This issue was raised by Saeed on another thread. Rather than highjack that tread I want to explain (and defend) the SCI Booth placement policy here.


............."May be SCI's first step should be to start treating their members equally.

I understand that priority of booths is given to those who "donate"."..............

Yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Those who have donated over the years have a prorated choice of booths based on thier priority points. Priorty points are based on both the number of conventions the member has exhibited in (one point for each year)and the net value of the donations made to the SCI auction program over that period. Every exhibitor is required to make a donation whether it's a hunt, a non hunt item, or a cash
(usually some minimum figure) donation. SCI places weight on how long the exhibitor has been affiliated and how much the exhibitor has generated for the club. Everyone makes a donation of some sort. Those who have served the club the longest and/or supported the club the most have the highest number of priority points. Our priority number is # 9. We have been attending since 1984. We even exhibited at the 2 flops that were called the Eastern SCI Conventions back in the early 90's. Nassos has been very generous in donating a safari every year he could afford it and some years when he couldn't. Unlike some of the Southern African Cmpanies, ours comes right off the top with no way of adding on species since there are quotas and licenses...not "trophy fees". And some years there wasn't any donated hunts because Ethiopian Hunting was closed. I still hauled our simple little booth to Reno and set up shop, both to hold our place in line (two years dormancy retires your points) and to keep the company name out there in front of our old clients and potential clients. Why? Because we watched SCI grow from a 'good old boys' get together into a Powerhouse that does more for International Hunting than any other entity out there. A member since 1978, this year I converted to a lifetime membership as did Nassos' son, Jason Roussos. Over the years we've seen some great elected officers and some real duds. But the club still grew because it was needed to offset the anti's. In one of the early years several past predidents passed the hat amoung themselves to keep the organaiztion going (to pay the staff). I can remember 2 instances where past Professional Hunters of the Year Award winners became personna non grata and had their membership revoked for various unethical actions and these guys had donated numerous safaris over the years and fully expect to see the same thing happen again if the action proves warrented. Anyway, as you can tell we believe in and support SCI.
Rich Elliott

Thanks for enlightening the comrades.

Maineguide

I personally feel that it's perfectly reasonable for an exhibitor to pay a highish amount of money for his booth and services at the convention(s) and that the exhibitor can also gain a more favourable location on a points basis based on previous years attendance is also in my mind perfectly reasonable...... but to say that if you don't ALSO make a hunt/goods/money donation then you don't get a booth and the higher the value of your donation the better location you get is (in my mind)nothing more than simple extortion.......

I'd also like to know how much SCI make out of these donations and exactly what they do with that money.......

Money cant buy love or respect.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I personally feel that it's perfectly reasonable for an exhibitor to pay a highish amount of money for his booth and services at the convention(s) and that the exhibitor can also gain a more favourable location on a points basis based on previous years attendance is also in my mind perfectly reasonable...... but to say that if you don't ALSO make a hunt/goods/money donation then you don't get a booth and the higher the value of your donation the better location you get is (in my mind)nothing more than simple extortion.......

I'd also like to know how much SCI make out of these donations and exactly what they do with that money.......

quote:

I personally feel that it's perfectly reasonable for an exhibitor to pay a highish amount of money for his booth and services at the convention(s)

Donating money or an Auction item is part of the entrance fee. Many Exhibitors cannot deduct the fee from their taxes but can deduct 'donations'. Their are exhibitors from all over the world with many different tax laws.

SCI is does not exist to give exhibitors low cost advertising or free access to it's members. It does not exist to replace Booking Agents for the outfitters. The Convention is a profit making event that funds SCI throughout the year.

If the Outfitters and other Exhibitors agreed to give SCI 15-20% of the business done during the Convention, like they would give to a Booking Agent, than the fees would not be needed.

SCI has many faults, from waisting money to corrupt leaders in some positions. It is no different than any other organization or company it's size.

What it does do is represent Hunters better than any other organization in the World.

But how much do they make out of the donated hunts and what do they do with the money?

......and come to that, why is it such a secret?

Why, it's no secret.
Their IRS Form 990 filing from 2004 on back is on their website..............
$9,662,162 income from special events
$3,947,023 expense for special ecents
-----------------
$5,715,139 Net Income from special events
============

Rich Elliott

Thanks for putting this so well, Rich.

I am a vendor at several trade shows (not related to hunting) and we pay an entrance fee as well as make "donations" to the cause. We know about it going in, it is part of the deal. In no way is it extortion. Same with SCI, its just part of the deal. You don't want to participate? Don't buy a booth. Don't make a donation.

