State of the Union
Before I start with the present, allow me to open some pages from the past:
When MICDC first started getting together (in or around 2009), it was a very small number of individuals who shared a passion for fishing, fellowship, and the sense of comradery. Those first events laid the stonework for the foundation we have today.
Don, having been to events in other states, took it upon himself to start developing events in our area. He knew what those events entailed and tried to bring that same level to our area. Sensing that he was getting burned out from hosting events and all of the work, planning, and coordination that goes in to it, I decided to help him out and take over for an event or two. Putting on one of these events gives you a better understanding of the big picture and just how much effort goes in to making an event the best it can be.
Over the last few years we have tried our best to allow other people to take the torch and continue on with what has been started. The more people that host an event, the bigger the knowledge pool becomes for new people. We encourage others to host an event so that they can interject their personal touches which allows them to tailor the event as they would like to see it.
In the past, some of the financial burden has fallen on a select few members. At the time it doesn’t seem like much. A dollar here for this, five dollars for that. Pretty soon however, the additions add up quickly. It isn’t fair to need to count on or rely on one individual to come up with that sort of thing on the fly.
Around 2014, it was decided that we would begin to keep a log book and stockpile a small amount of money in order to ensure that club type things could be paid for utilizing club funds. That money was collected in the form of T-shirt sales and fishing tournament donations. At the time, we were dealing with a relatively small amount of money (less than $300 dollars annually). We did not feel the need to have a club secretary or club financial officer to handle the monies so we simply decided to annotate the money earned and money spent within a logbook that would be passed from one event host to the next.
Although this was good “in theory” the problem was that the spring events would generate enough capital to sustain, but the fall events would spend more capital then what was taken in. In very short order (fall of 2016) the funds were depleted to zero.
In the spring of 2015 and 2016, our club embarked on a mission to raise money for a local charity. We were able to raise a ton of money in those two years. Although this was a great mission and undertaking and there are no regrets for what was done, these charity fund raising events put little funds in to our general fund. This helped lead to the zero balance that was experienced in the fall of 2016.
In the spring of 2017 it was determined that we needed to generate capital in order to once again open up our general fund. Having hosted five or six previous events, I was confident with a very specific number that we needed to hit in order to remain solvent for years to come. We hosted a donation drive in order to generate needed income for future events. Happily, we exceeded the goal which left a surplus of monies.
During this time we noted that it was specifically the lesser attended fall events that, if not managed correctly, would deplete our funds. It was decided that we would take a step back at our fall events and have them be more of an informal get together. We would also select the camp host for the following year. This would give them about 365 days to prepare for the next large event.
Knowing the issues we had in relation to monies in the past and how we handled the funds, it was decided that one individual would be in charge of keeping track of the funds. The same log book was used in order to keep accurate data of the monies collected, where they came from, and how it was being spent. Although it sounds like Nazi Germany, this is actually a good thing for any future camp hosts. They no longer need to keep track of the funds. All they need to do is request a dollar amount and it will be dispersed to them.
I have OCD "Obsessive Crappie Disorder"
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