How the VJCC Operates Financially |
By Hitoshi Shimizu
Ever wonder how the VJCC operates financially? Where does the money come from? Is it from membership dues? Is it from monies made at the annual festival? How much does it take to run the VJCC, annually?
Well, here are pie charts for you to ponder. In 2004, we spent a total of $250,000 to operate the Center. Here is a chart of how the expenses were broken down:
Here’s a chart of income to pay for all these expenses:
As you can see, our membership dues income covers only 13% of our total needs. Rental income from the various organizations and classes using the Center covers an additional 10%. The board members and the various fund raising event committee members are constantly working to raise funds to meet our budget.
With our expansion plan, we are going to need between three and five million dollars in order to rebuild our buildings. With the increase in the number of members and the increase in the various programs being conducted at our center, we are running out of space to accommodate everyone. The martial arts classes, basketball teams, senior citizen programs and others are asking for more time and space to operate. The only way we can accommodate this is to expand.
As we consider expansion, we need each and every member to feel that the Center is my Center. We need to have you participate in all our fund raising activities. This Center is not someone else’s Center. This Center is your Center – yours, mine, and ours.
Visions for the VJCC
By Gail Sharp
Gail Sharp |
Since becoming part of the VJCC Communications Committee I have learned to view the Center from a different perspective. I always felt that the VJCC was a great place to grow up. I wanted my children to have the same experience. Naively, I came and left without thought, taking for granted that the VJCC would always be here when I needed it. The VJCC of my youth continues to exist because there were people who worked and raised money to build and care for it. The VJCC I come to every month for classes and meetings continues to exist because there are volunteers who maintain the facility and who sit down to pay the bills with money raised through membership dues, festival proceeds and other fundraisers.
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For the VJCC to continue to thrive, everyone who uses the Center has to recognize that to support us, the VJCC needs our support. It won’t do to sit back passively and assume that some other guy will fix it, build it or figure out how to pay for it. We all need to take ownership in OUR VJCC and do what is necessary to help it grow and stay viable in the future.
