Changes already made have improved the club's position and president Ian McKay hopes ''the [RSA] flag will fly on the building well into the future''.
Saturday's meeting was called for members to discuss and decide on the future of the club, which has about 200 members and occupies a two-storey building with bowling green on the corner of Itchen and Severn Sts, next to the World War 2 Garden of Memories.
Members were told that income was not matching expenditure for hours of trading, although the full financial position would be known when a final audited balance sheet was sent out to members.
However, Mr McKay said the meeting, which was open only to members, was positive and unanimously supported continuing to trade. Some members had also volunteered to lend their expertise to help reduce expenses.
''It will not be an easy road, but there is overwhelming support for keeping the club going, not just from members but also the community,'' he said.
''The community has shown us great respect and we want to pay that back, including taking care of creditors.''
The action plan outlined to the meeting included reducing opening hours and expenses, seeking more support for Friday lunches, Friday night raffles and future events, promoting the hall (available to non-members) for rental for private functions and more use of the premises.
Some members also pointed out that any decisions affected not only the RSA club, but also the RSA Bowling Club and North Otago Billiards and Snooker Association, which used the building.
The situation will be reviewed in six months, when members will be updated.
One issue raised by some members was ownership of the building, and whether it could be used for loan funding to see the club through the crisis.
However, research by Mr McKay showed the building, opened in 1951, was part of a war memorial with the Garden of Memories, was partially funded by the North Otago war memorial committee and ownership was vested in the Oamaru Borough Council, now the Waitaki District Council.
He had not been able to find anything since then which indicated whether that ownership had changed.
If the RSA no longer existed, the building and bowling green would be returned to the people of Oamaru.
