OUR NEW WEBSITE

Dear Member,

The Society has been supporting the community of Spitalfields since 1992 and over the last 23 years it is fair to say that we have seen many changes across our organisation and our community.

We’ve had over 7 chairs, 4 Treasurers, amassed over 200 members, fought numerous planning campaigns, hosted our famous street parties and supported numerous local charities. We recently inaugurated the highly successful Spitalfields Talks under the leadership of one of our ex-chairs, Rupert Wheeler.

Membership

Sadly, over Covid we lost our excellent Secretary, John Critchley whose military precision in managing our membership register was emblematic of his approach to life generally. John is greatly missed and two years on we realise that our membership list is inconsistent with members paying a differing variety of membership subscriptions and significant issues with onboarding new members. We also recognise that too many people whose interests we aim to serve are not members and we sense that many of those don’t know how to join and engage.

As a result, we engaged Assembly Studios in Fashion Street to reimagine our website and focus all membership payments around paypal. Although our Banking arrangements haven’t changed, members can now join and set up payments through our paypal portal which they will access through the site. This will enable us to keep close track of the membership list, target information appropriately and identify areas where we haven’t managed to engage effectively. It is simple to use and the website offers a much-enhanced user experience allowing us to post regularly on issues that affect the neighbourhood and manage an active dialogue with members and other stakeholders as well as showcasing our unique area to the wider world.

Please do check it out as it is already filling up with interesting and relevant articles on local issues.

What we are asking from you:

We had hoped to launch the website at the cancelled Sandra Esqulant talk in Hanbury Hall in February so instead launched the website without fanfare earlier this month and took down the old version at the same time. This has enabled us to iron out wrinkles and ensure successful testing of a seamless payment experience for members and new members.

Those that currently have standing orders should cancel them from the end of this month (April) and set up a new paypal arrangement via the new website.

NB Anyone who has already paid a standing order for the year ahead will remain a member at their current rate until 30/04/2007 but should set up their PayPal to renew on that date as appropriate (see below). Those that have not yet paid, please cancel your standing order and set up a yearly payment via PayPal.

After 30/04/2007, anyone who hasn’t signed up via paypal will be removed from the membership list and any uncancelled Standing Orders will be treated as donations but not as membership payments.

We now offer 3 new membership types:

Resident Member – if you have an address in the Parish of Spitalfields you are eligible for this category and can include up to 3 members of your household who will receive access to the members area on the website also – £25/annum

Associate Member – if you no longer have an address in Spitalfields or are simply fascinated by the area and want to get involved, this is the membership for you. It is an individual membership which will get you access to all appropriate membership benefits – £25/annum

Corporate member – if you own a local business and wish to be a part of the society we can give your business access to the website – £100/annum

Spitalfields Talks – from the January launch you will be able to purchase a season ticket or individual tickets to Spitalfields Talks via the website using a dedicated PayPal link

Donations – Those who wish to make one-off donations to the society for general purposes or to support a particular campaign will be able to do so via paypal through the website for general donations and via campaign specific portals that we will set up as appropriate.

The future

We hope to use the website to engage more deeply with our existing members, engage new members in all 3 categories and look forward to your feedback and participation.

Best Regards,

The Spitalfields Society Committee