Affiliation for groups – fees changed after we listened to feedback

FAQs

Jogscotland are making plans to introduce an affiliation fee for groups – and we have listened to feedback from leaders over the past fortnight and made some changes to the proposals.

We need your help to grow the programme and we require to improve jogscotland’s financial stability.

But we must stress: the option of free membership of the programme remains in place for individuals. Costs for groups have now been adjusted (from our original announcement earlier this month).

When we were drawing up our original plan, there was a consultation period with the Jog Leaders Forum, a representative group of 12 leaders from different groups. We spoke with the Forum over several months to get their views and opinions on how any structural changes to membership and group fees would impact them and their members.

We also carried out discussion groups with various internal staff members at scottishathletics such as the Inclusion Impact Team, Membership and National Club Managers. We also consulted with an expert in group governance who gave jogscotland guidance on what policies, agreements and structure groups should adopt going forward.

Please read on for more information and the for the adjusted affiliation fees for groups (scaled according to group size) . . .

jogscotland launches new Strategy – Jog Scotland

Introduction

For over 20 years jogscotland has trailblazed by providing a local community health and wellbeing programme that excels at getting people active and keeping them active.

Our award-winning programme has pioneered several initiatives designed to support runners in their journey, including the ‘I’m Here’ campaign for mental health, menopause friendly jog groups, Mums on the Run programme to support new mothers returning to exercise and the jogworks programme to encourage health and wellbeing in the workplace.

Jog Leaders and jogscotland groups remain at the very heart of what we do and always will.

Through listening to their needs, supporting and encouraging them, we will work collectively with all stakeholders to help realise the programme’s potential and provide the stability and ambition that will secure jogscotland‘s future for the next 20 years.

Time to Grow

We feel the time is right for change – since the Covid pandemic, jogscotland has reached a plateau in membership and its number of jog groups has remained steady.

Our ambition is to grow the number of groups available to communities across Scotland, but we can only do that by investing into our staff team and increasing the education and development opportunities, so groups and leaders have the skills and capacity to grow.

We are ready to:

Grow

Develop

Thrive

Educate

Support

Innovate

To grow, we need your help.

One of the ways we will improve jogscotland’s financial stability and generate income to accomplish our goals is through group affiliation and our new optional paid membership, jogscotland Premium.

New membership system and introducing jogscotland Premium – Jog Scotland

jogscotland has been free for a long time. Why charge now?

For jogscotland to achieve its dreams of growing its team, providing more group support and education, and enhancing our programmes and reach, it needs financial investment and stability for its future.

We are very grateful for the financial support we receive from Scottish Athletics, our charity partners SAMH and from sportscotland, but rising insurance costs, increased demand on staff particularly around welfare and the capacity of the team to support a large network to its fullest now means that we seek to bring in additional funds to better deliver the jogscotland programme.

These changes aim to support jogscotland’s financial sustainability, enable the continued growth and development of the programme and to ensure a more standardised and consistent approach to group setup and operation.

The Changes

jogscotland Premium, priced at £12 per year, offers a range of valuable benefits.

Importantly, free membership will continue to be available, ensuring jogscotland remains inclusive and accessible to all.

Free Membership includes:

• Public Liability Insurance while participating in jogscotland group activities
• Ability to sign-up to a jogscotland registered group
• Access to Endurance Zone through your member profile, offering rewards and discounts on major sports, fitness, and health brands

Premium Membership includes (in addition to the benefits above):

• Access to the premium discounts within Endurance Zone
• Supporting the continued growth and development of jogscotland
• Access, as an individual member, to education and learning through our Jog Group Education Programme

How do I access Endurance Zone?

Once logged into your JustGo profile, access to Endurance Zone can be found in the Rewards section on the top menu bar.

If you are a free member, you can still view the offers and discounts available, but these will be locked, only premium members can click on the discounted brands and make purchases.

Brands available that could be of benefit to our community are big names such as Garmin, Dry Robes, Inov8, Decathlon, Berghaus, Under Armour, Gym Shark as well as many other brands such as Sis, Air BnB, Ticketmaster, Hi5, IKEA, Argos, Café Nero plus many many more.

Group Affiliation

We will be asking groups to register annually to jogscotland.  This will take place in August using a simple online registration through our JustGo platform.  As part of the new registration process, groups will be asked to:

• Provide two named contacts (where possible)
• Agree to our safeguarding policies, codes of conduct, and other standards
  (or upload your own equivalent policies if already in place

The two named contacts will act as Administrators for the group.

They will provide group name, add session details and then assign members to their group.   A cost will then be calculated depending on the number of members connected to the group.

Group Affiliation Benefits:

Registered and affiliated groups will receive:

• Public Liability Insurance for recognised group activities
• Guidance, resources, and support for affiliation
• Feature on the jogscotland Group Finder
• Development support and advice from jogscotland and Scottish Athletics
• Safeguarding and welfare guidance
• CPD and learning opportunities for leaders and group members such as mental health learning, conferences, webinars and menopause friendly education.
• Analytics, reports, and data insights
• Access to the Let’s Go app for group management.  The app also contains chat functions, group booking, and video content such as running drills.
• jogscotland Awards
• Opportunities to apply for funding (e.g., from Athletics Trust Scotland), directly benefiting your group and the wider running community

Our fee system will be as follows:-

0-5 members               £25

6-20 members            £50

21-30 members         £75

31-40 members         £100

41-50 members         £125

51-60 members         £150

60+ members            £175

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