Treasurer's Report

For the year of 2009

For the year ending December 31, 2009 National Capital Freenet is reporting a deficit of $16,007. Last year when the Board of Directors approved the annual budget for 2009, there was a conscious decision to spend $13,653 from the Reserve Fund. As the organization must follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles the only way to spend from the Reserve Fund is to incur a deficit from operations. On a total budget of $1,075,614 the net expenditure over revenue was $2,354 higher than planned.

There is a fine balance that must be maintained in any not for profit organization when it comes to maintaining a Reserve Fund. Having funds sit idly provides no benefit to the organization while uncontrolled spending may have serious consequences should the organization run into unplanned hardship. The Board has been very prudent when it has come to using the Reserve Fund and there is currently a policy in place to ensure an amount is maintained for contingencies.

During 2009, the staff under the effective guidance of the Executive Director maintained a reliable and stable operating environment on a very tight budget. In spite of their best efforts there were some hardware system failures during the year which caused some minor interruptions in operations. As a result the organization has implemented a capital budgeting plan to ensure the hardware which is the backbone of the operations will be replaced or upgraded on regular basis. We will continue to closely monitor and maintain our systems but will also now replace equipment before it reaches an age where it may become less reliable.

In spite of all the challenges National Capital Freenet will continue to offer competitive pricing and do our best to make access to the internet available for all. Again we would like to thank our members for their generous contributions in volunteering their valuable time, without their generosity we would not be able to continue to provide the level of local service that sets us apart from other internet providers. The contributions in both time and cash have also enabled us to operate on a very tight and cost effective budget. We hope that your contributions will continue to allow us to fulfill our mission and be a viable source to the internet for all.

Alan McRae
Treasurer,
National Capital FreeNet