The Center of Anna Maria Island received an unmodified opinion and a clean audit for its 2016-17 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Auditor Eric Troyer from Kerkering, Barberio and Co., Certified Public Accountants, presented an audit review Dec. 13 to the center board of directors.
The center did not release copies of the audit.
Troyer said 88 percent of the center’s 2016-17 expenses were program expenses, while 5 percent went to management and 7 percent went to fundraising.
Board chair David Zaccagnino said those numbers were “very good for a nonprofit.”
After the audit review, board members dove into their financial report for the month of November.
The center lost about $17,000 in November, but board members say there is evidence of improvement, particularly in program funding.
Since the July 1 beginning of its fiscal year, the center has lost $126,811. Jim Froeschle, board treasurer, said the center is “still trying to get over the hump” — the time before season kicks in.
The most notable part, he said, is center programs “are making money this year.”
Froeschle said net program income, after direct costs that include paying for coaches and equipment, is $35,253 year-to-date.
The budget anticipated that the center would have a net income of $53,893 for November.
However, Froeschle said, the budget numbers were not calculated to account for seasonality, and the board remains hopeful snowbirds will boost the numbers in the second half of the fiscal year.
The center also fell below expectations in fundraising, bringing in $64,727 year-to-date.
Executive director Kristen Lessig said the center earned half what she had hoped for with the golf tournament Oct. 21, bringing in $14,000, and lost an opportunity to earn income from a comedy show due to scheduling conflicts after Hurricane Irma.
In addition, the Giving Challenge hosted in the winter last year was moved to May 2018, which means the center can not expect those donations until the end of the fiscal year.
Lester Family Fun Day brought in an additional $4,500, although Lessig said the event is not marketed as a fundraiser.
Board members said there is “marked improvement” in the center’s ability to keep programs above water.
“The community has asked us to run it like a business … and in the past five months, I’ve think we’ve done it,” Zaccagnino said.
Lessig said the center began an appeal for donations in December to match an anonymous $30,000 contribution and had received $13,800 in donations toward the challenge.
In addition, the center raised $3,100 from the Giving Tuesday internet event Nov. 28.
Also during the meeting, Lessig said board members Froeschle and Bill Shuman would step down at the end of December after serving on the board for three years.
Both Shuman and Foreschle resigned and rescinded their resignations in June during an upheaval of the board.
Lessig and Zaccagnino thanked Froeschle and Shuman for their service, and said they were seeking potential new board members.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore told board members other nonprofits in Manatee also are struggling to close funding gaps. She said Meals on Wheels PLUS in Manatee County almost closed its doors earlier this year.
Froeschle made a final plea to government officials to meet the center’s goal of $70,000 in government funding for the year.
Whitmore and Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek were in attendance, but Anna Maria Commissioner Nancy Yetter and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie, who serve as liaisons to the board, were absent.
Despite financial woes, Whitmore said the center should avoid rehashing old complaints and has a number of positives, including its ability to operate on a limited staff and provide robust programming.
“Other community centers in Manatee should look at what you’ve done,” she said.
The center is hoping to raise funds from Bingo Bonanza, scheduled to begin Jan. 9, and the annual tour of homes in March.