Department of Finance and Operations 2019 Narrative
Overview
Welcome to RID’s annual organizational report to the membership. RID’s official audited financial results are reproduced in this report, providing a comprehensive overview of how the organization fared financially as a result of operations in fiscal year (FY) 2019. RID’s . The following tables and charts will aid in visualizing the organization’s performance within each program area. The fiscal year began July 1, 2018 and ended June 30, 2019.
The annual external audit of both RID and CASLI for FY2019 was carried out in the fall and winter of calendar year 2019. The auditors have returned an unqualified opinion on the presentation of financials for both RID and CASLI, which is to say the auditors believe both organizations have properly presented and stated their financial performance on their respective books according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). All report data are presented as both consolidated (RID & CASLI) and as independent organizational financial performance reports.
Finance: Many Revenue Roads, One Destination
FY2019 continued a trend of generally positive results in the organization’s fiscal performance. Revenues in the organization come from a few distinct sources. The main source of revenues is, of course, individual and organizational memberships, which in turn funds member-facing programs such as RID’s Continuing Education Maintenance program, The Ethical Practices System, Certification services, Public Policy and Advocacy work, and the VIEWs publication. Membership revenues were stable year over year in FY2019.
Some programs have their own revenue streams independent of memberships. These include the Education program, which offers a changing slate of webinars on various topics relevant to the field of interpreting; RID’s biennial conference, which last occurred in July 2019 (to be reported in the FY2020 annual report); the RID Press bookstore with the sales of publications of interest to interpreting practitioners; and the RID VIEWs, with its advertising opportunities for external organizations. These diverse revenue sources all come together to collectively support the important work of the association.
During FY2019, RID continued to maintain a policy of responsible – and responsive – management of the organization’s financial resources. Operationally, efforts to refine and improve the feedback loop of fiscal accountability – consulting the budget and adjusting spending AND budgeted amounts dynamically when necessary, and without impacting the overall budgeted profitability – continued to guide leadership in FY2019. On the governance side of things, the Audit Committee and Finance Committee continued their important and distinct work serving the organization. Notable projects included work developing an official sponsorship policy for the organization to guide the board in evaluating requests for monetary support from worthwhile organizations for their initiatives. The committees also worked with the Board Treasurer and Director of Finance to resolve an auditor recommendation and implement a formal cash account protection plan in the spring of 2019. This resulted in the restructuring of RID and CASLI’s cash accounts to take advantage of federal FDIC protections and interest income offered by cash “sweep” account services and laddered CDs. Work continues on another important topic: the design of an organizational fundraising structure. The goal of this particular project is to help the association lay out a plan to diversify its revenue streams away from our current heavy reliance on individual and organizational memberships alone. Intentional fundraising and donor relations management is fairly new to RID, and the association is prudently considering its role in maintaining organizational financial stability.
Financial Performance Comments
- For FY2019, RID had a net operating surplus of $90,515, the fourth straight year of positive financial results.
- RID spent 28¢ per $1.00 of revenue collected on management and overhead expenses during FY2019.
- Total revenues show a very slight decline in FY2019. This is primarily due to the fact there was no biennial conference in FY2019. Revenues in nearly all other categories saw a small uptick, and were stable for the most part. Surprise bookstore sales growth and the enforcement of the RID Bylaws in requiring certified members to maintain membership in good standing supported revenue levels in FY2019.
- Membership revenue was stable year over year with no notable increase or decline from FY2018.
- Certification revenue increased by 4.8%, the result of an internal adjustment to the composition of membership dues and fees components, increasing in the Annual Certification fee paid by certified members from $10 to $20 to better align the fee in covering the rising cost of running the Certification program.
- CASLI received continued resource support from RID totaling $215,408 in FY2019. This support covered the cost of CASLI staff salaries and benefits, shared utilities and office space expenses; merchant fees for processing CASLI-related financial transactions, and necessities like postage, office supplies, and the website support. In FY2019, CASLI’s net operating profit from exam registrations came to $431,985. CASLI continues to build sufficient cash reserves that will be reinvested back into the expensive and ongoing cycles of exam development and maintenance.
- Education program revenue increased 4%, primarily due to the first full year of operations in the new Continuing Education Center. An increase in the quality and quantity of webinar offerings is allowing RID to serve as a viable, reasonably priced option to meet the continuing education needs of the membership.
- The Ethics fee component of the cost of membership was increased slightly (offset by an equivalent reduction in the amount allocated to Member Services) to better align the fee with the rising costs of this important program.
- RID Press (Publications) saw a surprising bump in sales, spurred primarily by increased market reach via the Amazon sales platform. However, costs also increased at a faster pace than sales, resulting in a net loss of nearly $75,000 for this program.
- RID’s VIEWs program saw advertising revenue remain consistent, with a 1% increase year over year. However, advertising revenues are not able to keep up with the cost of producing this member benefit, which realized a loss of $164,198 in FY2019. The loss was offset by surplus Member Services revenues.
Graphs: The Numbers Tell the Story
Please take some time to explore the pie charts depicting the breakdown of program revenues and expenses for FY2019, to see the elements that comprise the organization’s financial position.
