Aurora Cultural Centre – 2011 Financial Statement
Thanks very much for helping to get everyone access to the newly posted financial statements.
The web address on your blog had some errors in it so it couldn’t be used as a direct link but it was easy enough to find it now at the Town’s website.
(see http://town.aurora.on.ca/app/wa/mediaEntry?mediaEntryId=60003 – the 2011 audited report are pages 9-18 of the pdf file.)
I am surprised that no one has commented on the financials and on the 2012 budget.
It is interesting to note that in 2011 of the $527,360 of revenue that they brought in only $100,757 is revenue from programs. The remainder is from grants, donations and fundraising with the majority of course from the town at $346,460. (page 2 of Audited 2011 financial statement from MSM+F accountants)
So if the Centre is ever to be self-sufficient they have a long way to go to replace the Town’s grants since in the 2012 budget they show that they’ll run a deficit of $9,224. But that won’t be a problem for them as they have “banked” much of the grant money in 2010 as they have net assets of $363,392. (Of course I assume much of that is the Town’s grant money sitting in their bank account).
I found it interesting to note on page 5 the remark under 2. Significant Accounting Policies section b) Contributed Services it states: “A substantial number of volunteers have made contributions of their time to the Organizations operations. While these services benefit the Organization considerably, these contributed services are not recognized in the financial statements.” This I assume is not unlike many organizations in Aurora and in other towns where volunteers greatly contribute to the success of the venture.
Later in the financial statement on page 8 under 8. Economic Dependence it states: “The Organization’s revenues, substantially derived from grants amounting to $346,460 (2010- $340,000) are received from the Town of Aurora. … In addition, the annual rentals payable under a lease with the Town of Aurora are for $1 per annum.”
Although they mention the volunteers, they do not mention that the Town also provides the maintenance and utilities on the building to the sum of $150K. I mention this because if the Town ever cuts off its funding the Centre will also be responsible for this $150K which will be a further burden on its financials. (Someone reading the statement without prior history may not be aware of this information). And in fact the Centre would also have to pay rent for the facilities. How much would the rent be at market value for this size of complex?
If the Centre is ever to be self sufficient then they have a big job ahead of them replacing the funds that the town is now contributing. If it is not to be self sufficient then everyone should be climbing to get in for all the free programs as we’re paying for it regardless of their program revenue.
I think the Town needs some additional numbers from the Centre in order to make any proper decision such as of the reported 20,000 visitors in 2011 how many were paid visits (i.e. art, music, heritage course program registrants or concert goers) versus non-paid visits like art gallery walk-ins? (something I did myself on a recent Saturday). Of the 20,000 visitors how many are unique visitors? As it still stands if the Town is contributing $500K per year and they have 20,000 visitors then the Town is subsidizing the running of the place at $25 per visit (whether the people are paying or not).
An example of another Aurora organization that is subsidized is the Aurora Library.
The Aurora Library’s 2010 Annual Report (found at their website) states the following on page 9 under: Benchmarks.
On average 100 people visited Aurora Public Library hourly in 2010.
Quick Facts
Visits to the library in person 323,024
Website visits 209,952
Material borrowed 648,075
Programs presented 660
Program attendance 11,497
Number of registered members 31,855
Population of Aurora 55,000
The Aurora Library received $2,852,967 in 2010 from the Town so it could be argued that they it costs $8.83 per person visit. I recognize that the Centre is not as well established as the library but I present these numbers for comparison.
I truly am not for or against the Centre, just that things should be run fairly and equally like other entities supported by the Town. Perhaps it can’t be treated like any other entity but there still has to be value for the money even if it is subsidized. And perhaps that’s the problem of measuring how it is valued when it is so heavily subsidized. On the other side, if it continues in its current model then they need to increase their user base (whether paid or free) so that they can get a greater number of users and thus a lower cost per visitor.
Without measureable parameters and goals and even incremental decreases in funding from the Town, there may be no incentive for the Centre to expand its reach into the community, for it to garner alternative funding and for to grow independent from the Town (if that is its goal). At some point the Town may simply decide enough is enough, cut its funding completely, take back the building and the Centre will close. And then it could be argued that the investment by the Town, the volunteers and the Centre will be lost.
I believe that if the Town wants to continue its support of the Aurora Cultural Centre the Ad Hoc committee can’t just do a tweek of the current agreement but must redefine its value with measureable parameters and goals so that everyone can clearly see the value from the $500K + free rent that the Town is providing to the Centre and ultimately back to its citizens. If it can’t do this then perhaps it is better to use the building and the funds in another manner be it still for culture or another purpose
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