APS, APRL joint board meeting Aug. 14 prior to Great American Stamp Show

By Charles Snee

The boards of the American Philatelic Society and American Philatelic Research Library held a joint meeting Aug. 14 in Hartford, Conn., one day prior to the opening of the Aug. 15-18 Great American Stamp Show in Hartford.

Cheryl Ganz, president of the APS, welcomed all in attendance before APS executive director Scott English called the roll of each board.

The minutes of three previous meetings were approved unanimously: APRL board of trustees online meeting, April 18, 2023; joint APS/APRL board meeting, Oct. 19, 2023, in Bellefonte, Pa.; and APS board of directors online meeting, March 19, 2024.

APS attorney Kathleen Yurchak reported that the year from a legal perspective has been “steady and stable.” She mentioned her work on the lease for Penn Valley Community College at the American Philatelic Center.

Yurchak also said employment policies were being updated to include parental leave. She said she was working on the Alfred Kugel collection auction contract with Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers.

Kathy Johnson, treasurer for the APS and APRL, said the financial picture for both organizations was stable, and there were no problems with cash flow.

Johnson was followed by APRL librarian and director of information services Marian Mills, who reviewed various statistics for the library.

From January though July, the library received 736 requests, of which 229 had a research element. A total of 638 records were cataloged and 217 articles were indexed.

The Robert A. Mason Digital Library has 9,231 items in its database; 1,062 of those have been added since January. The use of Google Analytics was implemented in May to track usage.

Mills said that the login to the digital library was removed at the end of April. As a result, access increased by 86 percent between March and May.

A grant-writing process for the digital library began in July with the hiring of a grant writer.

Overall, the digital library has 1,041 unique users from 52 countries. The top five countries are the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.

Mills then reviewed some early results for a survey about the Philatelic Literature Review, the APRL’s journal.

The 107 responses received thus far consist of 54 subscribers, eight former subscribers and 45 nonsubscribers. Among the subscribers who responded, 18 are very satisfied, 28 are satisfied and six are somewhat satisfied.

Mills said this year’s APRL volunteer work week attracted 19 participants who completed a bit more than 400 hours of work.

Mills concluded with a reminder about the Nov. 15-16 postal history symposium that will be held at the American Philatelic Center. The gathering is titled “The Universal Postal Union: Connecting the World by Mail” and celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Bern that established the UPU in 1874.

English’s detailed presentation focused on the strategic plan for the APS and APRL that launches in October and continues through December 2027. He outlined three key objectives of the plan:

“Leadership: Be the global leader supporting stamp collectors, philatelic research, and education through a unified stamp community.

“Membership: Reverse historic membership loss by investing in new technologies to attract a diverse range of collectors.

“Sustainability: Increase non-dues revenue.”

According to English, areas of focus in the plan include growing and sustaining membership, offering more educational services, supporting philatelic research, improving membership engagement and promotion, and growing and strengthening the philatelic community.

The plan calls for a 20 percent jump in membership recruitment by 2027 and increasing first-year member retention from 70 percent to 80 percent by 2027. Strategies for accomplishing these goals include targeted outreach, referral programs, enhancing member benefits and new member outreach.

The plan seeks to expand educational services so that 2,500 people are enrolled in learning programs by 2027. This will be accomplished via online courses and webinars, youth programs, workshops and seminars, and other approaches, English said.

When it comes to the APRL and the digital library, English was direct. “The APRL will be the premier philatelic research institution, and the Robert A. Mason Digital Library will be the library of the future,” he said.

For the digital library, the goal is a 100 percent increase in the number of visitors by December 2027, English said.

To improve engagement and promotion, the plan proposes to increase the APS’ visibility online by 50 percent by 2027 and increase email contacts by 400,000 by 2027.

To grow and strengthen the philatelic community, the plan calls for a 30 percent increase in member interaction and event participation by developing member forums, expanding volunteer opportunities, starting mentorship programs and enhancing member recognition.

In the area of revenue growth, the objective of the plan is to increase non-dues revenue by $200,000 by 2027. Sources of new income to achieve that target include merchandising, fundraising campaigns, sponsorships and partnerships, online auctions and sales, events and workshops, and grants and endowments.

English then discussed three major projects, the first of which is the improvement of the APS website.

The construction of a new association management system (AMS) and website is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year and be completed by the second quarter of 2025. The project has a budget of $500,000, which is coming from the sale of the Kugel estate, according to English.

The new website and AMS are expected to eliminate 4,050 manual hours.

Favorable outcomes include improved data and member engagement, segmented communication, efficient financial reporting and an enhanced e-commerce platform. All of which makes for a happier staff, English said.

The APS board unanimously approved the website upgrade project.

A second project is focused on doubling the page and image holdings of the digital library in three years. The project’s budget of $500,000 will come from grant funding, according to English.

The third project is the launch of the Stephen Campbell Home of Online Learning, known as Stamp SCHOOL. A budget of $75,000 through 2027 has been set, and the school is scheduled to go live in the fourth quarter of this year.

Targeted outcomes from Stamp SCHOOL include a 3 percent increase in member retention ($33,750 more income per year), 1 percent increase in member recruitment ($11,250), 2,500 active learners ($87,500, at $35/year per learner) and yearly sponsorships ($20,000). Overall the education platform is expected to generate a total annual income of $152,500 by 2027.

English then reviewed the 2025 APS and APRL election cycle. Oct. 1 is the earliest possible date a candidate can receive a nomination or a second.

The period for nominations and seconds officially opens Nov. 1. The list of nominated candidates will appear in the American Philatelist from January through April 2025.

The nominations and seconds period officially closes March 31, 2025, and voting closes at noon Eastern Time on June 14. The new slate of APS and APRL officers will be sworn in Aug. 16 at the Great American Stamp Show in Schaumburg, Ill.

Johnson and APS chief administrative officer Jeff Krantweiss briefly reviewed the 2023 audited financial statements for the APS and APRL. The audits were clean, meaning there are no issues with how the two organizations handle their finances. The statements were approved unanimously by both boards.

Following a brief discussion by English, the APS board unanimously approved the appointment of Sandeep Jaiswal as a voting delegate to the 77th International Federation of Philately Congress that will take place Dec. 3, 2024, in Shanghai, China.

English then discussed four proposed changes to the APS hall of fame policy.

The first would increase the number of nominees allowed annually from three to four. Second, eligibility would be limited to no more than five years. The third proposed change called for renaming the “long-deceased outstanding philatelist” category (in place since 1989) to “legacy.” Finally, legacy nominations would be eligible 10 or more years after death.

The APS board voted unanimously to approve all four proposed changes.

The APS is the nation’s largest organization serving stamp collectors. Additional information and a membership application are available on the APS website.

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