Melissa,
Stellar work, and thank you so much for putting this together. I think the
context you provided and the proposed actions are right on the money. One
thing I think could be added in the "What can you do to help" would be
'Tell people about us' or 'Spread the word about our concerts' with the
idea that we, Melissa or anyone who wants to present from the board, can
give a pitch at our concerts for concert donors to donate and remind
concert-goers of the QR code on the programs. Just a thought. I'm also 100%
on board with sharing the context live at rehearsal. Since we're trying to
keep breaks economical to capitalize on our rehearsal time, perhaps we
could present the information before rehearsal since most are there pretty
early? We could even let members know to come a little early next week if
they can. I'm definitely open to other suggestions as well (Thomas?).
Mike, thank you for the notes and context. I agree we should work to get
staff expenses back where they were and that it's a good idea to remind
that donations are tax deductible.
Warren, Thank you for the feedback. As we discussed at the last board
meeting, I think its a risky notion to give members the numbers without
context. We don't want people to panic or let a negative narrative start to
form. Melissa's proposed email gives enough info to inform those who read
it and gives enough of a reasonable call to action to curb unbridled
negativity before we can discuss it with them in person. I think you're
right that some may check out, but the context is still important for those
who don't. That's just my 2 cents though.
I appreciate all the hard work as we push in to the holiday season. Thanks
again Melissa, and I'll see y'all tomorrow!
Best,
Kalyn Cordova
*President *
*Austin Civic Wind Ensemble*
*Mobile:* 970.640.2512
On Mon, Nov 7, 2022 at 8:36 PM Warren Gill <mymaestro@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Wow, excellent work!
Personally, I think you can shorten the announcements to, "I sent you all
an e-mail to discuss our finances. Please read it, and ask me any questions
you have... and by the way, pay your dues by check or PayPal."
Any more than that, people are already checked out and headed for the door
(or their virtual door, the cell phone).
- correct/add numbers per Mike Bell's response
- probably should say "the pandemic" rather than covid
Peace,
W
On Mon, Nov 7, 2022 at 5:13 PM Melissa Kunkel <mkunkel725@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi board,
Here's a draft of the email I'd like to send to the band about our
finances last year. Let me know if there are any changes you'd like me to
make or anything you think I should add. I put the numbers at the end of
the email (since it's just the summary, it felt weird only putting that in
a google doc) to make sure people actually read the words. It's not a
short email, so please let me know if you have any ideas on how to
encourage people to actually read it, haha.
Once I send this out, it would be nice to announce the basics of the
email during rehearsal break. I know we're trying to keep breaks short
before performing at Zilker, but essentially I'd like to say:
a) read the email
b) City grants will be limited/nonexistant this year, so we need $$
c) start using Amazon Smile and check with your employer if they do any
kind of corporate matching/donations
d) let the board or Melissa know if you have any other ideas for
fundraising or saving $$
e) talk to Melissa if you have any questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi band,
In an effort to be more transparent, below is a summary of where we
received and spent money for our 2021-2022 financial year. As a reminder,
due to covid, we only played Spring and Independence day concerts during
that year.
A couple of things to note about the numbers:
1. We operated at a $4,000 deficit last year. Obviously, to be
sustainable, we need to break even each year.
2. The City of Austin is restructuring its arts grant program starting
this year. In the (pre-pandemic) past, we were receiving ~$10k in grant
money from the city each year. That grant program was very limited last
year (we got $600) since it is funded by hotel taxes and hotels weren't
making much money then, but we were able to apply for and receive an Arts
Community Relief Grant from the city for $5.3k, in addition to the normal
arts grant.
With the restructuring of the grant program this year, we are expecting
to get much less, if any, grant money from the city.
*This essentially means we need to find ways to either reduce our
spending or start bringing in an additional $10k each year.*
*So... what are some things you can do to help?*
1. If you're not already, please support ACWE through Amazon Smile
Every time you purchase something from Amazon using the
smile.amazon.com site instead of amazon.com, Amazon will donate a small
percentage of your purchase amount to the charity you specify. Start using
Amazon Smile to support ACWE here: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/74-1844898
2. Check with your employer to see if they do any kind of corporate
donations or matching that could benefit ACWE. In the past, some companies
have given donations to organizations where employees donated their time
(aka came to rehearsal)
3. Let me (Melissa) or anyone on the board know if you have any ideas
for fundraising.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me either via email (
acwetreasurer@xxxxxxxxx) or in person at rehearsal.
Thanks!
Melissa Kunkel
ACWE Treasurer
ACWE Financial Statement
9/1/2021 - 8/31/2022
Income
Grants $5,965.15
Concert Donations $1,335.81
General Donations $796.84
Member Dues '21-'22 $2,669.81
Member Dues '22-'23 $306.25
Misc. Income $109.00
Total Income $11,182.86
Expenses
Concert Space Rental ($2,371.95)
Rehearsal Space Rental ($800.00)
Storage Unit Rental ($2,436.64)
Music Purchase/Copies ($1,859.97)
ACWE Shirts ($826.25)
Other ACWE materials ($1,313.31)
Staff ($700.00)
Social Events ($161.69)
Insurance ($3,414.00)
TCMF ($1,571.24)
Misc. Expenses ($3.51)
Total Expenses ($15,458.56)
Net ($4,275.70)
Checking account as of 8/31/2021 $37,829.87
Checking account as of 8/31/2022 $31,824.92
Paypal account as of 8/31/2022 $306.25
Cash reserves on 8/31/2022 $1,423.00
Total Monetary Assets $33,554.17