Words From Nick - March 2008
This article will be a debriefing of the finance committee meeting. I will start with a high level overview of what was created and end with some words on a few specific items.
The bottom line is that we are projecting a $100,000 loss for the next fiscal year. At first glance this sounds pretty bad, but you must realize the strategy of how the dues rate is calculated. The basic idea is to set the dues rate so that the budget creates a surplus for a few years, then creates a deficit for a year or two, and then the rate gets reset. This deficit hit earlier than expected, but there were a couple of unexpected expenses that exacerbated the situation.
Coinciding with this budget is a motion to increase the dues rate to $59. This is a $7 increase which is quite large. However, it will allow a greater time until the next bump and it will actually increase our membership! How you ask? Every time there is a dues increase many people quickly snatch up multi year memberships at the previous rate. Those people are guaranteed to not be lost for several years. This affect seems to outweigh the loss of members due to the higher price and hence actually increases our membership.
Back to the budget discussion. Because the dollar has weakened against the Euro, goods purchased from Europe are more expensive now than last year to include paper. This is the primary driver for the increase in printing expenses. At the same time, it was decided to increase the number of pages in the bulletin. I am convinced this is a good idea since so much is currently being left out and since Interloc, a publication for the officers, will now be incorporated in it. Also along the printing lines, postage is expected to increase next year.
Next up for unexpected major expenses is $35,000 budgeted for a consultant to evaluate the structure of the AMC. I was opposed to this motion when it was passed and now I have more ammo to continue arguing against it. However, since the AMC passed the motion it had to be incorporated into the budget. On a related note, since the Birmingham AG happened in the 2007-2008 fiscal year it does not play a part in this budget.
Expenses for marketing have climbed quite a bit as well. We will be advertising more in specialized markets to include trade shows.
The next AMC meeting is the last weekend in March. There is a motion to have the national office take over the income and supervisory registration processes for all future AGs. This goes against everything that I stand for in Mensa. The AMC is in for a heated argument from me, and you can expect an interesting write up with my next article.
Nick Sanford
RVC5@us.mensa.org
Coinciding with this budget is a motion to increase the dues rate to $59. This is a $7 increase which is quite large. However, it will allow a greater time until the next bump and it will actually increase our membership! How you ask? Every time there is a dues increase many people quickly snatch up multi year memberships at the previous rate. Those people are guaranteed to not be lost for several years. This affect seems to outweigh the loss of members due to the higher price and hence actually increases our membership.
Back to the budget discussion. Because the dollar has weakened against the Euro, goods purchased from Europe are more expensive now than last year to include paper. This is the primary driver for the increase in printing expenses. At the same time, it was decided to increase the number of pages in the bulletin. I am convinced this is a good idea since so much is currently being left out and since Interloc, a publication for the officers, will now be incorporated in it. Also along the printing lines, postage is expected to increase next year.
Next up for unexpected major expenses is $35,000 budgeted for a consultant to evaluate the structure of the AMC. I was opposed to this motion when it was passed and now I have more ammo to continue arguing against it. However, since the AMC passed the motion it had to be incorporated into the budget. On a related note, since the Birmingham AG happened in the 2007-2008 fiscal year it does not play a part in this budget.
Expenses for marketing have climbed quite a bit as well. We will be advertising more in specialized markets to include trade shows.
The next AMC meeting is the last weekend in March. There is a motion to have the national office take over the income and supervisory registration processes for all future AGs. This goes against everything that I stand for in Mensa. The AMC is in for a heated argument from me, and you can expect an interesting write up with my next article.
Nick Sanford
RVC5@us.mensa.org
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