1 February 2022 Financials – as provided at the BOD meeting

29.6% Regular Membership – current
70.4% Mamba Membership – current

+$181.6K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$179.2K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 2.4K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

8 March 2022 Financials – as provided at the BOD meeting

30.9% Regular Membership – current
69.1% Mamba Membership – current

+$202.8K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$187.8K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 15.0K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

19 April 2022 Financials – as provided at the BOD meeting

30.4% Regular Membership – current
69.5% Mamba Membership – current

+$218.0K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$194.7K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 23.3K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

03 May 2022 Financials – as provided at the BOD meeting

31.0% Regular Membership – current
69.0% Mamba Membership – current

+$235.1K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$198.2K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 36.9K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

14 June 2022 Financials – as provided at the VOA Operations meeting – No BoD meeting in June

31.0% Regular Membership – current
69.0% Mamba Membership – current

+$239.9K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$204.5K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 35.4K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

25 July 2022 Financials – not provided at the BOD meeting – this was a 25 July 2022 snapshot of the VOA Financials

31.0% Regular Membership – current
69.0% Mamba Membership – current

+$242.8K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$205.4K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 37.4K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

16 August 2022 Financials – as provided at the BOD meeting

32.0% Regular Membership – current
68.0% Mamba Membership – current

+$251.4K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$209.3K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 42.1K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

6 September 2022 Financials – briefed –

However, this is a 30 September 2022 snapshot of the VOA Financials

31.8% Regular Membership – current
68.2% Mamba Membership – current

+$254.3K Total Revenue (estimate) generated from above revenue streams
-$210.5K Total Billable (estimated) for services being provided to membership
+$ 43.8K Total Remaining Balance (estimate) within the VOA bank account on 31 December 2022

Where is the surplus coming from?

1) Mamba membership currently provides $ 4,342 (865 x $5.02/member – being conservative because VQM print is costing less then budgeted – revised 30 October 2022 based on 30 September 2022 paid membership numbers)
2) Regular membership currently provides $11,354 (1,268 x $8.99/member – includes 68% Mamba members in this number – revised 30 October 2022 based on 30 September 2022 paid membership numbers)
3) Other fees collected currently provides $28,104 (store sales, vendors, and sponsors – revised 30 October 2022 based on 30 September 2022 paid membership numbers)

Total of the current surplus is $43.8K

What about the $45 extra the VOA gets from Mamba membership and the cost to produce the Mamba’s printed Viper Quarterly Magazines (VQMs)?

– $01.69 which is for VOA Credit Card Processing fee paid to the credit card companies on the $45 portion collected from Mamba members
– $22.20 which is the cost to print four VQM based on current budget as a maximum expense (Cost was renegotiated in February down from $9.5/VQM after new costing came in from previous printer)
– $00.84 which is the Mamba cost to package four VQM and to ship replacement magazines (may need to be revised to about $2.20 = 4 x .55, we are monitoring this more closely)
– $14.00 which is the cost to ship four VQM to each Mamba member; an average shipping fee estimate for international + domestic
– $38.73 which is the TOTAL cost to put out the Mamba Member’s four magazines or $9.26 x 4 = $37.04 + $1.69 = $38.73 Total Cost for the hard-copy print of the Magazine

– $01.25 which is the cost to print, sort, and ship the annual Mamba sticker and membership cards to every Mamba member (we want this cost at about .50 cents in 2023)
– $39.98 cost of each Mamba Member in 2022 – revised 30 October 2022

To put it another way, the VOA currently takes in an excess of $5.02/mamba member (revised 30 October 2022) which has helped to generated a surplus faster allowing us to develop a contingency fund to prevent any future financial issues – Thank You Mamba Members!

So, based on current and continued cuts within the VOA budget we believe we can provide a $65 Regional Split in 2023 while still generating a much lower revenue surplus from membership fee collections.
We have already built in the SBA loan repayment (with payments effective 1 January 2023 but not required to occur until September 2023) as a part of our 2023 budget proposal plan to ensure there is no negative effects to the VOA budget in 2023 and beyond. How we look in September 2023 will determine the regional splits for 2024 which we would like to push for a $70 or more Regional Split. The ultimate goal is to get to $75 Regional Split at a $150 basic membership fee collected from all VOA members.

