WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Beginning with the 2012 program year, students who participate in 4-H in Indiana will pay a $15 fee.

The annual program fee is necessary because 4-H funding has remained stagnant for several years, according to Cindy Barnett, Whitley County extension director. 

The fee will be used to update 4-H curriculum, for workshops and to provide leadership training for volunteers, she added.

The maximum a family with multiple 4-H participants will have to pay is $45.

“Purdue’s 4-H budget has flatlined for about 12 years,” she noted. “We’ve lost programs and personnel during those 12 years. In order to keep moving in the right direction, we need to raise revenue.”

4-H officials decided on the fee after years of rising costs and no funding increases, said Renee McKee, state 4-H program leader. Indiana has about 70,000 members in traditional 4-H clubs.

“We had sincere hopes that the budget would turn around, but with that not happening, we’ve had reduced fiscal support,” she explained. “We’ve tried to Band-Aid things along to keep from going down this path. We’ve headed this off as long as we think we can.”

Over the years, 4-H officials have adjusted how they did business, McKee noted, such as charging for 4-H publications that used to be free.

McKee’s first goal is to purchase accident medical coverage for every 4-H volunteer and young person in the program, which will offer some limited coverage after an accident or injury, she said. She estimated the bill will be about $90,000 a year.

Funds from the fee will also be used for the development and updating of educational materials, new events and activities and staff development, she added.

The money collected will go to Purdue University and not stay in individual counties, Barnett explained. Beginning next year, all counties in the state will offer online enrollment, with payments made by credit card to Purdue.

In addition to the statewide program fee, many counties also charge fees for items such as books, Barnett noted. Whitley County charges a $5 book fee, $4 of which goes toward various project books. The remaining $1 covers the cost of the 4-H rule book. Some counties charge a book fee per project, while others have one fee regardless of the number of projects.

4-H members and their parents in Steuben County haven’t said too much about the fee, according to Tami M. Mosier, county extension educator for 4-H youth development.

“Many have said, ‘I love 4-H and I’ll do whatever it takes’,” she noted. “Livestock families have no complaints, because they’re generally involved in several projects. But it may be a little struggle for those who participate in one or two exhibit hall projects.”

In addition to paying for updated curriculum, workshops and training, the fee will go toward website improvements and marketing, Mosier stated.

Families interested in joining 4-H don’t seem troubled by the $15 state program fee and $5 Steuben County fee, Mosier added. “They hear the fee is $20 and say, ‘That’s it?’ It’s good to hear that from outsiders.”

Some counties have begun collecting the fee for the next program year, McKee noted, adding no one she knows has questioned the fee or the need for it.

“I don’t expect to see a drop in enrollment because people are willing to pay for things they value,” she stated. “It’s not 1950. Life has changed. We have to keep moving forward or cease to exist. If we hadn’t moved forward, we’d still be focused on just growing corn.”

Barnett also doesn’t anticipate a decrease in enrollment because of the fee. “No one is really saying anything bad about it,” she noted. “I think parents and students realize there’s nothing else kids do that’s free. And $15 is certainly a bargain.”

Steuben County is giving 4-H members a way to have their fees refunded, Mosier explained. During the county’s spring fundraising plant sale, 4-H members who sell 10 or more hanging baskets will get their fee money back.

“Hopefully, many will take the opportunity to sell, and that will help the fair board and will help them too,” she noted.

All counties have plans in place to help families pay the fee if the cost is prohibitive, McKee said.

Indiana isn’t the only state in the Farm World area that charges statewide program fees, according to officials in the various states. For at least the past four years, Iowa has charged 4-H members $30 a year, while Illinois has charged $20 per member for the past couple of years. Next year will be the fifth year Michigan has charged a fee, which is $10 annually.

Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee have no statewide program fees, though some counties and clubs may charge membership or event fees.