Discussion: Orienteering USA 2012 Draft Budget

All,

If you get this message twice, sorry. Bad Internet connection today.

The 2012 Draft Budget has been posted to boardnet and clubnet. If one of the followers would like to post to AP that would be great.

Please read the letter before you read the budget. It will explain a lot and talk about the changes.

VP Finance Lou Pataki will monitor this site for questions and will, or a designate, will reply accordingly.

All are welcome next week at the Board Meeting in Boston.

Glen

Glen, I've asked several board members for a copy of the Starts/Membership plan with the dollar figures and targets in it (it was mentioned at the last board meeting that there was such a version with the "numbers" in it circulated to the board), but no one has sent me a copy. The dollar figures disappeared from the version we all saw here on AP. Can you or someone else please post the full version here? Thanks.

Eddie, a report from Clare and Maiya, the Board members working with Glen on Starts/Membership, was posted on the BoardNet Thursday. At the end there are some dollars attached to various initiatives. I've posted it here.

While I'm at it, here's the Budget letter from Lou Pataki, and here's the tentative proposed budget for 2012.

Thanks for posting the budget!
I don't understand much about these things, but I am confused about the line "Contributions, unrestricted". If we had $6,234 of these in all of 2010 and $1,622 so far this year, then how do we expect $25,000 to materialize in 2012? I am referring to lines 7-10, under "General revenue."

Boris:

Thank you for asking - and I mean that sincerely. Your concern has great merit. It is one of the things keeping me up at three in the morning. Why are you up?

What this post boils down to is, I know the number is historically high, it was based on serious efforts to gain realistic information, and I am confident we can make it.

Our budgeting is on an annual basis and the bulk of our unrestricted gifts come in near year end for tax reasons. As of the end of September 2012 we have received about $2,400 (12% of the budgeted amount) vs $1,200 (15% of the lower budget) in 2010. That high year end income percentage makes things very hard to predict - one four figure gift deferred or increased has a big effect on the result,

However, as you point out, in 2010, the last complete budget year, our actual unrestricted contributions were $6,495. That was $1,500 lower than the 2010 budget and much lower than the 2011 budget or the 2012 proposal. So even if the 100% increase we have seen so far in 2011 continues through the year we will have a gap this year of about $7,000. And we are proposing an even higher, historically high goal for 2012. Why?

Bottom line. To reach our spending goals, we must bring in more revenue, and some off that will have to come from increased unrestricted contributions.

The Board has had committees looking into increasing revenue, and I have had private discussions with a few potential donors. That budget number was very carefully considered. Based on the suggestion of the BOD committee looking into increasing non-start revenues, and based in part on my discussions with potential donors, I am confident that the $25,000 figure for 2012 is realistic.

Lou,

Thanks for your well-thought out response! It's great to hear about the reasoning that went into creating the numbers. It's also good to hear that you are optimistic about the projections about next year. This is certainly exciting!

I am awake because I am in Norway at the moment, and it's 11am. :)

Lou,

Could you explain to me how the finances for the Teams are handled in the 2012 budget?

For example, for the senior team, I see the following entries --

Revenue
Contributions unrestricted -- 8,000
Contributions restricted -- 7,000
Fundraising restricted -- 1,500

Total income -- 8,500 (why not 16,500?)

Expenses
Team travel and entries -- 15,000
Team training and supplies -- 1,500

Total expense -- 16,500

Net income is -8,000 (i.e. a net deficit).

I had understood the plan is to support the teams in 2012 up to about 50% of what they spend. Which this does, if the 8,000 is a real number.

What does the 8,000 is unrestricted contributions represent? Unrestricted money that the federation hopes to raise that will be allocated to the teams? A very much hedged commitment in other words. Or is it real? If so, why doesn't the 8,000 flow through to the bottom line in that column.

My guess is there is some accounting mumbo-jumbo at work here. Can you explain?

You are correct, the expectation is that the the teams will raise, through contribution or fund raising, half their respective budgets and O USA will provide the rest from unresticted funds.

Unrestricted contributions should not be in the team columns. They just represent the O USA commitment to the team from unresticted funds - source doesn't matter for budget purposes. They have been removed from those columns.

There are inaccuracies in the published totals in several places. For which I applogize. It's not the accounting it's my haste.

The unrestricted contribution total should be $25,000, which I believe to be conservative. Some of that will go to the team(s) but the OUSA commitment to the team is from unrestricted funds from whatever source necessary.