The first half of the Center of Anna Maria Island’s fiscal 2019-20 was rough.
But hopes are high for a busy spring.
The nonprofit made $48,730.63 in December 2019 and $9,314.64 in January — signaling the worst may be over for the center after it lost $103,517 in net income over the first seven months of the fiscal year, which began July 1, 2019.
Executive director Chris Culhane said at a March 9 board meeting that he expects the center to finish the year in the black. February and March income should help dig the nonprofit out of the red, he said.
Culhane said the center received about $62,000 from the Allen G. Hegarty and Marjorie W. Hegarty charitable remainder unitrust left for the nonprofit in February. The center budgeted making $50,000 in net income for February.
The center projected about $18,000 in net income in its budget for March, but concerns with the spread of COVID-19, or the new coronavirus, may have hurt that possibility.
As a precaution, the nonprofit canceled the annual tour of homes — a large fundraising event featuring island homes — scheduled for March 21.
The nonprofit will remain open for fitness, sports and youth programs, according to the center’s website.
Culhane said canceling the tour would result in about $25,000 in lost revenue for March, bringing the month’s projected income to a $7,000 loss.
Accordingly, expectations for the fiscal year must be kept in check.
“Nonprofits aren’t supposed to make a lot of money,” board chair David Zaccagnino said.
The loss over the first half was expected, even though the nonprofit made $242,053 more in the same period in 2018-19, when at the seven-month mark the funds were $138,538 in the green.
In fact, the nonprofit made $1,334 more than it budgeted for the first six-month stretch.
Furthermore, the center reversed its downward financial turn. The nonprofit lost $161,562.75 through November 2019, but chipped $58,045.75 off the deficit since — earning $48,730.63 in net income in December and $9,314.64 in January.
The center’s lower deficit can be attributed to higher revenues from membership and registration fees for youth and fitness programs.
The center began its fiscal year collecting $15,775 in revenue from membership fees in January 2019. That figure increased to $24,476.70 in November 2019, then $31,715.36 in December 2019 and $54,859.95 in January.
Registration fees also saw an increase from $13,764.20 in November 2019 to nearly $20,000 in both of the next two months.
Culhane wrote to The Islander in a March 11 email that the increase in membership and registration income can be attributed to snowbirds — temporary residents who live in the area one-six months of the year — purchasing day, week and one-month memberships.
Fundraising also took a turn for the better. The center posted a five-digit loss in fundraising each month from July-November 2019, including a $51,066.87 loss in August 2019.
The next board meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, April 20, at the center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.