If so, is it an accurate budget that can be stuck to?
What about your Temple Board?
If so, are these budgets helpful to the Lodge?
If not, do you feel that they are a waste of time? Or is there some other reason your Lodge doesn’t pursue it?
Annual Communication with the Granddaughter
I know that all Lodges, and Temple Boards should have a good functional budget. But I’m asking, because I don’t think that most actually do.
In the Lodges I’m active with, one hasn’t had a budget at all for a great many years. But just developed a very professional one that it hopes can serve the Lodge for a long time moving forward.
The other does have a budget, but there is fear that the budgeted amount is larger than what the Lodge should be spending if it is to protect its future. It is scheduled to get some expert help and advice.
Let’s chat about budgets today…
What’s the best thing to do?
If you enjoy Emeth, can I ask that you help spread the word by sharing this post on your social media or sending it to your Brothers? That is the only way Emeth can grow and become an even better resource.
I tried to create a budget for chehalis in my tenure as treasurer. I detailed all expenditures and incomes over the previous year in a profit/loss statement and highlighted the ridiculously large losses and the projected expenditures needed to keep the temple board funded to do the necessary work on the building to keep it insured.
Expenditures were miniscule with just electric and water really. But $30 annual membership wasn't even paying those bills.
All my attempts to get the brethren to raise dues to operate in the black was met with rejection. I quit the treasurer position and the lodge. I have visited a few other lodges since and see the same cheap mentality in every lodge I've visited. Recently I joined an independent social club that has a $4000 initiation Fee and $250/mo dues. They have a full staff, restaurant, two full bars, a fine library. Wine club. And several social/educational events every month for a wide variety of interests. From games to dancing to political debate to trades networking. It is worth the money and the building is beautiful inside and out. Uclubpdx.com.
We had years of Lodge budgets that were passed, then ignored. Record keeping was receipts and bank statements in a shoe box.
Last year the Secretary-Treasurer and I made a real budget, with projected cash flows (timing as well as amounts).
We voted to give the Sec-Tr authority to pay all budget items up to 125% of expected costs (due to inflation). This drastically reduced time wasted on regular bills.
We did not consider any proposals for change until the proposal went through our finance committee (Wardens and Secretary) *and* identified what we’d have to give up to fund the proposal.
When our investment account declined, we stopped taking distributions for some months to let it recover. Our planning made this easy to do. We weren’t scrambling.
I’ll credit Grand Lodge training for many of our ideas. None of it is rocket science, just sound management.
But many members don’t have the background to understand the importance of sound management.
Creating a budget can seem daunting. But it is so critical. If you just keep voting to spend, without regard to income, you will run out of money. Finance and investment committees should work close with the treasurer and master to ensure a healthy financial situation.
I'd be more then happy to help any one to create a budget. I have a great template that can be readily reused.
I also created a great template for treasurer reports, which are critical to audits and making the next year budget, if anyone would like to use those as well
We also need to include the income in the budget. Not just the life membership dispersement, but our investments and other revenue streams (degrees, etc). A proper budget includes last years budget as voted on, what was actually spent, and what the income was from the year before, to give perspective on what we’re proposing this year.
A lodge does not function just writing checks without a firm grasp of how much is available.
I feel the two most important reasons to have a budget are:
(1) To KNOW what you are spending money on and how much;
(2) To not have to vote on every d@mn little receipt reimbursement and recurring bill.
Before I became High Priest of my Royal Arch Chapter, we had no budget and I discovered we p!ss@d away a quarter of our money the previous year, the members voting (myself included) to donate hundreds to something-or-another after being told "we have the money". Clearly we didn't.
Heck, we weren't even using vouchers, lost our tax status ... you get the idea.
Financial stuff falls under housekeeping, and I always say "Housekeeping isn't important -- unless it doesn't get done."