I'm getting very tired of some of you guys slamming SCI at every oportunity. That is the easy way. Its always easier to point fingers and slam than it is to work towards something better. That is why its called work... its difficult.

If you don't like it, work to change it.

Become a member, and do something.

SCI has some great people and some great things to offer. It does some very good things for all of us. It has evolved from something that had a very different membership and "style". SCI has a few things that need change. It has a few things that are working great.

I'm very interested to hear what some of you think should be done, and how we can go about getting it worked out. Change is good.

Rich,

Thanks for the figures, although I'm afraid I still consider it extortion..... but that's a personal opinion and as far as I'm concerned everyone's free to differ. I'd never take it personally! .... As to if you don't like it, don't go.... well, I don't like it and I don't go..... but I'm fortunate that we don't need to.

The guys I feel sorry for are the ones who have to go to get the bookings but resent having to make the donation... and I'd bet the majority of boothholders do resent the donation system... Certainly I've never met anyone over here who is happy with it.....

quote:

I'm getting very tired of some of you guys slamming SCI at every oportunity. That is the easy way. Its always easier to point fingers and slam than it is to work towards something better. That is why its called work... its difficult.

If you don't like it, work to change it.

Become a member, and do something.

Thank you Lundboat!!!

quote:

Originally posted by lundboat:
I'm getting very tired of some of you guys slamming SCI at every oportunity.

I am getting tired of SCI profiting from poaching, such as the OOA auction hunts.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I personally feel that it's perfectly reasonable for an exhibitor to pay a highish amount of money for his booth and services at the convention(s) and that the exhibitor can also gain a more favourable location on a points basis based on previous years attendance is also in my mind perfectly reasonable...... but to say that if you don't ALSO make a hunt/goods/money donation then you don't get a booth and the higher the value of your donation the better location you get is (in my mind)nothing more than simple extortion.......

I'd also like to know how much SCI make out of these donations and exactly what they do with that money.......

I am not an SCI member but have a familiarity with non-profits organizations. They file tax returns and financial disclosure statements that give the details on what happens to the money. All you need to do is contact SCI and ask for a public financial statment. You will likely see that they spend a lot of money raising money. Usually groups like this, with a large volunteer staff, do not really make much money (from a business perspective). They will spend about 10 to 20% on salaries, 30 to 40% on fund raising and the rest on their mission. DU, NRA, others are likely the same way.

There are a large number of questionable type conservation organizations out there. I won't name any names, but check on the ones that are all based in Edgefield, South Carolina. They share the same building.

Shakari,

I too have heard many derogatory remarks about the "donation" requirement. I can see too where some one just starting out would feel victimized when although they donate a hunt , they are still number 876 in the pecking order.
One thing that might help is that the Reno Convention center is expanding again and there will be even more room thus number 876 is gonna have a better selection of remaining booths to choose from. I think someone selling clothing or some other walk in type business would be put at more of a disadvantage than a safari company. I know we don't have what I would consider to be walk ins. Outfitters and safari companies ar listed under that category so someone who might be interested in a hunt will likely look that company's booth up. Anyway, until a better system comes to be we'll still play the extortion, ooops, I mean "donation" game.
Rich Elliott

Actually all you need to do is go to Charity Navigator.com to find out about all non-profits and especially groups that we give to. It will give you pay, expenses, income, rate it on a 0 to 5 scale and how they compare against other groups.

SCI

OVERALL RATING (50.67)

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Program Expenses 73.6%
Administration Expenses 19.6%
Fundraising Expenses 6.8%
Fundraising Efficiency $0.06
EFFICIENCY RATING:
(34.28)
ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY
Primary Revenue Growth 49.8%
Program Expenses Growth 3.9%
Working Capital Ratio (years) 0.21
CAPACITY RATING:
(16.39)

Revenue
Primary Revenue $4,946,944
Other Revenue $90,479
Total Revenue: $5,037,423
Expenses
Program Expenses $2,951,581
Administration Expenses $786,150
Fundraising Expenses $271,871
Total Functional Expenses: $4,009,602

Payments to Affiliates $0
Excess (or Deficit) for the Year $1,027,821

Net Assets: $6,364,775

PEER ANALYSIS
Charity Name Overall
Score Overall
Rating
Safari Club International Foundation 50.67
Wildlife Trust 68.42
International Crane Foundation 69.07
American Bird Conservancy 65.82
Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust 16.32 0 Stars

CEO PAY FYE 12/2003
Richard Parsons
Executive Director

Using information reported on an organization's most recent Form 990, we include as compensation an individual's salary, cash bonuses, and unusually large expense accounts and other allowances.
Compensation: $157,287