What did the club do with the money for my 2022 membership dues?

This is how we collected our 2022 Revenue:
88.94% of all revenue comes from – Membership Dues
01.86% of all revenue comes from – Renewal Swag & Custom #
02.19% of all revenue comes from – Store Liquidation Sales (remaining clothing inventory shipped to NVE-5, member pick-up and delivery to CO free of charge, for final liquidation sale)
07.01% of all revenue comes from – VOA National Sponsors
100.00% ($1.00 = 100% – based on current estimate as of 30 September 2022)

This is how your 2022 funding was spent for Billable Services:
26.83% of all National bills are associated with – Regional payments
03.98% of all National bills are associated with – Banking Services (Credit Card Fees + ACH Fees)
03.64% of all National bills are associated with – Web Hosting & Maintenance (Portal IP + Software + e-mail + all other Hosting services and fees)
15.71% of all National bills are associated with – VOA Membership Services (P.O. Box + Phone system + Customer Service (VOA business front office) + Membership packages)
07.78% of all National bills are associated with – Club Insurance (D&O, General Liability, and Umbrella)
11.79% of all National bills are associated with – VQM Editor & Design Fees which produces the Virtual Viper Magazine for all members
12.75% of all National bills are associated with – VQM Mamba printing Fees (Paid for my a MAMBA membership to the VOA)
00.28% of all National bills are associated with – Spirit of Viper + Past President of the VOA (Currently, printing and shipping 20 Magazines paid for by all membership)
82.76% (or 82.76 cents spent for every $1.00 collected in 2022 – based on current expenditure estimates as of 30 September 2022)

Currently, not a single board member or national officer takes any money from the VOA dues being collected to provide services to membership in 2022.

BoD currently consist of 36 Regional Presidents + 4 Nationally Elected VOA Officers who have a vote in deciding how the VOA collects and spends every $.

What is the Plan for the Surplus you were able to generate in 2022?

As a result of VOA changing out nearly every vendor or renegotiating terms, we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the surplus generated.

A final determination still needs to be discussed, at a future BoD meeting in 2023, what we should be doing with the surplus.

From Finance Team’s perspective, knowing our fixed billable items vs our non-fixed billable items was important for developing a budget that provided us with this surplus:

Fixed cost 1-9999 members – for planning purposes, the 2023 Budget estimate for fixed costs
– 08K * SBA loan – Banking – Annual Repayment Fees – nonnegotiable terms
– 07K * Web-Services – Multiple Vendors – cut 39% in 2022
– 18K * Club Insurance – One Vendor – in ongoing discussions
– 12K * Club Services – One Vendor – cut 42% for 2023’s operating budget
– 30K * E&D VQM – One Vendor – cut 25% in 2022 (printing is a variable cost (also reduced) and not included here, printing is done by another vendor)
-$75.0K/year

So, banking a surplus totaling $75K by the end of 2023 would be great to:
1) Give BoD one-year decision space against fixed cost and services being provided to try and negotiate better terms or find new vendors should fee for services go up
2) Give BoD better analytics to have more in-depth discussions with the BoD to make a more informed decisions about fixed and variable costs with impacts to membership if benefits need to change
3) Give BoD about 4-months (March-July) for debates before decisions need to be made and about 2-months (August-September) to inform membership about potential membership fee increases or potential membership service reductions before the 1 October – next year’s – membership drive

From the Finance Team’s perspective, anything above a $75K surplus on 30 September of any given year should be used to pay down the SBA loan no later than 31 December of that year. (as an example: any 2023 fiscal surplus above $75K on 30 September 2023 to pay down the SBA loan by 31 December 2023, repeat 2024, repeat 2025, etc…)

Talk to your Regional President if you have any suggestions in this matter, your Regional President is your voice and your opinion at these BoD meetings.

What can you tell me about the VOA Budget?

