The American Numismatic Association Board of Governors passed a $5.63 million budget, set the stage for a fund development initiative, and discussed opportunities to grow the nonprofit organization’s membership and provide additional educational options when it met recently in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The ANA will use 4.66 percent of its investment principal – or $861,152 – toward the FY 2016 operating budget of $5.63 million. The breakdown includes 3.76 percent of investment principal ($694,484) for operations and an additional 0.9% ($166,668) for higher-than-usual World’s Fair of Money expenses due to the convention’s location in Anaheim. A separate capital budget of $70,669 was also approved.
“The budget as proposed is very tight due to the significantly higher costs associated with holding the 2016 World’s Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif.,” noted ANA President Jeff Garrett. “We expect future budgets to more closely align with approved budgeting guidelines.”
The board had previously set a guideline of utilizing 3 percent of the Association Investment Principal for operations, with an additional 1 percent for unanticipated expenses. Association Investment Principal is defined as current assets less liabilities and funds designated for a specific purpose.
Gary Adkins, ANA vice president, suggested the association look at its budget for opportunities to grow its outreach.
“Working within the tight parameters we’ve set for ourselves will not move this organization forward,” Adkins said. “If we are to grow our membership and increase our educational offerings, the board will need to make a commitment to providing the necessary resources while also committing to fiscal responsibility.”
Budget and Finance Committee Chair Greg Lyon noted that the investment principal will increase significantly in the future when additional Ben E. Keith stock, currently held in trust for the ANA, is received.
In FY 2014, the ANA’s net worth grew by $4.1 million, to a total of $73.7 million.
A copy of the approved budget is available online at money.org/financial-reports. Minutes from the meetings will be published in a future issue of The Numismatist.
Selection of the 2018 and 2019 National Money Show host cities was tabled at the October board meeting pending clarification of additional options. The board held a special teleconference meeting on Nov. 20, at which time it voted to select Dallas as the host city for the 2018 National Money Show and Pittsburgh as the host for the 2019 show.
Other items discussed and/or determined at the meetings:
• An unbudgeted expenditure of $25,000 for a 125th anniversary promotional campaign was approved. It is anticipated that revenues from the campaign will exceed this initial expenditure.
• Gov. Steve Ellsworth, chair of the Development Committee, made a presentation to the board on a fund development action plan. The governors, expressing their overwhelming support, each made a personal financial pledge for the upcoming year.
A bid from Positive Protection Inc. to provide security for the 2017 National Money Show and World’s Fair of Money was accepted.
Board members discussed at length various possibilities of offering additional educational and online learning opportunities. It was noted that three of the ANA’s correspondence course – Grading Coins Today, Introduction to Numismatics and Detecting Counterfeits – will be updated in FY 2016. In addition, the ANA website, money.org, will soon introduce several new educational endeavors.
This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
>> Subscribe today or get your >> Digital Subscription
More Collecting Resources
• If you enjoy reading about what inspires coin designs, you'll want to check out Fascinating Facts, Mysteries & Myths about U.S. Coins.
• Subscribe to our monthly Coins magazine - a great resource for any collector!