ELGL’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. At the June 18, 2021 meeting, the ELGL Board of Directors unanimously adopted a balanced budget of $357,000. Highlights include:
Revenues
- The budget used existing membership counts with the updated dues amounts (updated January 2021) and did not project any organization growth in FY22. While this is extremely conservative given ELGL’s rapid rate of growth, we wanted to account for the potential decrease in local government expenditures on professional affiliations.
- Revenues also include $75,000 for Diversity Dashboard funding that has not yet been acquired. ELGL is currently seeking partner(s) and institutional support for this important project.
Expenses
- Personnel expenses comprise 74% of the budget. ELGL has 3.5 FTEs (one Executive Director, two Program Directors, and a half time Digital Content Manager).
- The second largest expenditure of $15,000 is budgeted to upgrade the organization’s membership platform and CMS to a community platform. The tool is called Hivebright and staff is most impressed by the support that it will provide for both Cohorts and Collectives. The digital services budget also includes $12,000 for our second year in our two year contract with Bizzabo (online event software).
- The budget includes $5,000 for a board and staff retreat in Texas immediately after #ELGL21, a new computer for the Executive Director, and co-working space rental for the Program Directors.
Reserves
- Per the Board’s direction in FY21, five percent of total expenditures is budgeted for strategic reserves. This is likely not enough (would only cover one payroll) but at this point in time, we are not in a financial position to increase this amount and still accomplish all of the strategic goals for the organization.
Additional Information
- The adopted budget is lean and focuses on the organization’s incredible staff. The budget also includes a strategic reserve so there is funding in the bank account for slow membership, event, and sponsorship months.
- There are many uncertainties in this budget. While ELGL continues to attract new members and retain current members, some consideration should be given to whether memberships will continue to grow as local governments recover from COVID. And, there remains uncertainty in the availability of sponsor funding as companies cut back their donations.
- Monthly expenditures will be tracked and shared in an interactive budget dashboard so the Board of Directors can keep an eye on the uncertainty that is built into this budget.