AAW information

[jdsilwones]

I was looking for the minuets of the last board meeting and couldn't find anything. Does anyone know if they are posted? Anything on the health of the club or a financial statement?

 

[hockenbery]

Jonathan
The AAW financial statement is published in the Summer AAW Journal issue.

The 2006 statement is in on page 13 Vol 22, no2

It takes quite a while to get to the official statement.

The financial picture provided at the November 2007 board meeting is that our financial picture is good.
The early indication is that we might be a bit negative for 2007.
This is not a bad thing. As a non profit organization we aren't supposed to make a profit.
In a perfect world the AAW would break exactly even each year.
reality is we have an excess some years and a deficit others.

Our strength is in our Membership which is very strong over 13,000.

Al Hockenbery

 

[jdsilwones]

Thank you Al, I really appreciate the information.

 

[Owen Lowe]

As a non profit organization we aren't supposed to make a profit.
In a perfect world the AAW would break exactly even each year.
reality is we have an excess some years and a deficit others.

Al, I don't believe this is necessarily true. From the reading I've done lately on obtaining non-profit status for an AAW chapter, a profit is fine. There's nothing wrong with the organization holding or even investing the gains. What should not happen is an individual or individuals profiting from the operation of the organization. As I understand it, that is what the term "non-profit" is addressing.

 

[hockenbery]

Owen,

Maybe a better statement would be that the AAW set the membership dues and symposium registration fees at a level that we believe will cover our operating expenses.

Al

 

[Bill Boehme]

Al, I don't believe this is necessarily true. From the reading I've done lately on obtaining non-profit status for an AAW chapter, a profit is fine. There's nothing wrong with the organization holding or even investing the gains. What should not happen is an individual or individuals profiting from the operation of the organization. As I understand it, that is what the term "non-profit" is addressing.

Your interpretation sounds to be not quite correct. A nonprofit organization is not a faceless entity that can endlessly accumulate wealth, but named individuals as the responsible trustees. While holding and investing are fine, all of the income outside of the operating expenses that are necessary for it to function must eventually be used for the indicated purposes of the organization. Balances can be carried forward from year to year, but that is not what would be considered "making a profit" as you assumed. The term "non-profit" refers to the organization, but you may be reading this as shareholders. A non-profit organization that continues to accumulate wealth is a strong indication to the IRS that it may not be fulfilling its charter.

 

[Owen Lowe]

Your interpretation sounds to be not quite correct. A nonprofit organization is not a faceless entity that can endlessly accumulate wealth, but named individuals as the responsible trustees. While holding and investing are fine, all of the income outside of the operating expenses that are necessary for it to function must eventually be used for the indicated purposes of the organization. Balances can be carried forward from year to year, but that is not what would be considered "making a profit" as you assumed. The term "non-profit" refers to the organization, but you may be reading this as shareholders. A non-profit organization that continues to accumulate wealth is a strong indication to the IRS that it may not be fulfilling its charter.

Yes, thank you for explaining it more fully.