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Membership increased by 24 (12%), from 196 to 220, compared to a decline of 1 in 1995, thus showing that our outreach efforts and our presence on the internet are starting to bring membership growth. The number of hardcopy subscribers decreased from 171 to 159, as the number of online (EScree) members shot up from 25 to 61. An additional 300 or so people subscribe to EScree but are not members of the PCS. The PCS traditionally calculates its net worth by pretending that the club disbands at the end of the year and refunds pro rata shares of unused subscriptions to its members. Such an analysis shows a required refund of $857, which when compared to our cash balance of $1423, leaves the PCS with a net worth of $566. While still substantial, this is a decline of 24% during the year, from a net worth of $744 on 12/31/95. Another way of calculating our financial health yields similar results. Cost of printing and mailing the hardcopy Scree averaged $.88 per issue during 1996, while on 11/01/96 (latest figures available) we owed a total of 1028 issues to paid subscribers. Thus we had a total liability of $905 at that time, which suggests a positive net worth of $518. Outlook: The number of hardcopy subscribers may continue to decline as more and more members use the internet, and since well over 90% of the PCS budget relates to the hardcopy Scree, we can expect income and expenses to decline also. On the other hand, maintaining a high-quality hardcopy Scree is essential for attracting new members, for serving non-internet users, and for reading in bed or sleeping bag. The cost of printing and mailing 12 issues of the hardcopy Scree averaged $10.57 per subscriber in 1996, somewhat more than the $10 subscription fee. This difference, coupled with some non-Scree related expenses listed below, explains the slight decline in our financial position during the year. This decline, combined with slowly rising production costs, and the need for some longer issues in late summer/early fall 1997 to handle the abundance of trip reports at that time, means that the subscription fee will probably need to go back to $12 by late 1997 in order to preserve our financial health. An alternative is to keep the subscription fee at $10 by reducing the length of Scree every month in order to cut costs. That's all I have to report. Detailed figures for the 4th quarter and for the calendar year are below. Believe it or not, being the PCS treasurer has been fun! Thanks and "see you at a meeting, on the net, or in the mountains."
- Jim Ramaker
1996 Annual Financial Report (1/01/96 - 12/31/96)
Checkbook balance 1/01/96 $1504
Expenses
Print & mail 12 issues of Scree 1681
Refreshments 63
Travel money for one slide show 20
Bank service charges 60
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Total expenses 1/01-12/31 1824
Income
Scree subscriptions 1668
Refund of bank service charges 36
Excess food donations 19
Correct 1995 checkbook error 20
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Total income 1/01-12/31 1743
Net loss for year (81)
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Checkbook balance 12/31/96 1423
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1996 - Jim Ramaker
