Training GWRRA

BY THE BOOK

By: Dale Wingrove

Region H Trainer

July 2008

The “By The Book” articles are intended to help familiarize Volunteer Leaders and GWRRA Members with the guidelines, policies, procedures, and information contained in the GWRRA Officer’s Guidebook. Any quotes or references to topics contained in our OGB should not be taken “out of context”. Please feel free to reprint these articles in Region, District and Chapter newsletters. This is a reprint of the 11-06 article written by former Region H Trainer Dave Barham.

Does your chapter have goals? Does your chapter have a plan to accomplish these goals? This month, let us address the need for a Chapter Plan and discuss the financial aspects of the plan.

Before you “tune-out” on this subject, goals and plans do not necessarily need to be big formal, cumbersome things. A simple comprehensive set of goals and a plan that is flexible will serve the chapter just fine. Success in our personal life, business, and chapter life relies on having established goals and a plan for reaching those goals. If we do not have goals and a plan, we are trusting to fortune or good luck to improve or accomplish things in life.

The Chapter Officers and Staff should ask:

Where, as a chapter, do we want to be next year?
What, as a chapter, do we want to accomplish?
What are our financial, Recruitment, Retention, Rider Education, Couple of the Year program, and communication goals?
Do we have any special events planned that require funding?
Does the Chapter Director have a clearly understood prudent, reasonable, and fair fiscal policy?
Do we have an established plan to accomplish those goals?
And, most important, has the Chapter Staff communicated these goals clearly to the chapter participants?
Have the chapter participants “bought into” these goals?
The chapter should establish goals that have broad support from the participants.

The bedrock of the chapter plan must be financial. Without a sound fiscal plan, the chapter will not have the resources to accomplish its goals. So first, the chapter must set goals and determine how to reach those goals, only then can a financial plan be developed. First, determine how much funding it will take to operate for the next year. Include estimated expenses for all planned activities and expenditures. Then determine your estimated income for the next year. This is where your past financial records are invaluable. What was your historical income from all sources? Is it still a good estimate? Determine if the estimated income and current treasury balance are adequate. Do you have an estimated shortfall? Do you have estimated excess? A shortfall will require a new plan including to how to raise the required funds. Excess will bring a new set of decisions. What constitutes excess funds? The “Book” answer is “moneys in excess of approximately one (1) years operating expense”. This is a guide, not a rule. What do you do with excess funds? A good approach is to return excess funds to the participants by providing “no cost” social activities.

Bottom line: the chapter staff should work together to develop goals and a plan for the next year. An opportune time is at the end of the year when the chapter is required to submit the annual financial report along with the annual chartering fee. This is an excellent opportunity for the chapter staff to plan for the next year.