By Audrey Kuo
Voices
AAJA is expected to face a budget deficit of up to $275,000 for the year, officials said.
Glenn Sugihara, accountant for the national office, estimated that the shortfall would be at least $237,000. National Treasurer Candace Heckman’s report to the governing board’s meeting, held Saturday afternoon, indicated the current deficit is already $38,000.
The projected fiscal shortage is due to “a number of factors,” Sugihara said.
Those include losses from over the year, a dropoff in membership dues, losses associated to a lower-than-expected turnout at this year’s convention, sponsors who pulled or reduced their support and a buyout of a hotel contract with the Westin Boston Waterfront.
AAJA had originally booked the Westin as an overflow hotel for the convention. AAJA officials negotiated a buyout of the contract to avoid paying a $57,000 fee – and “saved ourselves $27,000 from that,” Sugihara said.
Maya Blackmun, interim executive director, said AAJA officials had a “variety of possibilities” to deal with the budget shortfall, including a fundraising push from individuals and chapters or looking to the endowment funds.
AAJA national president Sharon Chan said in an interview Friday that the association would have difficult choices in coming years because of the economic downturn and declining membership.
But, she said, “we would never make a decision just based on the finances.”
She added the association has taken this year’s numbers into consideration in planning the 2010 convention, renegotiating the hotel contract with Renaissance Los Angeles to pledge 1,536 hotel nights instead of the original 2,000.
The new contract includes an 85 percent attrition rate, which means AAJA will have met its requirement if its members book 1,306 room nights. The hotel also agreed to offer a lowered rate of $199 per night.
In spite of the looming budget shortfall, Sugihara said it was important to note that no programs had been eliminated yet and that any future cuts would have to be decided by the board.
As an alternative, he suggests AAJA tap into its endowment fund, which is meant to pull the organization through lean years.
“This is a wake-up call that we have to pursue funding a little more aggressively,” Sugihara said. “But there’s quite a bit in the endowment.”
