Executive Council

Comments on the HFES 2009 Budget
By Andrew S. Imada, HFES Treasurer

     As HFES President Paul Green described in his report of the midyear Executive Council meeting (see the May/June issue, pp. 5-6), Council approved a revised budget that anticipates a deficit. Know that this budget was passed with mixed emotions, including disappointment and a heavy sense of responsibility. As elected representatives for the membership, the entire Council feels responsible for the fiscal health of our Society. At times, cash shortfalls can be deliberate, and at other times factors beyond our control make shortfalls unavoidable.

     However, it may be helpful to understand the budget in a larger context. First, these are difficult times. We have experienced unprecedented financial uncertainties that can be described as unique generational events. The upheaval among enterprises, government, and individual life stories speaks to the magnitude of what we are living through. Second, although the deficit does approach $80,000, it represents less than 6% of a $1.4 million operating budget. A shortfall is a shortfall, but its magnitude needs to be understood in the context of the total budget. Be assured that the budget considers expenses carefully and prioritizes HFES core functions.

Silver Linings
     In the short time that I have served on the Executive Council, I have come to appreciate our strengths as an organization. Challenges and crises help us identify real inner character and our own strengths and capabilities. Working with the Executive Council, staff, and other organizations has led me to identify the following strengths:

     Dedicated membership. In late 2008 the staff recognized a change in membership dues renewal patterns. At first this was not alarming. However, in early 2009 the pattern continued, and benchmarking data from like organizations suggested that dues renewals had fallen off between 20% and 25%; that would be a variance ranging from $125,000 to $157,000 in our largest revenue line item. This never happened, and your contributions have nearly matched previous years' dues payments. That speaks to the dedication and support of our membership. I appreciate that the loyalty and dedication of our members are valuable assets.

     Visionary leaders. If those who served the Society before the current Executive Council had not had the foresight to make the changes we did in 2001, we would be in a very different position today. The cash reserves that they envisioned and created put us in a comforting position during just such a rainy day. Moreover, previous recommendations to protect our cash by federally insuring our funds make what we have much safer, even if there is more turbulence among financial institutions.

     Valuable staff. Before we met at the 2008 Annual Meeting, the executive director and staff had anticipated the changes and made proposals proactively. Their ability and willingness to make budget cuts, come up with innovative ideas, be resilient, and display their sense of history of our organization gave me the confidence that these were real solutions and not a pencil-whipping drill. This kind of action requires flexibility and personal sacrifice from the staff, and I am sure you are as appreciative as I am for these changes during these unusual economic times.

     Sustainable processes. The increased professionalism and welldefined processes in HFES are sustainable and do not depend exclusively on the hard work of members or good fortune, and success is sustainable. Examples include our relationships with professional meeting planning and publishing organizations. These represent step-function changes in operations that are more likely to produce predictable and sustainable success in the future.

Beyond the Budget
     In sum, the Executive Council's submission of a deficit budget was not pleasant. We would have preferred to continue the previous seven-year trend of contributing a surplus to our cash reserves. However, our dedicated membership, heritage of visionary leadership, great staff, and professional organizational processes suggest that our overall health as an organization is strong and sustainable.

Table of Contents for July 2009 HFES Bulletin

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