Cost of 1 VOA member – Fixed Cost – Fixed cost 1 to 4,999 members
– 08K * SBA loan – Banking
– 07K * Web-Services – Vendor
– 18K * Club Insurance – Vendor
– 12K * Club Services – Vendor
– 30K * E&D VQM – Vendor
-$75.0K/year

Cost of 1,000 members – Variable Cost
– 32.5K * Variable Costs for 500 VOA Membership Regional Split ($65/member) payment – Regions
– 32.5K * Variable Costs for 500 VOA Mamba Membership Regional Split ($65/member) payment – Regions
– 20.0K * Variable Costs for 500 VQM shipments to Mamba members – Vendor -(assuming inflation will increase paper, ink, and postage costs sometime in 2023 to $40/year for all 4 magazines shipped)
– 09.0K * Variable Costs for 1,000 Members – Vendor – for planning: $5K for 200 new members joining VOA (New Join Membership packages) + $4K for 800 regular membership packages (Mamba + Regular packages)
– 06.0K * Variable Costs for (.0375% fees on 172.5K being collected) – Banking
-$100.0K/year for 2023 billable

-$175.0K would be the total fixed and variable cost to the club for 1,000 members
+$172.5K would be the collections from 1,000 members (50/50 Mamba/Regular membership split)
– $ 2.5K … So, the club would be operating cash negative for the year which provides an understand that cost would need to be adjusted the next year, or a fixed/variable cost would need to be reviewed

-$176.0K would be the total fixed and variable cost to the club for 1,000 members (Based on a 60/40 Mamba/Regular historical VOA membership split)
+$177.0K would be the collections from 1,000 members (60/40 Mamba/Regular split)
+ $ 1.0K … So, the club would be operating cash positive for the year which provides an understand that cost are aligned and no adjusts for next year unless we increase a member/regional benefit

For 2023 we will have our estimate for budget formulation by the end of January 2023 based on our known membership level.

The National team does execute within a fiscal threshold to minimize surprises; anything above 10% against any monthly charge or new billing – not to exceed $1.5K – must be approved by BoD before funds can be executed (National team self-imposed restraint that will be codified within the new By-Laws to ensure membership knows where every dollar is going month-over-month)

How were the membership levels determined in 2022?

In September 2021, the previous national leadership team and BoD agreed on costing, membership levels, and regional splits without performing a detailed analysis because timing, and other significant events, did not provide the opportunity before 2022 membership was set to open on 1 October 2021. The current leadership team had to put together a more comprehensive and detailed analysis to provided the budget we currently execute in early February 2022. The 2022 Operating Budget was briefed and approved by the BoD in February 2022. Since February 2022, the National team continues to find ways to cut costs to ensure we do not exceed the approved 2022 operating budget.

In order to make membership levels work we had to understand a few key aspects;
Q1) Can we provide the $55 regional split base level for all membership types to the regions without suffering a loss?
Q2) Can we provide everything promised for $150 to those members that paid this fee?
Q3) Can we provide everything promised for $195 to those members that paid this fee?
Q4) Can we operate within these membership levels beyond 2022 and what would it look like?
Q5) Can we develop better options for membership in 2023 that provides more choices?

So, the following answers were developed to each of the questions highlighted above;

Q1) Can we provide the $55 regional split base level for all membership types to the regions without suffering a loss?
A1) Yes, with adjustments to the basic fixed budget and services being provided to the membership. The first thing we eliminated was the annual collection of membership trinkets given to membership each year – Cost savings was not an insignificant amount coming in at a $15K reduction for items purchased, packaged, and then shipped to every member.

Q2) Can we provide everything promised for $150 to those members that paid this fee?
A2) Yes. We ended up calling this BASIC MEMBERSHIP that all members pay to be a member of the VOA and where the 50/50 REGIONAL SPLIT will be generated from going forward – This was briefed to and approved by the VOA BoD. The National team discussed at length, if “Welcome Aboard” correspondence should be through the mail or through e-mail as cost to print, sort, and stuff personalized correspondence is not cheap as funding may be better utilized elsewhere. Ultimately, in the end, personalized mailed correspondence was chosen. More significantly, we limited Viper Quarterly Magazine to 52 pages in total thereby obtaining an agreement to reduce Editing and Design fees 25%.

