By Nan Patmont, Treasurer
The EACA Board evaluates its finances every year and, if needed, adjusts them to cover anticipated costs. This year, for reasons outlined here, the Board has decided to hold the membership fee at $25.00, while evaluating the appropriate fee for participation in the Studio Tour.
The Association’s operating expenses have increased since we purchased a website from WIX. Prior to 2020 our website was written and maintained by a member, which saved us a considerable amount of money. But good things do eventually come to an end, and reliance on a member’s skills was not possible forever. The Board decided that we needed to purchase a website that could be easily designed and maintained with the available expertise. Our membership dues have covered our operating costs, i.e., PayPal fees, a portion of the software fees, professional tax preparation, general membership meetings, mailbox rental, etc.
However, as we look to 2025, there is a real possibility that ECIA will begin charging us rental fees for use of the facilities. We’ll learn more about the possibility of rental fees from ECIA after the ECIA Board meets before the end of the year. We do have some money in reserve, so we believe we will not need to raise the membership fee for 2025.
As for the evaluation of the Studio Tour registration fee, this year’s Studio Tour was a financial success, in that our expenses did not exceed our income. In the early planning stages for the tour, we project 100 participating artists, as we never know exactly how many artists will eventually sign up for the Studio Tour; the planning number of 100 is
conservative, allowing us to make sound income and expense projections that should be close to the actual amounts in a given year. (With 111 participants in 2024, we exceeded that projection by 11, which is fantastic! The more artists we have, the better the possibilities in bringing in sponsorships from the community.)
The expenses for the 2024 Studio Tour stayed within budget, thanks in large part to our fantastic in-house PR team. However, in 2025, the planning team will assess any known or anticipated cost changes to help determine the Studio Tour registration fee.
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