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Food Protection Trends
COMMENTARY from the executive director
December 2004
“As we wrap up another year, please know the Association is in the
strongest financial condition ever”
By David W. Tharp, IAFP Executive Director
In December each year, we present financial results for our fiscal year ending the preceding August and this December is no different. Page 1007 shows the results for the year ending August 31, 2004. We were excited about last year’s results and had hoped for success two years in a row and WE DID IT! I am proud to report that we had the best financial year ever for IAFP!!! This year’s results add more than $160,000 to our now positive General Fund balance, which stands at just over $190,000 as of August 31, 2004.
We had a fantastic Annual Meeting that contributed nicely to the year-end results. Attendance was up, sponsorship was up, and the number of exhibitors was up; all playing a role in the net results related to Annual Meeting. Two of our three Workshops did well this year and overall, we had a nice gain from those efforts. In addition, our publication of the Journal of Food Protection also produced positive revenue for the Association.
So, from this report, the Association’s financial condition is the best that it has been for more than 15 years and maybe the best that it has ever been! Our General Fund Balance now stands at $190,724. Now, that may sound real nice, but if you recall in my December 2003 column, I pointed out that it is recommended that associations have a fund balance equal to one half of their operating budget. For IAFP, that amount is more than $800,000. So, we are short of one quarter of the way there and making great progress!
We expect to continue to work towards building our General Fund Balance and our indicators for the current fiscal year (ending August 31, 2005) look good. IAFP 2005 will be held next August in Baltimore, right in the middle of the East Coast (USA) population base. We expect participation to again break records and to affect our financial condition in a positive way.
As Wilbur Feagan, our Black Pearl Award Sponsor says, if you have money in reserves, it makes managing the business (or Association in our case) so much easier. Decisions can be made based on risk and potential reward rather than only considering that a project must cover its expenses entirely. In other words, every project approved will increase the visibility of IAFP, some will contribute positively to the financial condition, others negatively. But if the reward to IAFP and its Members is worth pursuing, then, in some cases, the financial reward may not be the most important factor.
Another area that we have made great progress over the past few years is with the Foundation Fund. The balance as of August 31, 2004 in the Foundation Fund was $223,842. The Board and Foundation Fund Committee have set a goal to grow the Foundation Fund to $1 million by the year 2010. This is an achievable goal and one that we will be working very hard to accomplish. You will begin to see more about the Foundation and the programs it supports. In addition, the Foundation will begin to sponsor new efforts as the Fund grows. We look forward to the expanded efforts of the IAFP Foundation Fund!
There is a listing of contributors to the Foundation Fund on page 970. We have also included information about the Foundation Fund on the facing page. If you have not made a contribution to the IAFP Foundation Fund this year, you might consider doing so. The Foundation is a non-profit entity and your contribution qualifies as a tax-deductible contribution (in the USA).
As we wrap up another year, please know that the Association is in the strongest financial condition ever! We are very pleased to be able to share this news with you, the Members of IAFP who have been so very supportive over all these years of working our way back. Thanks to you, the International Association for Food Protection will prosper.
We hope that you have a great Holiday Season and a Happy New Year. Best wishes for a wonderful 2005!