What he said …
I was an EAA member for twenty years before I signed up as a Lifetime Member four years ago. It has been worth it for me. I've been to the dinners at OSH each year and had excellent meals (in air-conditioning!) and heard excellent speakers, i.e. Sean Tucker!
A friend of mine signed up in the late-60's when Lifetime Memberships were first offered and paid $200. I believe he has earned all of his payment, plus interest.
By signing up as a Lifetime Member, as others have said, you are showing support for the organization that initially nationalized the homebuilt movement and has promoted homebuilding and sport aviation. EAA, for me, has kept me enthused about sport aviation. I have attended OSH annually since 1980 and have planned my July vacation around that week ever since that first year.
Other organizations, such as AOPA and CAF, also offer Lifetime Memberships. It is up to the individual to decide whether the organization's direction and vision matches the individual's. Why do people contribute to one charity and not another? It's an individual decision.
It's worked for me. YMMV.
Plus what Gary Sobek said.
As a former Board dMember (several terms), I can say without hesitation that the focus of the management IS on doing what is felt most important for aviation in general and experimental in particular.
There is a ***LOT*** of time spent with the FAA on matters that might have been or might be very damaging to our kind of aviation. Not a lot of said about it. Instead people are having the meetings to educate, inform, and influence “the powers that be”.
The organization has built a very good working relationship with certain agencies and part of what makes it work is that it is more like a “quiet diplomacy” or quiet partnership” of people trying to get things done.
I have been of the view (and have shared this with Board members) that AirVenture should continue to evolve to “my fly-in at the Convention”. By this I mean put in place those things that support “birds of a feather”/“communities of interest”. It is with this type of thinking, more investments were made over the last few years to make a “home” for homebuilders.
I can assure you that the organization is managed very well financially. And it must be in order to insure its long term viability. When COVID hit, the organization was able to make it through even though a SIGNIFICANT portion of the revenue for the organization comes from AirVenture and we decided to NOT have it.
The slight reference to golf carts/privileges for “management” (in this case I include Board Members and thus myself). We PAY for our housing and those of us who get a cart pay for that as well. (Not all Board Members choose to get one.) I do it so that I can visit EVERY “community of interest” throughout my stay. As well as making note of what needs to be improved overall, while providing “courtesy rides” to members we see who may be up in years and could use a lift or someone clearly overloaded and struggling to get to their next stop.
I say all of this just to give some otherwise not available flavor.
And yes, I am a Lifetimer. And my reason was simply to support the organization. I would NOT live long enough to make it a financial payment decision but that was the choice I made.
YMMV
