Clean Run - June 2014 - 51

Let's Start a Club!
Part 2: Money Management
By Jan Manning
If our little agility club had a million dollars to spend, we'd buy some land and
construct an indoor, climate-controlled
training center with matted floors and
enough space to accommodate at least
one full-size agility ring. It's fun to dream!
We don't have a million dollars yet,
but we do have a few thousand-not
enough to buy a building, but enough
to comfortably grow, perpetuate the
club, and serve our membership. We
have a tidy sum in the bank, plus we've
been able to buy plenty of first-rate
equipment, training books and videos,
patio heaters, shelving units, and clickers for everyone. Not bad for a little
backwater club that's only been around
for five years.
How have we done it? We started with
nothing and built up. We never spent
more than we had and never purchased anything unless we absolutely
needed it. In other words, we've run our
club like a business and have stuck to a
budget from day one.

Building Your Budget
A budget is a plan to help your club
make appropriate decisions about how
to raise and spend money as a group.
It helps you set priorities about what
you want to accomplish, and insures
you don't run out of money before the
end of the year. It shows you how much
money you need to raise to have the
necessary funds available.
June 14

| Clean Run

Let's say you've just organized a new agility club and have started to collect membership dues. You have 8 new members
who paid $25 each for annual dues. You
have $200, enough to put in the bank and
open a checking account under the club's
name. The treasurer should maintain the
account, although other officers' signatures should also be on file at the bank.
Now you design your budget. Begin
by reviewing your club's mission statement. Chances are it mentions training and education, which means you'll
need to spend money in these departments to accomplish your club's goals.
Write down your goals. Your initial list
may look like this:
1. Purchase equipment. Break this
down and prioritize. You don't
need a full set of new stuff if members can pool together bits and
pieces for a while. Some may be
home-made, some may be from
other clubs that are selling their
used equipment. If your greatest
need is a new teeter, make that
your initial "big" goal.
2. Pay rent on a facility. Maybe
you're currently using a friend's
barn, but you'd like to move into
a larger arena with better footing.
You may end up paying anywhere
from a few dollars to cover the
light bill to a few hundred dollars
for monthly usage fees. Start shop-

ping for a home, but make it affordable for your club and its members.
3. Bring in clinicians. Hosting a
weekend seminar can be a moneymaker for your club, if you can
afford a top name that will draw
attendees. If not, identify the most
experienced and highly recommended trainer within a day's
drive of your site. This individual
will be more affordable and probably more appropriate for novice
handlers. You can charge your club
members a reasonable fee to attend and subsidize the rest with
club funds. This is a service you're
providing to your membership, in
return for the dues they pay.
4. Oﬀer incentives for junior handlers. Your club can sponsor a trophy for the local 4-H kids working
with dogs. You can award a travel
allowance for a junior handler to
attend a clinic or trial. You can pay
the junior's trial entry fees. These
expenses could run anywhere
from a few dollars to hundreds.
Any expenditure here should be
commensurate with the scope of
your club and size of your budget.
Often a small, simple trophy is as
appreciated as a more lavish gift.
5. Buy insurance for the club. Plan
on several hundred dollars a year
for liability insurance. Many clubs
51

Clean Run - June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - June 2014