The Revenue by Source chart gives a visual representation of how revenues collected for RID’s flagship programs relate in proportion to each other. A similar chart is provided to graphically show the Program Expenses.
Finally, the Major Expense chart is another view into how RID spends its resources. This chart shows the ratios for management expenses, CASLI support, fundraising activities, and the cost of member-facing programs and services. Management and general expenses primarily include overhead costs, such as accounting software and the annual audit, insurance, staff training, computers and equipment, utilities and other facility costs, merchant fees and the cost to maintain our member database. Overhead is a necessary cost component that allows RID to maintain safe facilities and cover the costs of day-to-day operations.
View the full AR Finance page here
View the Accessible Plain Text PDF Here
Department of Standards and Practices 2019 Narrative
As previously mentioned in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 annual report, we have continued to see improvements in the Standards and Practices division. As we continue to serve most members through one or all of our programs, it is our duty to review our systems and processes and devise a plan that will address any inefficiencies. In the previous annual report, we identified a few areas where we needed additional resources, and areas where we would be improving or increasing our offerings. We are pleased to announce we have been able to accomplish some of the milestones we set out.
In FY 19, the Certification department released the Provisional Deaf Interpreter Credential (PDIC). The PDIC was implemented as a way to bridge the gap for those Deaf members who are currently waiting for the release of the CDI exam from CASLI. The substantial investment of resources was intentional as we recognize the significance of offering a credential for our Deaf Interpreters. While we await the release of the CDI exam from CASLI, we have created a way for Deaf Interpreters to demonstrate their skills. While the number of applicants to date has been small, we believe we were able to produce a solution that was a viable option for this transition period.
The Ethical Practices System also saw a major investment of resources. Over the years, we have seen a serious need to recruit and train new mediators. The number of cases filed and accepted has over the years continuously increased while the number of mediators has steadily decreased. Mediators experienced burnout and have retired from the system. In June 2019 due to the investment into mediator training, we were able to send out the call for new mediators. This was a process that was a long time coming. Throughout FY 2020 we will begin the process of training mediators and implementing new measures to address the backlog of cases we are currently experiencing. The open call for mediators is a huge step in the right direction of addressing this major issue.
Through the development of a Learning Management System, the RID Professional Development department has been able to accomplish a few things. In the first few months of operation, The Continuing Education Center (CEC) brought in over $30k that was able to be invested back into the RID membership. While membership dues will continue to be the primary source of income for the RID budget, the addition of another revenue stream allows for flexibility within the RID budget. In addition to the financial aspect of the CEC, we have been able to provide another affordable resource to meet the professional development needs of our members. Providing relevant and diverse content is one of the main priorities of the CEC. In the first 5 months of operation, we were able to provide a total of 1.45 CEUs in PPO.
While this year has been a year of steady improvement in the Standards and Practices department, we know we have a long way to go and this is not the end. We continue to see areas of potential growth and will strive to improve our offerings and systems to meet the needs of the membership. You will continue to see changes in our systems to address possible inefficiencies, and an increase in offerings from our Professional Development Department.
View the Accessible Plain Text PDF Here
Department of Member Services and Government Affairs 2019 Narrative
If there is something you need from RID, it’s a safe bet that your first stop will be with Member Services. Within RID HQ, the Member Services and Government Affairs (MS&GA) program comprises one department supported by three staff. One of those staff was a brand new addition: The Affiliate Chapter Liaison. The role of the AC Liaison is to provide direct support to our Affiliate Chapters and their volunteer leaders. This position was conceived based upon recommendations which forged our strategic plan from the 2017 National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Are you familiar with RID’s organizational structure? Take a look here.
As we strive to streamline our processes and improve our services for our membership, we recognize that we can always do better. This year, RID saw the addition of a new member benefit: Member Deals, which can be accessed through your member portal! We welcome any feedback or ideas for areas you may wish to see an expansion in member benefits!
RID continued our practice from FY 18 of placing a significant focus on consistent and direct communications with our members during membership renewal season. As a reminder, FY 18 saw a more rigorous enforcement of our organizational bylaws as it pertains to membership renewal. In order to provide as much support as possible to our members in the second year of this enforcement, a total of 14 distinct renewal reminders were published. These reminders were delivered via eNews, targeted email campaigns, social media, as well as direct calling. The efforts of the Member Services team yielded success on multiple fronts: sincere gratitude from many of our members, a reduction in renewals post- June 30. These efforts will continue for FY 2020.
RID’s Government Affairs staff continued to represent the organization at federal and state levels. We maintained our representation in national-level coalition work with DHHCAN as well as federal representation at the FCC DAC along with an advisory role with the NENA. Additionally, we provided direct support to 10 affiliate chapters from nine states with matters regarding legislation and licensure.
The following reminder was included in our FY18 annual report: “*The below breakdown of our entire membership includes portions which have been exported from members’ profiles where the fields were self-identified. To obtain a better, overall, picture of our membership, please update your member profiles! You may look forward to increased demographic areas in the future.” As a result, our membership can now see an increase in membership demographics. With automatic member profile page update reminders, we hope our members will take the time to self-identify and fill in their demographic data.