President's Corner
Proposed Annual Budget
by John Shenot
According to our current bylaws, the Board is to agree on a proposed annual budget at our December Board meeting each year and announce the proposed budget to the membership in our December newsletter. The membership then votes to approve the budget at our annual meeting in January. The tricky part is that the deadline for getting articles in our December newsletter is in mid-November, before the December Board meeting. So, the best I can do (until we amend our bylaws) is provide members with an overview of the budget presented to the Board in November by our Treasurer, and assure everyone that the complete budget will be available to any member upon request after the December Board meeting.
FCAS is a very small non-profit organization run by volunteers. Our annual expenditures in recent years have always been less than $12,000. Our annual revenues have roughly equaled expenses, allowing us to maintain a steady level of reserves without raising membership dues. The following charts show the projected expenses and revenues presented in the Treasurer’s budget:
The Board is interested in having a third party audit our finances, just to make sure our accounting practices are reasonable. If any member has the requisite skills and would be willing to do a pro bono audit of FCAS, please contact a Board member.
Find FCAS on Facebook for Field Trip Information
FCAS has a Facebook page where we post announcements about upcoming field trips, last minute changes to scheduled trips, and high-lights of most of our outings. Just click on the “Like" button in the plugin to Like our page! Our announcements should then appear on your wall. You can also click on "Fort Collins Audubon Society" to be taken directly to the Facebook page. Note: All field trips are also announced in the Ptarmigan and on our website.