{"id":51854,"date":"2025-04-30T14:58:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T14:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smps.org\/?p=51854"},"modified":"2025-04-30T15:12:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T15:12:32","slug":"money-matters-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smps.org\/2025\/04\/30\/money-matters-may-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Money Matters: May 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"51854\" class=\"elementor elementor-51854\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-14cfa6e5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"14cfa6e5\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3ce1cb80\" data-id=\"3ce1cb80\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c53bacc elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c53bacc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FromTheBoard-1280x570-Kilbourne-1024x456.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-50990\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FromTheBoard-1280x570-Kilbourne-1024x456.png 1024w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FromTheBoard-1280x570-Kilbourne-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FromTheBoard-1280x570-Kilbourne-768x342.png 768w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FromTheBoard-1280x570-Kilbourne.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-19460b4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"19460b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Financial Updates and Best Practices for Chapters<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-12f953ce elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"12f953ce\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><br \/>The Society is almost halfway through our new fiscal year. To this point, our expenses are under control and the income statement is in the black. Sponsorship and Amplify A|E|C registrations are ahead of schedule.<\/p><p>Chapters are approaching the end of their program year. Officially you have three more months, but many chapters scale back programming in the summer and prepare for the next year.<\/p><p><strong>Chapter Health<\/strong><br \/>Chapters are given a Chapter Health Score that is updated throughout the year. Chapters in the \u201cneeds improvement\u201d category decreased significantly, from 26 to 10. Chapters in the \u201csatisfactory\u201d category increased from 15 to 26.<\/p><p>Items that contribute to the scorecard are:<\/p><ul><li>Submitting finance and education reports<\/li><li>Profitability<\/li><li>Chapter growth (membership)<\/li><li>Financial reserves<\/li><li>Covering the six Domains of Practice in the chapter\u2019s educational program<\/li><\/ul><p>To find out your chapter\u2019s health, contact Antonio Payne at SMPS HQ at <a href=\"mailto:antonio@smps.org\">antonio@smps.org<\/a>.<\/p><p><strong>Value of the Membership Pipeline<\/strong><br \/>Some of you may not know that SMPS offers membership extensions to those who become unemployed. SMPS can be a lifeline for people changing jobs. This is our network, and the Society wants to help those in need. It\u2019s much easier to retain a member than to attract a new one. And a member who receives assistance will likely become a promoter of the Society.<\/p><p>Please let unemployed members know they can reach out to HQ at <a href=\"mailto:membership@smps.org\">membership@smps.org<\/a>. If their membership is near the renewal date, the renewal will be extended for three months. The member should reach out again if they continue to be unemployed.<\/p><p><strong>Chapter Visits<\/strong><br \/>The Society board of directors and HQ staff make visits to chapters that are struggling, working with them to find solutions for problems the chapter is experiencing. It\u2019s necessary, and HQ appreciates those opportunities. The staff at HQ would also like to visit chapters that are excelling. Recently, SMPS CEO Marci Thompson visited SMPS Northeast Ohio for their marquee fundraising event that supports ACE Mentoring. The night before the event, Marci had dinner with the chapter leaders and had the opportunity to interact with more than 100 participants at the Rock N Bowl fundraiser.<\/p><p>These opportunities provide ideas that can be taken back and shared with leaders in other chapters. If your chapter has a special event, or even a program that\u2019s expected to draw a crowd, let HQ know with as much notice as possible. Send event information to <a href=\"mailto:volunteers@smps.org\">volunteers@smps.org<\/a>.<\/p><p>During Marci\u2019s visit to Northeast Ohio, the chapter was able to set up meetings with principals at five of the firms in the chapter. Those meetings provided valuable insights that SMPS can use in developing new programs and the organization as a whole. Even meeting with one or two firms is beneficial. Consider incorporating firm visits and a chapter leadership dinner or networking event when you bring HQ or board members to visit your chapter.