Finances

[Danielle]

Hey Jeff, 

I wanted to respond but in a different thread so it doesn't get buried. I suspect race registration is down for many races, not just ours, due to the influx of races in the market and runners being more selective in which races they do sign up to run. 

When I talk about the club being in the red, I don't want to alarm anyone that we are hard pressed for cash. As of April 30th, the bank account has $10,580 in it and the money market account has $1,002. We have plenty of cash at the moment. Other than the yearly storage fee and future race supplies, I don't foresee us spending anywhere near what we have. 

I run our financials using January through December as our accounting period. The club had profitable years in 2021 ($1,529) and 2022 ($9855), which are what I call green years. However, in 2023 we spent more in operating costs than we brought in with revenue (-$4355) which I call red years. As a 501(c)(3), we at the least should want to break even each year (revenue equals cost of operations). However, to make up for the rising costs of operating, we might want to aim for a 5-10% growth rate each year. 

I can't say for sure that an increase in race entry is the absolute answer. We would need to consider/evaluate the average cost of similar races in the area as well as draft an operating budget to make that determination. I do think an easier solution for now might be an increase in our visibility and incentives to choose our races over others. 

I only mention these types of financials so that the club isn't caught off guard if the red years persist. Prevention is easier than finding a cure. 

I can ramble on all day about this boring stuff, but I'll spare yall. 

Danielle