AMA GRANTS AND AWARDS
Money Matters
By Keith Sessions, AMA Chief Financial Officer | keithsessions@hotmail.com
By the time you read this, 2023 will be halfway over. It seems that time moves much faster the older you get. Our finances are in line with our expectations for the year. We expected a slight reduction in membership because of the dues increase and economic outlook. I am happy to say that our expectations were more pessimistic than reality. We budgeted for a 4% reduction in membership and, through the first quarter, we are only down roughly 2%.
Our annual insurance premium was paid in April as well. This is the AMA’s second largest expense. This year, the premium increased by approximately 6%. We have been in a “hard” insurance environment, so the increase was expected. The average increase for policies similar to ours was more than 10%. Our agent has done a great job of keeping the premium increases reasonable.
Other budgetary items are in line with one exception. We anticipated a grant to be awarded this year to the AMA, and it was not. Because grants almost always have an offsetting expense, this has little impact on our overall balance sheet. However, it does impact the programs and services that we hoped to provide. This was disappointing and unexpected. The best unofficial explanation we have received is that it was an oversight by the grant issuer. Although the results cannot be changed, we have been assured that future grants are available.
During the April Executive Council meeting, we spent time on some of my favorite expenses. The awards for Flying Site Improvement grants, Take off And Grow (TAG) grants, and scholarships were reviewed and approved.
Flying Site Improvement grants are for clubs to help offset expenses for improvements. The AMA will cover up to 10% with a maximum of $3,000. Several years ago, we would go through this process and have money left over. Today, the Flying Site Improvement program is highly competitive. It is normal to see only a third of the applicants receive a grant.
I would love to increase the funding for this program, but the budget is already lean. We do offer the ability to donate directly to this program through the AMA Foundation.
If you feel that it is important to have nice flying sites, I encourage you to make a donation.
TAG was developed to encourage our members and clubs to promote modeling as a positive recreational activity to those in their communities. TAG was the first of several programs implemented by the AMA in 2007. Intended primarily to welcome the general public to aeromodeling, TAG basically provides a one-day extensive introduction of model aviation with the intent of drawing new people into our hobby. Grants are used to help fund the event. Items purchased for the event are the property of the club afterward.
Although several grants were awarded, several districts had no applications for grants. This is a wonderful program. I encourage all clubs to explore the opportunities and apply for 2024. More information is available at www.amaflightschool.org/clubs/take-grow-tag-grant.
Finally, we were able to award several scholarships to our young members to help with college expenses. For this year’s rising senior class, please keep in mind that applications will become active in October, with the final deadline usually in February. There is even a scholarship for current undergraduates. More information can be found at https://amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/scholarships.
As I mentioned in my previous column, I am exiting my role as Chief Financial Officer at the end of 2023. If you have an interest in donating your time and expertise to a hobby you love, I encourage you to let us know.
