Membership Fees for 2025/26
The committee has recently discussed membership renewal fees, and it was decided to set the membership fees the same as last year, ie as follows:
- Full membership fee of £10 for the year from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
- Reduced membership fee of £8 for the period from 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026
- Reduced membership fee of £6 for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026
Alternativerly, if you also wish to subscribe to the Third Age Matters magazine, the fees will be as follows:
- Full membership fee of £13.50 for the year from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
(plus up to five Third Age Matters magazine issues), - Reduced membership fee of £10.50 for the period from 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026
(plus up to three Third Age Matters magazine issues), - Reduced membership fee of £7.50 for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026
(plus up to two Third Age Matters magazine issues)
and will include all issues of the Third Age Matters magazine from the date of joining up to and including the April 2026 issue.
Please note that we have fixed membership costs which need to be covered. These are £4 per member per year as our subscription to the national u3a body, the Third Age Trust, and £1 per member per year for our use of the Beacon management information system.
Membership Renewal Process April 2025 ...
The Membership Renewal process will be similar to the one adopted last year, but with the additional method of renewal using a debit card payment, credit card payment or PayPal payment using the Members Portal in Beacon (our online membership system).
… for Members who have supplied us with an email address
Individual Membership Renewal requests (which will include your existing contact details, your current ICE - in case of emergency - contact details, and your current Gift Aid status) will be sent to you by email by Barry Tait, the Membership Secretary, from 1 April 2025 onwards. If you have changed your email address and not yet informed the Membership Secretary, please do so before the end of March, as otherwise the email request will be sent to your old email address.
You may renew your membership, using any one of:
- By making a debit card payment, a credit card payment or a PayPal payment using the Members Portal in Beacon.
Instructions on using the Members Portal are currently available HERE.
Further instructions on how to renew your membership using the Members Portal will be available from mid-March 2025 onwards.
This is new way of renewing your membership, and should be an improved process since it involves fewer actions from you and less work for the Membership Secretary. - By making a bank transfer, just as you may have done in the past. Full details of how payments can be made, and other actions you will need to do (such as informing the Membership Secretary of the payment date and reference, and any changes to your contact details, your ICE contacts or your Gift Aid status) will be included in the Membership Renewal email.
- By sending a payment by cheque, just as you may have done in the past. Full details of where and how payments can be made, and other actions you may need to do (such as informing the Membership Secretary of any changes to your contact details, your ICE contacts or your Gift Aid status) will be included in the Membership Renewal email.
Confirmation of your membership renewal will be sent by email along with an e-Card Membership Card for 2024/25 following 1 April 2024. The e-Card will be in the form of a PDF attachment to the email. The 2024/25 Members Leaflet will be available for members on the Droitwich u3a website, and from which you may then obtain a printed copy.
… for Members who do not use email
Individual Membership Renewal requests (which will include your existing contact details, your current ICE - in case of emergency - contact details, and your current Gift Aid status) will be sent to you by post, from 1 April 2025 onwards. If you have changed your address and not yet informed the Membership Secretary, please do so before the end of March, as otherwise the request will be sent to your old address.
You may renew your membership, using any one of:
- By making a debit card payment, a credit card payment or a PayPal payment using the Members Portal in Beacon.
Instructions on using the Members Portal are currently available HERE.
Further instructions on how to renew your membership using the Members Portal will be available from mid-March 2025 onwards.
This is new way of renewing your membership, and should be an improved process since it involves fewer actions from you and less work for the Membership Secretary. - By making a bank transfer, just as you may have done in the past. Full details of how payments can be made, and other actions you will need to do (such as informing the Membership Secretary of the payment date and reference, and any changes to your contact details, your ICE contacts or your Gift Aid status) will be included in the Membership Renewal request.
- By sending a payment by cheque, just as you may have done in the past. Full details of where and how payments can be made, and other actions you may need to do (such as informing the Membership Secretary of any changes to your contact details, your ICE contacts or your Gift Aid status) will be included in the Membership Renewal request.
Confirmation of your membership renewal will be sent along with Membership Card for 2025/26 following 1 April 2025.
Please note …
Note - We will no longer be accepting cash payments for membership renewal.
Please also note that if you wish to pay the membership fees for yourself and another member (eg a husband, wife or partner) as a single payment, please make the payment from a joint account. Otherwise, our ability to claim Gift Aid is compromised. If this is not possible, each member should make their own membership fee payment.
Note - Members wishing to have a printed copy of the membership renewal request can obtain one by contacting the Membership Secretary or the Beacon Administrator.
In Case of Emergency (ICE) Contact Details
Since autumn 2024 we have been recording members ICE contact details, and usually this has involved at least one name, relationship and phone number, but members can and have supplied more than one contact if they wish to do so.
The Membership Renewal request described above will include your ICE contact information. If you have not previously supplied any ICE contacts, then please think about doing so. Please make sure that you have the ICE person's permission. Alternatively, you will have the opportunity to change any of your previously recorded ICE contacts.
Gift Aid
Since summer 2024 we have been claiming Gift Aid from HMRC. For UK tax payers, the whole of your standard membership fee (ie not including any subscription to the Third Age Matters magazine) is eligible for Gift Aid, so long as either your Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax payments are in excess of the membership fee. This should increase our income by something like 20-25%, but at no additional cost to yourself.
The Membership Renewal request described above will include information about your Gift Aid status. If you have previously chosen to Gift Aid your membership fee, such a declaration will remain in force until such a time as you wish to change your mind, and you will have the opportunity to do so as part of the membership renewal process. Alternatively, if you have previously chosen not to Gift Aid your membership fee, you will have the opportunity to change your mind and Gift Aid your membership fee.
Easy Fund Raising
We are now registered with Easy Fund Raising, which means you can raise free donations for us every time you shop online but it is totally at your discretion. If you want to participate, over 7,000 brands will donate to us when you shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself, for example Tesco or Marks and Spencers to name just two. If each of you raise just £1 per year that represents over £500 to improve your membership experience.
These donations really can mount up and make a big difference to us, so we’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign up and support this initiative. You can find our Easy Fund Raising page at
The Donation Reminder will pop up when a brand will donate when you're browsing. Don't forget to activate your donation when you see the pop up. Even if you're just browsing, click to activate and we'll pick up any donations if you do go on to shop so you never miss out on free donations for Droitwich Spa u3a.
Members Portal
All Droitwich u3a members can use the Beacon Members Portal to :
• Requesst an E-mail enclosing their electronic membership card,
• View and update their personal contact details, including adding an Emergency contact,
• From April 2025 they will be able to renew their membership by paying the
Membership Fee using a Credit or Debit Card, or from a PayPal account.
See HERE for more information about Beacon and the Members Portal.