Board statement: subscriptions and future of the AAE

The newly elected board of the association (us) decided to put in place a yearly subscription system to be a member of the AAE. Subscribe and become an AAE member here: https://esbsalumni.com/subscription.

A new subscription procedure will be gradually implemented.

Although the status of the association specifies the members have to subscribe to join it, no measure was regularly implemented yet. The former board already started to implement it and we decided to continue in their path, through a conventional yearly subscription.

It would be expected to set an amount for this subscription, however, only the General Assembly can take this resolution and, at our knowledge, it was not previously voted. Thus, we chose to make it free, rather than set an arbitrary amount which could be rightfully questionable, while waiting for the next General Assembly, which we are planning for Autumn 2020, if the situation regarding the current pandemic evolves in a way that allows it.

Even if the subscription is free at this moment, we greatly encourage you to donate for the organization , ideally during your subscription procedure, but also at any other moment of your choice. It would partially compensate the lack of receipts that the AAE underwent for many years; moreover it could start a “donating tradition” in the next year, which will be beneficial for future projects.

Subscriptions are necessary to regularly hold meetings.

First of all, we need our members to be regularly declared as such, so that they are able to hold the General Assembly and voting for decisions made during said assembly for instance. It’s a legal requirement, because any taken decision could be cancelled by a court otherwise.

Therefore, the subscription to the association needs to be clear and an active decision from the applicant. The registration on the website, although also necessary, is not sufficient to be considered as a member of the organization. Hence, we have made a dedicated form in this goal. Helloasso.com was chosen to be the main way to register.

We plan to discuss this procedure, as well as the subscription amount, during the next General Assembly, through the vote of internal rules (“réglement intérieur”).

Subscriptions provide receipts to run the association.

Why should this subscription be done every year, though?

First, a yearly subscription is something very common in the associative world and the AAE does not have any particular structure requiring to design an original system. Second, a proper budget must obviously be balanced between its expenditure and receipts. The last receipt of the association came from the 2017 Alumni Day, making our income a bit unstable. When the yearly-subscription system will be fully implemented, we will have clear incomes, as well as budgeted balance sheets, and a good capacity to adjust the receipts.

Money from subscriptions and donations are used to fund operative costs, like running our servers and pay the other bills. However, we do not think the AAE should be restricted to run only free-of-charge activities and so, it is necessary to have a reliable cash inflow.

We have many projects to strengthen our network and help the students as well as the school that will need the help of everyone. Stay tuned!

Subscribing is a choice to take an active part in developing the alumni network.

We believe the AAE goal is to permit to maintain connections created by the school between former and current ESBS students, and to give the opportunity to create new intergenerational links. Contacts, professional experiences and other knowledge can be shared, both between Alumni and from them to students. This way we also give you a great excuse to meet your BS great-great-great-godparent/child, to get to enjoy a beer with biotechnology nerds, and to discover how the school changed or was. Altogether, we are deeply linked by our background at the school and by our degree. It would be great, for everyone, to be able to maintain these links and make new ones, enjoying each other personal and professional experiences.

While we can do our best to facilitate such contacts, it cannot happen without an active alumni community. By taking the required steps to subscribe every year you show us that you’re still active and you update us on your contact informations. The right to be consulted and to deliberate during the General Assembly is one counterpart of this membership, among others.

If you don’t want to be a member, you can still be registered on the AAE website. You can even make us a donation, although we recommend you to join the alumni association via https://esbsalumni.com/subscription.

We hope to see you soon around our next events.

The new AAE board, elated to start with such a pecuniary communique.

Aurore Gay, Promotion 2019 – President

Julie Daigre, Promotion 2019 – Vice-President

Michaël Pierrelée, Promotion 2017 – Treasurer

Romain Goubier-Darras, Promotion 2019 – Secretary

Brice Angot, Promotion 2019 – Board Member

Timothée Brunstein-Laplace, Promotion 2019 – Board Member

Ophélie Lefort, Promotion 2019 – Board Member

Pierre Rossignol, Promotion 2019 – Board Member

Olivier Laprevote, Promotion 2019 – Board Advisor