Last week's report briefly spoke of the number of responses received in the prior week that were solicited by my ask for opinions on whether or not USA Field Hockey should have plastic membership cards issued.  There was an approximate 60:40 split (we received around 300 responses). Sixty percent were favorable toward the concept and forty percent were not. The "favorables" liked the branding concept; they would not mind paying an incremental fee for the cards; they really liked the possibility of discounts from vendors when cards were presented by members; and they liked being able to display their participation in the sport through the additionally provided luggage tags or key ring fobs.  These are all good reasons.

Those who were "contrary-minded" thought the money to develop this membership piece could be used better elsewhere; they did not wish to pay an incremental price for the cards; they already had too many cards in their wallets/handbags/where-ever; and they felt we should focus on being green. Those are good reasons, too.

What now? Well, since the "favorables" have the majority, we thought we would launch a contest with a prize for the winner (however, this is no guarantee we will have cards, as that will be financially driven). For those of you with an artistic bent, it is your chance to design a potential card for USA Field Hockey. All submitted card designs become the property of USA Field Hockey, and the winning card designer receives a kit from USA Field Hockey sponsor ASICS (shoes, warm up suit and shirts) and a stick from DITA. Our committee judging the entries will be USA Field Hockey Marketing Director Simon Hoskins, Membership Director David Miller, USA Women's Team member Katie Evans, and Jon Ginolfi, member of the Men's National Team. Our entry deadline is May 1st, 2010, and the winners will be announced in May 12th  weekly report. Below you will find formating shapes and two (front and back) sample card.  Artwork should be submitted to David Miller at dmiller@usafieldhockey.com.

Samples

Before we get to our quarterly financial report, this from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: "A Bank of America employee in North Carolina was arrested for installing a program on ATM machines so he could steal thousands of dollars. If convicted, the man faces a sentence of 20 years, 40 years, 60 years, or "other amount."

We have promised to present to you, on a quarterly basis, the Profit and Loss statement and balance sheet from USA Field Hockey. Along with those documents is included a Variance Report interpreting the highlights of the finances of USA Field Hockey this past quarter. While reading a P&L and balance sheet may cause your eyes to glaze over, it is the best indicator of the financial health and ultimately the overall health of an organization. USA Field Hockey Chief Financial Officer Janet Paden prepared the variance report, the P&L, and balance sheet documents.

March 2010 Variance Report

While our financial reports in March appear that we missed budget, there are several timing issues to be discussed. When these are factored in, our "adjusted" net income exceeded budget by $104K, and our Year-to-Date performance is $191K favorable versus budget, or 44.8%. This shows outstanding financial responsibility by the staff, and demonstrates the emphasis that is now being placed on monthly financials.

Revenues for the month of March missed budget by $17K. However, VIK Uniforms was under budget $20K. Additionally, there was $21K budgeted for the change in Interest in the Net Asset, which has not yet arrived from Ernie Hincks. Without these timing issues, revenues would have exceeded budget by $24K. Year to date, revenues are $132K under budget. However, as mentioned in February's report, there is VIK Airfare of $42K to be used in April, and $70K in grants to be received later in the year. Additionally, there is the $21K aforementioned to be recorded in April for the interest relating to the net asset, as well as $12K for YTD Uniforms VIK that hasn't been used. If timing wasn't a factor, our YTD revenues would be $13K over budget.

Expenses were $12K over budget for the month of March. However, there were expenses relating to World Cup Qualifier ($99K) that are budgeted in April (timing). Facility rental expense for the Futures program are currently over budget $47K; however, $42K of this will be recuperated April through June. There was expense savings in Meals ($20K), Lodging ($14K), and VIK Uniforms ($20K) that will be spent in later months. Given all of these factors, March expenses would have been $80K under budget for the month. YTD, expenses are under budget $272K. However, factoring out timing, the "true" favorable variance is $177K, or 7.7%

March net income is $135K versus a budget of $164K, resulting in an unfavorable budget variance of $29K. However, given the timing factors mentioned above, adjusted net income is favorable to budget $104K. Year to date, net income is $140K favorable to budget; adjusted net income is $191K favorable to budget.

Please click on links below to see the 2010 March P & L and the balance sheet documents. 

https://webpoint.usfieldhockey.com/files/internal_files/2010MonthlyFinancialsTotal.pdf
https://webpoint.usfieldhockey.com/files/internal_files/MonthlyBalanceSheet.pdf

Have a great week!

Steve Locke
Executive Director