Fiscal Year 2007-2008
Here is a breakdown of the GMNC's income and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2007/2008.
Please feel free to contact us by email with any questions.
Income Pie Chart 2007-2008 (pdf)
Expenditures Pie Chart 2007-2008 (pdf)
2008 IRS form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (pdf)
As our lawmakers are in the process of trying to figure out how to come up with ways to stimulate our economy and how to pay for it, it seemed like a good time to explain to our members how the GMNC does its budgeting.
Unlike the Feds, we do not operate in deficit mode ! Our fiscal year runs from May 1 through April 30. All of the membership and donations monies we receive this fiscal year (this ski season) becomes our spending budget for NEXT ski season (next winter). So, the money we are currently spending this season came from your generosity and support from last winter. This allows us to know exactly where we stand before a snowmobile or snowcat engine is even turned over. We know, going into the winter, what funds we have available, allowing us to plan and allocate how the money is used. We allocate our available funds between Skyway/County Line and the Ward system at our November meeting each year. Gone are the days from the GMNC's early years where week-to-week grooming depended on what membership checks came in the mail that same week ! Some of you who were around back then will remember not having grooming by the start of March because there was no money in the checking account !
Based on the memberships and donations received last season, our operating budget is approximately $40,000 for this season. After paying for expenses such as insurance, newsletters and postage, membership envelopes, event expenses, permits and post office box fees, we were left with about $35,000. Since all of our administrative work is done by volunteers, the GMNC payroll only consists of our groomers, who are paid $19.00/hour. At a cost of $80/hour to operate the snowcat and $40/hour to operate the snowmobile, a typical day of grooming can cost a minimum of $120 to over $400, depending on the machine used and the time it takes. We set aside about $16,000 each year for our capital replacement and capital repair and maintenance funds, which has allowed us to replace our snowmobiles about every three years, and handle the repairs and annual maintenance they require. They do get significant use each winter ! This leaves us with close to $19,000 allocated between Skyway/County Line and the Ward system, 75%/25% respectively. As we progress through the season, we revisit these allocations if need be. But our total budget, or the amount we have to spend this season, is FIXED….we may only spend the amount we have already taken in BEFORE the season starts.
Thanks to the generosity of the Lambert Foundation, in 2007 we received $190,000 for the purchase and operation of the Piston Bully snowcat, which cost $150,600. This amazing donation of equipment has changed everyone's expectations for grooming ! While the snowcat is paid for, operating costs are much greater than a snowmobile. We have been using the balance of the Lambert Foundation funds to cover the snowcat annual operating costs (excluding groomer wages) as well as insurance, which has run about $11,000/year, leaving a balance of about $18,000 at the end of this ski season. These costs are NOT being paid out of the operating budget from membership & donations, as discussed above.
At this point, membership and donation support are a little ahead of last year. So, in a worst case scenario, we will have the financial resources to budget similar amounts for next season's grooming. However, as the Lambert Foundation resources decrease, we will need to replace this money to maintain the level of grooming that we have all come to enjoy.