Q3) Can we provide everything promised for $195 to those members that paid this fee?
A3) Yes. However, Mamba membership becomes more a service being provided to VOA members because a printed magazine cost the club money to print and mail. By only printing enough magazines to supply the Mamba members with the hard-copies that they were promised when they signed up we kept costs under control. We also printed Mamba only membership cards and supply them with an annual Mamba 3″ round sticker. Again, limiting the magazine to a fixed 52 pages allowed us to keep cost controlled and known for the entire production run in 2022. Historically, the VOA allowed the editor of the magazine to be whatever size it needed to be and paid the fees after it was shipped to membership which made it an unknown service charge. The Magazine also used a method of printing plates and special sized paper which required a production run to be enough to cover all contingencies. We requested digital print because copy quality was virtually unnoticeable between these methods but cost were significantly less expensive. We compromised on magazines bound edge as opposed to stapled pages, for now, so long as the magazine remains at a constant cost to print – needs remain below $5.75 a copy before another discussion on quality and price occurs.

Q4) Can we operate within these membership levels beyond 2022 and what would it look like?
A4) Yes, however to start paying for the SBA loan in 2023 a fixed or variable cost had to be eliminated. So, annual membership cards were eliminated in lieu of lifetime cards. Options to purchase replacements cards are in the works. This elimination of annual membership cards by national saves the club $7,500 in printing fees, $750 in processing fees, and $2,500 in mailing fees annually (purchasing plastic clips required special packaging when shipped with the membership cards). We offered this as an optional service (without the clips) to any region who wanted annual cards delivered to its members for a $10 fee reduction to regional distributions being paid; none of the regions thought it important enough to be continued for its members.

Q5) Can we develop better options for membership in 2023 that provides more choices?
A5) Yes. However, due to all adjustments made in 2022, the BoD opted for and voted on membership price stability with a regional split increase ($55 to $65) for another year and to continue exploring more options in 2023 for 2024 membership. The goal is to explore opportunities with multiple membership service levels allowing better customization options and billing choices determined by members. However, membership stability needs to be realized first, then a survey needs to be conducted to have a better understanding of what pricing schedules can be developed to ensure enough funding is being generated to supply support to both the national club and to your local regions.

In the end, every service the VOA provides was exposed, scrutinized, renegotiated, and/or eliminated, where possible, to keep membership fees fixed for another year.

Lastly, over this past year some of us have talked about a funding drive to get after reducing the VOA SBA loan. We started looking at this idea well before January 2022. However, the VOA needed to fix its operations first to get cost under control otherwise paying off the SBA loan would be short lived and we would just find ourselves back in the same situation a few years later. To that end, the VOA should not consider doing any sort of early loan repayment initiative until:
1) We can show membership that we have all our costs under control!
2) We can show membership that we can deliver all benefits as promised to all members!
3) We can demonstrate that the VOA operates within its approved budget established by the BoD!

So, in 2022 we have streamlined our operations to develop our standard operating procedures which will be finalized in the spring of 2023. We have established our first real operating budget that was approved by the BoD currently being tested to ensure viability throughout 2022. We will be again testing our budget formulation practices learned in 2022 against the 2023 budget formulation plan to again gain BoD approval for club operations in February 2023. We will be in an optimal position to brief out everything we have learned in the past year to the BoD and membership thereby looking at a SBA Reduction effort on our website sometime in 2023.

1 October 2022 is the closeout of membership and most of the financials based on 2022 membership.

As a club we did have new members that joined after 1 October 2022 thru December 2022. However, those figures are only $25 and we do no make regional distributions in the 4th quarter so we do not collect the $75 in that quarter. With new members that join on 1 October 2022 – 31 December 2022 we collect the 2023 membership dues which provides the $75 Regional distribution in the first quarter of 2023. ONLY new members currently get a proration on their membership.

As for membership renewals, if you waited until 1 October 2022 to join then you officially become renewed in 2023. Essentially you are not a member who renewed for the 2022 driving season. If you wanted your renewal to count for 2022 then we have to do a manual entry and your membership expires 31 December 2022. NO proration on member benefits and no hard-copy VQM back issues will be provided to Mamba members. Mamba members need to understand we only produce a limited run of the magazine. If you join after a quarterly subscription run is already at the printers you will not get that hard-copy. So, Mamba members need to be signed up No Later Than 31 January to ensure they get all four hard-copies.

As with all members, Regular and Mamba, you will always have access to all the virtual magazines all year round. Virtual copies are made available to membership 3 weeks after hard-copy ships except for the 4th Magazine which goes virtual the day it goes to print.