Further Cost Savers
Due to very successful management of our money prior to CEI leaving the office, we were able to build a "rainy day" reserve of funds that has carried us during the last few years of deficit spending. That reserve, along with reduced spending in the only area of the budget that was not fixed - member programs, has kept us solvent and operating. Our annual loss has been approximately 50% or less of what was budgeted.
ISPE Membership Numbers
Not spending funds on member programs is a mistake. We have very slowly lost members over the last few years. For years our membership hovered around 400 licensed members. Although loss of membership is a plague that haunts NSPE as well, it must be reversed. In March of 2001 ISPE had 297 licensed members, 46 members and 19 student members. In March of 2002 we have 301 licensed members, 31 members and 26 student members. Since membership dues are our primary source of income, we must act and act now.
What's Next?
The reason that your ISPE board has not acted sooner on eliminating the red ink is the recent creation of an aggressive membership campaign by NSPE. Unlike prior membership campaigns, this one is aimed at each state. We had to wait in line for our turn for a visit from the campaign consultant that NSPE has retained. Your ISPE board spent most an entire day with her just prior to our annual meeting in May. Her name is Annette Petrick. Annette has energized us and created a campaign specifically tailored to Idaho. This campaign will not focus on increasing membership - it will focus on making engineers in Idaho proud to be a member of ISPE! After all that is why you are a member.
It is time to strut our stuff, to sell our society, to make you proud of whom we are! That's how membership will increase!
Member Pride Campaign
We feel if we successfully tell our story of who we are and what we do, members will join us. I am often asked by non-members, "What will ISPE do for me?" My answer is that ISPE will not do anything for you directly; but, you and I, together with ISPE can do something -we can carry a banner for professionalism, for ethics, for education and for public and political awareness of engineers! But to do that we need every member's time, energy and money.
How NSPE will Help
Annette challenged us. She made us an offer that we absolutely cannot refuse. If we create a line item in our budget of $500 in seed money for Membership Development, NSPE will augment that with $3,500 from their funds and provide national support with staff time and energy to help us be successful. We are suggesting that another $3,000.00 in ISPE funds be added to the new ISPE Membership Development line item to fund an additional ISPE staff member to help locally with the campaign. This will equate to a total funds dedicated to Idaho's campaign for the upcoming fiscal year of $7,000.00.
Annette is preparing the specifics of the plan for presentation and action at the June ISPE board meeting.
It is time to act. We cannot wait any longer. The seed is planted and it is time to grow and blossom.
What We Need From You
Please consider the budget that is shown below. After reviewing it, if you have comments send them via e-mail to: ispe@rmci.net or jcanning@rmci.net. Julie will get comments addressed to ISPE and use my address if you want them to go directly to me. Comments may be mailed to the ISPE office at: ISPE, PO Box 170239, Boise, ID 83717-0239
The board will thoughtfully consider your comments prior to finalizing the budget at the June board meeting. It is important to act now. We need your comments by the third week in June.
Budget Highlights
For the first time in many, many years we are suggesting a state dues increase of $15 per year. The rationale behind this is to fund officer travel, not to fund the Member Pride Campaign. Currently national meeting travel expenses equate to approximately $13.50 per ISPE member. ISPE receives $77.00 from the portion of your dues that goes to NSPE. Each Idaho chapter received $10.00. Introductory NSPE membership dues (including ISPE and one Idaho Chapter) is currently $202.00. NSPE is projected to keep $101.00 of those dues, leaving $101.00 for ISPE and each ISPE chapter. Our current total income per member is $87.00. The planned dues increase (we may decrease the amount of increase from $15.00 to $14.00) would still allow the total NSPE introductory membership cost of $202.00 to remain as is. Our proposed budget deficit for the year 2002-2003 is $6,780.00. Our bank checking account balance is $25,614.86 (as of 1 May). Our savings account balance is $3,985.45. Our Certificate of Deposit balance is $4,594.19. Total of the cash assets is $34,194.50. Please note that this cash on hand includes receipts for the annual meeting, but excludes payment for the costs of the annual meeting. Our annual budget for receipts (2001-2002) is $39,350.00. Our annual budget for expenses (2001-2002) is $44,925.00 for a 2001-2002 projected deficit of $5,575.00.