Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2010 - 110

inside
e d i t o r

The

William J. Byrnes

usitt 2008/2009 Budget

By Travis DeCastro, USITT Treasurer

It is traditional that the Treasurer makes a summary statement of our financial position and offers a comparison of
budgets for the membership at this time of year. USITT embarked upon a sound financial strategy some years ago
and it continues to play out in our favor over the long run. As you might imagine, given the state of the economy,
USITT has not gone untouched by all that has gone on around us. However, we are in a much better financial position to handle the impact of the current recession than other organizations similar to ours. As you will see in this report, USITT is in excellent financial shape as the hoped for recovery starts to have its impact in 2010 and beyond.

Below are some interesting facts I'd like to point out:
*	 Our	cash	assets	have	increased	from	fiscal	year	2008	to	2009.	This	was	intentional.	We	purposefully	
kept money out of the markets, as they were being battered, that we might have invested in the past.
*	 Our	investment	income	shows	a	decrease	from	$1,331,	977	to	$1,149,834.	This	loss	is	attributed	to	
the overall decrease in market value of our portfolio. However, the market fluctuates daily. In the past
quarter	we	have	seen	an	increase	in	that	position	of	around	33%.	As	the	markets	continue	to	improve	
we will continue to see that category regain ground it lost over the last eighteen months.
*	 The	Budget	Summary	shows	that	Membership	and	Publications	income	has	continued	to	increase	and	
we are optimistic that the lure of the 50th Anniversary will attract even more members to celebrations
at the Conference & Stage Expo in Kansas City.
*	 Almost	all	conference	income	areas	grew	with	the	exception	of	the	banquet.	The	vice	president	for	
conferences is working on changes to the conference program schedule that may improve the income
results in this area.
*	 We	continue	to	maintain	our	overall	expenses	as	low	as	we	possibly	can.	We	have	demonstrated	excellent budget discipline and we continue to do so.
*	 Increases	in	expenses	include	our	organizational	branding	efforts,	the	executive	director	search,	and	
the	deployment	of	our	new	Web	site,	which	many	of	you	are	already	enjoying.	In	addition,	the	national	
office	is	exploring	a	new	revenue	stream	in	targeted	ad	placement	on	our	Web	pages.	
*	 As	an	example	of	our	prudent	financial	planning,	two	CDs	have	either	matured	or	are	maturing	in	the	
ensuing months that were set aside for the 50th Anniversary celebration. These revenue sources were
added to various areas in the conference and publications budgets to augment the 50th celebration experience. As a result of our careful planning we have a contingency budget for the 50th celebration that
allows for some last minute flexibility for opportunities, should they arise.
*	 The	Finance	Committee	will	continue	to	monitor	and	track	net	assets	and	cash	in	the	future	to	ensure	
we are maximizing our resources for the benefit of you, the membership and the institute.
In closing, the good news is that as we move forward into the 2010 budget cycle USITT is indeed in very sound
financial	shape.	That	being	said,	the	Finance	Committee	continues	to	track	trends	and	carefully	monitor	our	investments	to	improve	our	longterm	financial	stability.	Being	able	to	celebrate	our	success	as	an	organization	is	due	in	no	
small	part	to	our	conservative	fiscal	management.	Enjoy	the	50th	Anniversary	knowing	that	we	head	into	the	next	
fifty years a very financially stable membership organization.

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Technology

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2010
