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Save The Fat Ass!

lifebuoy As we approach the end of 2006 and the start of a new year, the Steering Committee and I have been doing a lot of behind the scenes planning regarding Club Fat Ass.  Straight up, the success of the Club may also kill it! 

Your Club has accomplished a lot during 2006.  We have grown to 300 members.  Members benefited from 33 free Club events in 2006 including our new speaker series and flash events.  Our online "clubhouse" finally works across most common browsers and members are using it to share their adventures, photos and advice.  The Club newsletter is received by over 1,000 subscribers and this is growing rapidly as friends tell friends. 

The challenge is that the Club doesn't have the resources to support this kind of growth.  Membership dues bring in approximately $10,000 but this does not even come close to covering the actual costs of overhead (the t-shirts, the world class web site, Club marketing and promotion, accounting and legal fees, etc.). 

I’ve been personally funding this cash shortfall for the last few years.  While the Club enjoys some awesome product sponsors, we also need cash to be sustainable.  There's also the time.  All of the club administration is volunteer.  What started as a few hours a month has become more than a 40+ hour unpaid work week for me, and most of the Steering Committee members routinely contribute 10+ hours per month.  For the Club to continue at the same level and be able to pay a modest salary to your club Mom, we will need revenues of about $50,000 in 2007.

Given this challenge, the Steering Committee has told me to stop.  They tell me I cannot continue to invest time and money in the Club simply for the love of the running community.  Unfortunately, they are right.

I've taken the advice of the Steering Committee to heart.  I will keep the Club alive for 2007, but restrict the amount of time I spend on it to evenings and weekends.  If we can't make it work financially, the Club will disband at the end of next year.  If this has to happen, I will do everything I can to find a way for Event Hosts to maintain their events.

Here’s where you come in.  How much does this Club matter to you?  I'm appealing to you to prove that we can make the Club not only survive, but thrive.  I know there are many bright, creative people among our members and newsletter subscribers.  If you were in charge of the Club, how would you raise $50,000 or otherwise make the Club sustainable?

  • Can you identify potential sponsors or donors?  (I added a donation button to the website, but you can also contact me with leads).
  • Will you volunteer to serve on the Steering Committee?  (Technology and Marketing Chair positions for 2007 are open)
  • What might you do to help a Steering Committee member?  (contribute promotional ideas, distribute brochures, help get events into race calendars, help with managing the website, the newsletter, online marketing,help keep the books, help identify new sponsors, donors...)
  • Will you host an event? (Scheduled event, speaker event, or flash event)
  • What kind of time, skill, or expertise can you contribute?   (Believe me, whatever time or skill you can offer, the Club can use!)

If you believe in the Club, I’m appealing to you to actively contribute to its success in 2007.  I plan to post this challenge on the Club website where you can publicly share your thoughts.  You can also contact me directly.

Thank you in advance for your help.  Have a happy, healthy Christmas . . . and I hope to see you out on the trails in 07!

Sibylle Tinsel
Chief Executive Fat Ass

Comments

Killaine's picture

Hi Sibylle,As surprised as I

Hi Sibylle,

As surprised as I am at the cost to run the club and the chronic deficit position, I am totally stunned that you have been paying the difference! Although grateful, I am not comfortable taking a free ride at your expense. 

Generally speaking, there appear to be two options for the club's survival. Either costs need to be reduced so they are less than revenues, or revenues need to be increased so they are greater than costs.

Personally, I joined CFA because I wanted a ready group of people to do long trail runs with. As such, my preference in restoring a balance between revenues and expenses would be to reduce expenses where possible, eliminating the non-essentials until balance is achieved. Failing that, it may be necessary to increase membership rates, but I doubt it.

I think it is hard for those of us not managing the club's affairs to have any sense of the quantity or nature of work involved, or the need for on-going assistance. I had no idea there was a problem, not to mention a crisis. From the periphery, it is hard to imagine how we could help.

That said, I'm declaring my willingness to help out. I have some comfort in the $ department and am willing to put time into that, including helping to find the secret balance between reveneus and expenses that will make the club sustainable. Other suggestions are also welcome.

In the meantime, I'm off to read the new issue of Trail Runner Magazine which appeared in my mailbox today and which, incidentally, I was awarded for attending a CFA event....and who knew there was free beer!!

Thanks for all your hard work and dedication.

Killaine
garobbins's picture

Things as I see them...

Well, here are things as I see them. You may agree with me, you may whole heartily disagree, but either way it is feedback and I think you need that more than anything else right now.
It is tough to comment specifically on the club costs without seeing a breakdown of exactly where those costs are going. Maybe it would be worthwhile to post this information so that people are better informed as to what is possibly killing the club and what can still be sustained.
First off, it was a shock to read your latest e-mail and a really unfortunate occurrence. I would like to be a part of saving Club Fat Ass...but I do not have any spare time to donate, and I do not want to spend any more money...I assume this will be the response from at least 3/4 of the membership and within this statement, I believe, lies the answer.
By the very definition of a Fat Ass event, we seem to steer further and further off course with every event.
Understandably, with each new event, the bar is raised and event hosts are continually trying to offer more for their guests. It seems to have snowballed to the point where it is now unacceptable to not offer free beer and a dozen high quality draw prizes.
You are facing the classic dilemma of the more you offer, the more people want and expect to get. It is a never ending circle and from top to bottom and I personally believe the club has been caught offering way, way too much in return for the measly annual club fees.
I think the club is currently caught between being a Fat Ass style set up and a full on international race series. Step back for a moment and decide what is it you most desire?
If you really want a race series, then focus on that and start charging a per event race fee, offer draw prizes, free beer, aid stations, advertise and you will probably start to see a R.O.I. and be able to continue with the current direction of the club.
If you simply want to provide a low key, easy going, great networking, fun, free Fat Ass type event, than you need to trim the fat (no pun intended), all of it. Is it necessary to have a steering committee for a genuine Fat Ass event series??
Why is there an advertising budget? When you charge 50 per year, with a t-shirt, is there ever a point where you could recoup this investment?
Why is the club so focused on growing it's numbers? Offer a basic website, help your event hosts get their first event off the ground (they should be self sufficient after year one), and people will find the club through word of mouth and a web search engine, just as I did.
Why does the website have to eat up so much of your time and money? A friend of mine develops websites that are 100% user friendly, so no more fighting with the techies. Scale it down, step back, refuse to put 40hr a week into it, that should never be necessary. All the added features of the website, such as photo contests, blogs, point series, etc, are great additions, but I know that I could personally go without any and all of them in favour of still having Fat Ass events to attend throughout the year.
Ean Jackson was the first runner I met in BC. Because of him and your Club Fat Ass events I have met an entire culture of people, who I could not imagine seeing at least a few times a year as I now do through your CFA events. Let's all step up and offer our advise and suggestions so that we do not loose such a great running community resource.
Sibylle and Ean, I know that you love the Club Fat Ass idea, environment, and website, but you may have to stop treating it like your baby and allow it to grow up and support itself.
Sincerely,
Gary

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