ANNA MARIA – Just in time for the holidays, auditors delivered good news to board members at The Center of Anna Maria Island – the nonprofit passed its annual independent audit.
Auditor Eric Troyer with the accounting firm of Kerkering, Barberio and Co. said the audit closing out the 2017 fiscal year, which ended June 30, was nearing completion and “went very well,” with an unmodified opinion result.
The good news from the audit was in the program service fees received and 2017 expense breakdown. Troyer said received program fees were at an all-time high in the 2017 fiscal year at $384,000. One anomaly in the results is the difference between overall revenue for the 2016 fiscal year and 2017, a more than $800,000 reduction that Troyer attributed to the mortgage payoff for the Center’s building and funds received from the BP oil spill. Center Executive Director Kristen Lessig said the mortgage payoff resulted in about $800,000 in debt forgiveness while BP oil spill funds came in at around $260,000.
The Center’s asset value dropped from $4,386,643 in 2016 to $3,868,838 due to depreciation, of which building depreciation accounts for $184,000 annually. In cash received, the Center gained year over year from 2016 by more than $111,000 in 2017.
Expenses in the 2017 fiscal year were “a little better than industry standards,” Troyer said. The audit expense breakdown showed 88 percent of funds going to programming, 7 percent on fundraising and 5 percent on management.
“Out of every dollar donated, 88 cents goes to program expenses,” Board Chair David Zaccagnino said.
Board Treasurer Jim Froeschle said one area where the Center can improve its expenditures is in fundraising, which hasn’t brought in the numbers board members hoped for so far in the 2018 fiscal year. He said part of the reason the numbers aren’t there could be that the Center isn’t investing enough in its fundraising efforts. Through November, fundraising revenue totaled $64,727 with $30,045 in expenses, including donations, grants, and government support. The Center’s budget projected $219,877 in fundraising revenue with $46,415 in fundraising expenses through November, creating a variance of $155,150 in revenue.
The Center also is beginning to close some financial gaps, most notably in general and administrative expenses where cost-cutting has resulted in $31,407 in savings over budget predictions. However, Froeschle’s reports show the nonprofit ending November $126,811 in the red versus a budgeted positive income of $15,572. With the winter busy season beginning, a new partnership with Island Fitness up and running, and a $30,000 matching donation drive on through the end of December, both Lessig and Froeschle said they feel positive about the financial future of the Center.
“Overnight the numbers could change if someone writes a check,” Froeschle said, adding that the Center isn’t giving up on obtaining government financial support and is redoubling efforts to win grant funds.
Center financial results can be viewed online by visiting this link.
