More of a query in general, I have been a RAFA member for a few years now. Putting aside the Wings appeal and limited Battle of Britain parades where it seems you either have always had one in your town or you have to arrange it yourself if you want one. Could we as an organisation do more to support the fundraising support arm of the RAF?
When you look at numbers of just CFAV in RAFAC it is approx 10,000 which is nearly 1/3 of the strength of the current size of the RAF. I have recently suggested to RAFA through an ideas feed that both RAFA and RAFAC should be doing more together especially when it comes to numbers base. It would be interesting to know the % of CFAV are RAFA members on our squadron I am the only one out of 7 staff. I know its not everyone’s thing but as an organisation other than the occasional bag pack for WIngs appeal could we be doing more?
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Realistically RAFA is dying as an organisation, very few units have a local branch and the RAF Benevolent Fund has effectively replaced it as the fundraising arm of the RAF.
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Noble intention, certainly, but in such a time-poor volunteer world, many find it hard to do more outside of cadets and, indeed, for something that doesn’t necessarily directly benefit cadets.
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The military charity field is over crowded now. Too many groups fighting for money. Which is not good for the beneficiaries as two organisations will cost twice as much in terms of money being siphoned off for admin costs/board salaries.
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I completely agree. Whilst this could sound harsh, these type of relationships need work and we are already stretched with reduced volunteer numbers, and more to do to meet our primary objectives.
If there is little or no RAF presence in an area it might be hard to convince the public to contribute in the way they do to the Poppy appeal for example.
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I pay membership subs to RAFA but don’t even find time to read the magazines and emails, let alone get involved.
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My old unit had a nearby RAFA it always struggled for members compared to the RBL and RNA, both of which had a shed load of ex-RAF members who had found the RAFA unwelcoming of both younger members and those who were Other Ranks.
Of the old “lodge style” military charities focusing all attention and membership on the RBL probably makes the most sense in a crowded environment with less and less new members to recruit from.
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Maybe it should be flipped on its head as to what RAFA could do for us, if anything. I didn’t realise that Uniformed CFAV and cadets get some support through the RAF Benevolent Fund https://www.rafbf.org/about-us/what-we-do/support-raf-air-cadets
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Do they still offer the RAFA Flying Scholarships?
I remember going up to Cranwell to do CBAT when i was shortlisted for one.