Cutting the AMC down by two positions might save $8K. Divided among 133 Local Groups, that works out to just over $5 a month (Testing one candidate brings in three times that amount for the group.)
What service would your group improve for all your members because of that five bucks?
So why are some members so quick to advocate a simple off-with-their-heads solution that might net a penny a month?
2 comments:
It's not just about what money can be sent back to the local groups. (Though there are a number of chapters which can barely get by on the stipend they receive, I think. I've always been in large chapters which benefit from economies of scale.)
It's also about actually having National's budget BE in the black for a change. It's been, what, over 5 years since that has happened? (I haven't looked for myself lately, but I think that's the number that's oft repeated.) $8k is a start. Cutting other expenses will be another way of bring us closer to non-deficit spending. Making more accurate/conservative projections (as best possible) of both income and expenses will also help in properly budgeting.
There might be tons of minuscule things which, individually, don't amount to a hill of beans, but in the aggregate are quite substantial. Pooh-poohing each savings measure which doesn't negatively affect the membership because they're relatively tiny is short-sighted, IMO.
Taking a quick gander at the budget to date link that Cary posted, I notice that AML's budget for printing and postage of the Bulletin is over $350k for the year. I suspect we would be able to have a considerable savings if National were to offer electronic-only subscriptions for the Bulletin. (Why the 1-month delay in "archiving" each issue?) Even if only 10% of AML members chose this option, $35k to the bottom line is yet another helpful chunk, even if it doesn't fund some sort of grand plan.
I'm also curious as to the Outside Contractor for Testing. What does this person do? Do they grade the tests? Something else? Depending on that answer it is possible that $18k (or a portion of it) could be saved.
Similar questions with the other Outside Contractors in the several categories that list them. Who are they, what do they do, and are these tasks which can/should be taken on by Staff and/or volunteer Ms?
These are just the quick line items that jump off the page that could help bring our bottom line to being in the black again.
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