<\/p><p>The cost of travel and accommodations for HQ staff and board are covered by the Society. Trips like this are built into the budget.<\/p><p><strong>Chapter Budgets<\/strong><br \/>A budget is an estimate of income and\u00a0expenditure\u00a0for a set period of time. Does your chapter have a budget? Is it formal or informal?<\/p><p>For chapter treasurers, one of the critical items of responsibility is creating and managing the budget. You cannot create the budget in a vacuum; you need input from the chapter leaders, including committees.<\/p><p>There are two ways to create your budget. If you have an existing budget, you can update the various line items with updated information. Alternatively, you can start from scratch planning out the year and anticipated expenses.<\/p><p>If your chapter has solid financial health, using an existing budget to start from is a practical way to go. Use historical information as a guide but do your due diligence to update with realistic income and expenses.<\/p><p>Chapters in poor financial health may want to consider starting a new budget from scratch, staying conservative in your estimates for income and expenses. The chapter leadership should work to determine the cause of the financial struggles and make a realistic plan to fix the issues. If your chapter would like assistance developing your budget, reach out to <a href=\"mailto:antonio@smps.org\">antonio@smps.org<\/a> at HQ.<\/p><p><strong>re:Members (formerly Billhighway<\/strong>)<br \/>Recently Billhighway rebranded and changed its name to re:Members. If you were not aware and see the new name, now you know!<\/p><p>re:Members has been working to improve its security and uptime. After the outage in February, SMPS worked with the vendors to create a crisis plan. The plan was put to use in March, and although not perfect, it worked. In addition, re:Members has created a new API that can be switched over within minutes if there\u2019s an issue in the future. Any future outages should be greatly minimized. Collectively SMPS, re:Members, and StarChapter are working to improve communication with chapter leaders and the membership.<\/p><p><strong>Financial Best Practices<\/strong><br \/>There are several key best practices that promote fiscal responsibility and transparency that chapters should follow:<\/p><ul><li>Create a budget prior to the start of the program year.<\/li><li>If board members are making approved purchases, copies of receipts are required.<\/li><li>Big ticket items should be budgeted and approved by the board.<\/li><li>re:Members allows credit cards to be distributed to board\/committee members who need them, and limits can be set. Please utilize the limits. Some committee members may need higher limits due to larger expenses of their committee.<\/li><li>A committee of at least three people, including the treasurer, should review the finance reports on a regular basis. Depending on the size of your chapter and reserves, this could be monthly, quarterly, or twice a year.<\/li><li>Chapter reserves should cover six months to one year of expenses. Chapters do not have to spend the extra all at once. Find ways to give back to your chapter members and communities. Below are a few ideas:<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/donate\/\">Make a donation<\/a> to the SMPS Foundation<\/li><li>Cover the travel costs to send your president-elect to CLS<\/li><li>Cover the registration and travel costs for the president to attend <a href=\"https:\/\/amplifyaec.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amplify A|E|C<\/a><\/li><li>Raffle off a registration to a regional conference or Amplify A|E|C<\/li><li>Provide CPSM study guides to the study group<\/li><li>Create member-only events at little or no cost to register<\/li><li>Purchase a gift for all chapter members (a book or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shopsmps.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chapter swag<\/a>)<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><p>Have a great spring and see you next time for <em>Money Matters<\/em>!<\/p><p>Adam Kilbourne, FSMPS, CPSM<br \/>SMPS Secretary-Treasurer<br \/><a href=\"mailto:akilbourne@tecinceng.com\">akilbourne@tecinceng.com<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Financial Updates and Best Practices for Chapters Overview The Society is almost halfway through our new fiscal year. To this point, our expenses are under control and the income statement is in the black. Sponsorship and Amplify A|E|C registrations are ahead of schedule. Chapters are approaching the end of their program year. Officially you have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":50990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[775,924,925,923],"class_list":["post-51854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-board","tag-adam-kilbourne","tag-chapter-best-practices","tag-financial-updates","tag-money-matters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51854"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51870,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51854\/revisions\/51870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}