I'm a recovering CPA, so please keep that in mind as you read what follows:
When I was a newbie in my Lodge I attended our holiday party and asked one of the past masters how much I needed to pay for my wife and me. He laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, we have enough money to have parties for the rest of our lives." I thought this was great, until I actually saw the books the following year. I suppose he would have been right if we had all passed to the Celestial Lodge about ten years ago. In fact, we were bleeding about $10,000 a year, and had been for several years. Nobody really knew this was happening. I prepared a very thorough situation assessment and presented it to the membership, and since that day have been deeply involved in the budgeting and recordkeeping for the Lodge.
In the Lodges I visit there are so many instances in which the Treasurer's report is nothing more than stating the balance of the checking account and a review of specific bills to pay. The former is meaningless without a reference to the bank balance we expected to have (and you sort of need a budget to have an expectation), and the latter is perfunctory 99.9% of the time and therefore also meaningless.
It would be a grave mistake to allow a Treasurer's report to dominate the meeting agenda ... we didn't become Masons to attending accounting seminars. And a meaningful Treasurer's report needn't dominate the agenda. I find that with a reasonably detailed budget that the Lodge members have approved the Treasurer can report that: 1) expenditures either conformed to the budget or need approval, and 2) the Lodge is on track, or not, with respect to expected results for the year. Transparency is also important. In my Lodge the members are frequently reminded that any and all records are available for their inspection, and the officers receive a full report every quarter that includes an evaluation of actual and projected results vs the budget, bank reconciliations, and bank and investment statements.
This sounds like a lot of work for the Treasurer, but once the cadence is established it becomes simpler. The effort is particularly worthwhile because it enables all to spend more time in the Lodge meetings on stuff like nobler deeds, higher thoughts, and greater achievements.
I'd like to thank everyone for lending their thoughts to this important subject.
Now that we have an adopted, professionally done, budget for my first Lodge and Temple Board, I am looking forward to seeing how that results in positive change for our future. My hunch is it will, as things go on, point out to us clearly where we need more resources, and encourage the Lodge to garner those increased resources. I think it will also help to prevent unwise, poorly considered spending. I feel like in the past we engaged in a bit of 'impulse shopping' as a Lodge.
In my second Lodge, as we are soon to embark on this process, it should, I hope, help us recognize amounts of money that we should be setting aside for major things in the future, and help us figure out how to set those funds aside.
I tried to create a budget for chehalis in my tenure as treasurer. I detailed all expenditures and incomes over the previous year in a profit/loss statement and highlighted the ridiculously large losses and the projected expenditures needed to keep the temple board funded to do the necessary work on the building to keep it insured.
Expenditures were miniscule with just electric and water really. But $30 annual membership wasn't even paying those bills.
All my attempts to get the brethren to raise dues to operate in the black was met with rejection. I quit the treasurer position and the lodge. I have visited a few other lodges since and see the same cheap mentality in every lodge I've visited. Recently I joined an independent social club that has a $4000 initiation Fee and $250/mo dues. They have a full staff, restaurant, two full bars, a fine library. Wine club. And several social/educational events every month for a wide variety of interests. From games to dancing to political debate to trades networking. It is worth the money and the building is beautiful inside and out. Uclubpdx.com.
We had years of Lodge budgets that were passed, then ignored. Record keeping was receipts and bank statements in a shoe box.
Last year the Secretary-Treasurer and I made a real budget, with projected cash flows (timing as well as amounts).
We voted to give the Sec-Tr authority to pay all budget items up to 125% of expected costs (due to inflation). This drastically reduced time wasted on regular bills.
We did not consider any proposals for change until the proposal went through our finance committee (Wardens and Secretary) *and* identified what we’d have to give up to fund the proposal.
When our investment account declined, we stopped taking distributions for some months to let it recover. Our planning made this easy to do. We weren’t scrambling.
I’ll credit Grand Lodge training for many of our ideas. None of it is rocket science, just sound management.
But many members don’t have the background to understand the importance of sound management.
You need a budget (YNAB) is a great tool to create a budget and record all transactions! I highly recommend it to everyone
Creating a budget can seem daunting. But it is so critical. If you just keep voting to spend, without regard to income, you will run out of money. Finance and investment committees should work close with the treasurer and master to ensure a healthy financial situation.
