AIS DEALING WITH A DEFICIT BUDGET                     Vaughn Sayles

At the November 2009 Board Meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Board of Directors of the American Iris Society approved a General Fund deficit budget of approximately $14,000.  In an attempt to prevent this deficit from eroding the AIS Capital Reserves the Board of Directors is taking several steps to eliminate this projected shortfall.  Jill Bonino, Treasurer of AIS, mailed a letter to RVPs outlining the steps that AIS is taking to reduce costs and increase revenue.    Included in these measures are increasing the registration fee for a new iris cultivar to $15.00 and cutting printing costs by providing for electronic voting by judges and a new size for the AIS Bulletin.   Even with these changes they still anticipate a deficit and two additional remedies are being pursued.

AIS’ primary means of eliminating this shortfall is a request for donations.  Donations helped AIS survive an unexpected budget increase a few years ago that was precipitated by a dramatic increase in the cost of securing insurance for our activities.   Donations are to be made to the AIS General Fund and should be sent to Lynn Williams, AIS Donations Secretary, with the designation of being Unrestricted Donations to the General Fund.  Lynn’s address is 25415 Salmon Place, Willits,CA 95490.  Donations of any size will help AIS with their budget problem.   AIS members, Affiliates and Regions are encouraged to make a contribution.  Please consider making a donation to AIS at your Affiliate Meetings this spring.

A second approach that is being utilized by a number of other plant/garden societies to generate extra revenue is a new one for AIS.  The program is called “Bloomin’ Buck$” with Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.  AIS registered with Brent and Becky’s Bulbs to be part of this program.   Go to the website, www.bloominbucks.com, and select AIS from the pull down menu.  Anything that you order will generate a percentage contribution to AIS.  This contribution to AIS only applies to on-line orders and orders through “Bloomin’ Buck$” are not qualified for additional discounting.   We are all gardeners so check it out.   You may find some books, bulbs, tools, supplements, gift certificates or other items that you are looking for and your purchase would help AIS.

The AIS Board of Directions is making a courageous effort to keep membership dues frozen while meeting increasing costs that the AIS is facing each year.  Any help that we as members can provide individually, as Affiliates and as Regions will be greatly appreciated.   The financial burden of providing insurance alone for our activities is a heavy one and one that is necessary for any viable organization today.   The American Iris Society is our organization and it needs our support.