Budget History and Projection
Related: Contribution History ; 2008-09 Final Budget ; Make a Contribution
The graphs below give an overview of the finances of the CyberSpace Avalanche Center since we began our second year of operation as a non-profit (and our third year of providing internet resources) in the fall of 1996. Please note that we receive no financial support (and for that matter very limited cooperation) from any government sources. We have no affiliation whatsoever with the US Forest Service, or any other government agency. We are one of the only avalanche related nonprofits in the US which does not raise funds to assist in paying federal salaries.
We have had four primary sources of revenue over time, shown in the first four graphs. Note that the largest ones are individual contributions and the avalanche store. Support from industry in terms of sponsorships and auction contributions has diminished since we began. We still run a small auction, but we gave up on sponsorships from industry. We tried Adsense instead for a while with some success, but that had its own set of problems. In 2007 we set up an Adsense-like script to run our own ads, but it has never been promoted very well. In 2008 we had some unsolicited interest in low-budget ads on the home page in the bar on the left side. One of the two companies withdrew their ads as a result of economic conditions, but the other continues to pay a nominal monthly fee.
In the fall of 2003 we submitted about 25 proposals for small operating funds grants but did not receive anything from that effort. (See those results.)
Our ability to operate at all ultimately comes down to the support of users, through direct contributions and store purchases.
The last two graphs show total expenses and the net gain or loss for each season. In the 2002-2003 season we had a net loss for the first time ever. Our projections for 2003-2004 also predicted a net loss but we did manage to break even. Since then we've managed to pretty much break even despite a flat budget. If it were adjusted for inflation our budget would actually be shrinking each season.
None of the graphs below are adjusted for factors such as inflation.
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Annual Fundraising Auction In 2007 we did not hold an auction. The 2008 auction saw very little participation and there were some items left. This has most likely lost its viability as a source of funding. In 2009 we did not have the resources (time or assistance) to attempt an auction, but we may try one later in the season for a change and see how that goes. |
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Advertising - Industry interest in supporting avalanche safety has greatly diminished since we began, and was never that great. In the early years a large effort was made to obtain support, but the time and effort expended was very large in comparison to the return shown. Thus we gave up on sponsorship. During the 2005-06 season we used Adsense, which worked out ok for one year. Starting in 2008 we had some limited unsolicited interest in home page ads, in the bar along the left. |
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Avalanche Store Net Profits Our store showed steady growth until 2001-02. The 2002-03 season was a poor one in terms of conditions, and the first one in which we had no large special orders. We were able to rebound in 2003-04 but suffered a large drop in revenue after that. In 2005-06 we began aggressively matching all discounts offered by others. This means less profit per sale and more time spent on retailing. By aggressively matching discounts we have continued to improve store revenue, and this has helped offset diminished contributions. |
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Individual Contributions This was our largest and most important source of support for much of our history. Lately it has been shrinking while store revenue first grew and then became flat. This once again raises the question of whether we should be a retailer or a public service organization. We have continued to fund the operation, but more of our time now goes into retailing and that leaves less time for creating new resources. |
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Total Annual Revenue This is the total result of the above revenue streams. We really need to count on $20,000 to be comfortable about covering our expenses, but we've learned to get by on less when we need to. Which has been necessary in recent years. However, $15,000 is pretty much a bare bones minimum. Compare this to any other avalanche related non-profit, and consider that some of them have hidden revenue covering overhead so that their published budget is mostly salaries. We believe we accomplish more with less than any other group (or agency) out there. |
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Total Annual Operating Expenses This shows our total operating expenses for each season. While they grew in the first 3 seasons as the project expanded they became steady, and lower during the last five seasons as we've had to tighten our belt. One disadvantage of having no government affiliation is that we cannot spend money we don't have. So far we've been able to economize. Note that nothing here is adjusted for inflation. While some USFS centers have grown their budgets by 10% or so in recent years (exceeding inflation) our non-profit budget has been flat or shrunk a bit, with inflation effectively decreasing our budget further. |
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Net Profit/Loss Here the last two charts are super-imposed to show our total net gain or loss each season. Until 2002-03 we were able to raise a bit more than we spent. Those funds allowing us to operate at a loss in 2002-03 and a slight loss in 2003-04. Over the last five seasons we managed to break even by further reducing, as well as deferring, expenses. It is not clear at this time what the long term future is. The 2007-08 season saw some improvement due to lower expeditures and improved store revenue but the 2008-09 season operated at a slight loss. |
If you would like to compare our budget information here with the general budgets of the avalanche centers run by the federal government you can see an overview of their historical figures in the Current Conditions section. Note that their budgets do not need to cover overhead costs such as office operations, motorpool costs, computer equipment, etc. That is all provided as in-kind support or buried in federal overhead accounts, and the vast majority of their budgets are for payroll. In contrast, our budget needs to cover all basic operating expenses which leaves nothing for salaries. All time and effort is donated here.
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www.avalanche-center.org |
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