I'd be more then happy to help any one to create a budget. I have a great template that can be readily reused.
I also created a great template for treasurer reports, which are critical to audits and making the next year budget, if anyone would like to use those as well
We do have a budget.
Our process was to figure out the things we absolutely had to pay for, i.e. rent, utilities, etcx
Then the things we wanted to pay for, i.e. funding the trip to the annual Communication, and Leadership Conference.
Lastly the nice to have things, i.e. our philanthropic efforts.
In the past we have had different Brothers donate to cover our philanthropy, or they would raise the money.
We need to get back to that.
We also need to include the income in the budget. Not just the life membership dispersement, but our investments and other revenue streams (degrees, etc). A proper budget includes last years budget as voted on, what was actually spent, and what the income was from the year before, to give perspective on what we’re proposing this year.
A lodge does not function just writing checks without a firm grasp of how much is available.
I feel the two most important reasons to have a budget are:
(1) To KNOW what you are spending money on and how much;
(2) To not have to vote on every d@mn little receipt reimbursement and recurring bill.
Before I became High Priest of my Royal Arch Chapter, we had no budget and I discovered we p!ss@d away a quarter of our money the previous year, the members voting (myself included) to donate hundreds to something-or-another after being told "we have the money". Clearly we didn't.
Heck, we weren't even using vouchers, lost our tax status ... you get the idea.
Financial stuff falls under housekeeping, and I always say "Housekeeping isn't important -- unless it doesn't get done."
I'm a recovering CPA, so please keep that in mind as you read what follows:
When I was a newbie in my Lodge I attended our holiday party and asked one of the past masters how much I needed to pay for my wife and me. He laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, we have enough money to have parties for the rest of our lives." I thought this was great, until I actually saw the books the following year. I suppose he would have been right if we had all passed to the Celestial Lodge about ten years ago. In fact, we were bleeding about $10,000 a year, and had been for several years. Nobody really knew this was happening. I prepared a very thorough situation assessment and presented it to the membership, and since that day have been deeply involved in the budgeting and recordkeeping for the Lodge.
In the Lodges I visit there are so many instances in which the Treasurer's report is nothing more than stating the balance of the checking account and a review of specific bills to pay. The former is meaningless without a reference to the bank balance we expected to have (and you sort of need a budget to have an expectation), and the latter is perfunctory 99.9% of the time and therefore also meaningless.
It would be a grave mistake to allow a Treasurer's report to dominate the meeting agenda ... we didn't become Masons to attending accounting seminars. And a meaningful Treasurer's report needn't dominate the agenda. I find that with a reasonably detailed budget that the Lodge members have approved the Treasurer can report that: 1) expenditures either conformed to the budget or need approval, and 2) the Lodge is on track, or not, with respect to expected results for the year. Transparency is also important. In my Lodge the members are frequently reminded that any and all records are available for their inspection, and the officers receive a full report every quarter that includes an evaluation of actual and projected results vs the budget, bank reconciliations, and bank and investment statements.
This sounds like a lot of work for the Treasurer, but once the cadence is established it becomes simpler. The effort is particularly worthwhile because it enables all to spend more time in the Lodge meetings on stuff like nobler deeds, higher thoughts, and greater achievements.
You’re the kind of Brother who makes a Lodge healthy - maybe also wealthy and wise.
You're too kind, Brother. I'll take a little credit for contributing to one aspect of healthy. As to wealthy and wise, it takes all of us.
I'd like to thank everyone for lending their thoughts to this important subject.
Now that we have an adopted, professionally done, budget for my first Lodge and Temple Board, I am looking forward to seeing how that results in positive change for our future. My hunch is it will, as things go on, point out to us clearly where we need more resources, and encourage the Lodge to garner those increased resources. I think it will also help to prevent unwise, poorly considered spending. I feel like in the past we engaged in a bit of 'impulse shopping' as a Lodge.
In my second Lodge, as we are soon to embark on this process, it should, I hope, help us recognize amounts of money that we should be setting aside for major things in the future, and help us figure out how to set those funds aside.