2008-01 Art's Elucidation of Ring Finances

Dear members of IBM Ring 170 a/k/a FAME,

While finalizing the records for 2007, I noticed that about one third of our current members are relatively new to the organization. This is great news because for many years the membership really didn't change very much. Now, we are finally starting to get some new members, who are very welcome additions to our club. I hope that all members share my enthusiasm for welcoming and encouraging our new members. Best of all, many of these newest members are eager to perform at club meetings. This makes the meetings more fun, since you never know what twist someone may have on even the oldest tricks. And speaking of new twists to old tricks, every month I look forward to seeing what Charlie Pfrogner is going to present. Charlie's knack for developing a unique presentation for everything that he does should be an inspiration for all of us, as well as the new members. Thanks Charlie!

Because we have some new members, and because we don't talk about it very much, I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss some aspects of our club operations and finances. We don't talk about these topics very much because, candidly, most people aren't particularly interested. That's okay. The main reason why the club has Officers and a Board of Directors is precisely to allow the administrative and financial matters of the club to be handled in separate meetings so that the monthly club meetings can focus primarily on sharing news, teaching, and performing. This is good, in my opinion, so long as everyone understands that the Board meetings are open to all members and anyone is welcome to get involved.

As your club Treasurer, I can attest that the club's finances are relatively simple. The club is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization that is officially registered with the State of Florida. In fact, F.A.M.E. stands for Florida Association of Magical Entertainers, which is the name of our corporation. Financially, we pretty much break even every year. We collect dues and take in some proceeds from the annual flea market event, and these funds pay for our lectures and video library, as well as some minor miscellaneous expenses including the loss that we incur producing our annual banquet. Because of the excellent job Craig Fennessey has been doing with our lectures, we ended 2007 with a few hundred dollars more than we began it, since many of the lectures nearly broke even and a few even made a little money.

A typical lecture costs the club about $400 to present, including the lecturer's fee, hotel room, and venue expenses. The lecture fees are kept low by the fact that the Lecturers make their money from selling their notes, DVDs, and tricks. If the club collects $10 each from 25-35 attendees, then we lose $50 to $150 per lecture. We have about 8 or 9 lectures per year for a total net loss of only a few hundred dollars. This is off-set by the proceeds from our annual flea market event, which nets a few hundred dollars. Overall, all club activities generally wash out to break even, or very close. Some years we may lose a few hundred dollars, and some years we make a few hundred. It is never very much either way, but we are able to keep operating and maintain our status as a not-for-profit organization.

Years ago, one of the constant expenses of the club was publishing the monthly newsletter and postage. Now, thanks to the internet, these expenses are no longer incurred. The fact that our monthly operating expenses have gone down is certainly good because our annual revenues have gone down as well. Thanks to E-Bay and other internet auction sites, our annual magic auction no longer raises nearly as much money as it did several years ago. So, everything balances out. Thanks to the internet our revenues are down, but so are our expenses, so it all evens out.

Last, but not least, our December meeting and Christmas party was a big success. Thanks to Jacki Manna and everyone else who brought food and/or gifts. And thanks to those who helped clean up.

Overall, 2007 was a successful year for Ring 170. As our scribe, Dennis Phillips, reminds us, "good things are always happening at Ring 170".

Art Thomas