
Young people and students in particular are joining
Roland Kals from the Salzburg section of the Alpenverein also noted “an above-average number of young people and students joining the club. That suggests a bit that these financial incentives might be very strong in these groups after all.”
The increase in the alpine clubs is between 200 and 400 more memberships compared to other years. There is still potential, says Burtscher: “It hasn’t leaked out that much, it’s not yet well known that there is now the possibility of acquiring membership with us for 25 percent of the normal fee and using all the possibilities – like events or insurance coverage.”
Challenge to retain new members
There are also concerns that in the second year after the end of financial support, many will leave. That’s why it’s also a challenge to keep these new members when the financial bonus is gone, Roland Kals is convinced: “We strive for people to feel connected to our club. The Alpine Club is a community of values and not just a pure service organization.” The Austrian Alpine Club in Salzburg currently has around 25,000 members, and the Naturefriends have around 8,000.