Budget

(last updated 01 Mar 2003)

Growing the Budget

Although growing the budget requires some prerequisites covered in later lessons, the budget lesson has been placed early in the guide for the following reasons:

1. A healthy budget is needed to get genealogical tools.
2. Genealogical tools, in turn, spark patronage.  Genealogists don't like waiting in line every time they have to use a computer or microfilm machine.  An FHC will attract more patrons if it houses enough tools so that patrons are not always having to wait in line.  A quote from Kevin Costner's film A Field of Dreams comes to mind here:  "If you build it, they will come."

To grow a healthy budget, the FHC needs the following:

• Support from stake leaders (see Support lesson).
• Heavy use of the FHC (see Patronage lesson).
• Accurate records of growth (see Secretary position under Administration lesson).
• Statistics that prove the FHC met goals set for the current year (see Secretary position under Administration lesson).
• High goals for next year.
• A killer budget proposal.

Since most of these prerequisites are covered in other lessons, they will not be covered here.  This lesson will cover the writing of budget proposals.

A Lame Budget Proposal

This lesson would be stronger if it included an example of a bad budget proposal, but it doesn't.  This is because I've never written one.  What I did as a rookie was much worse; I phoned in a lame estimate to my stake clerk.  I failed to itemize the FHC's projected expenses, failed to sell the proposal in writing, and failed to sell it to the right guy.

Why did I fail so heinously?  There are several reasons.  First, I didn't have time to prepare a written proposal because I was still trying to run the FHC without a staff.  Second, I had never managed an office before, so I had no idea how important it was to itemize every nitpicking item the FHC would need.  Third, I felt secure in knowing my budget figure duplicated those of other local FHCs.  (This security proved false, however, because these other FHCs were well-established ones, meaning that their budgets were based on maintenance, not growth).  Fourth, I let fear play into the bargain.  I was proposing a budget for a FHC that had received only $25 the year before, and I felt that if I jacked up the figure too high, it would be scorned.  If this happened, I feared, future FHC requests would not be taken seriously.  The FHC's needs were so great that I was afraid to jeopardize our relationship with the stake presidency with a "ridiculous" request.

These four factors, then, caused me to submit a figure that was too low.  A fifth caused me to submit it to the wrong person.  Since it was the Stake Clerk who told me to prepare a budget request, I phoned in my estimate to him rather than submitting it to the Stake President.  This is a bad idea.  If a FHC Director convinces the Stake President that the FHC needs a certain amount, the President can tentatively approve the figure and ask the Stake Clerk to see if he can make it happen.  If, on the other hand, the figure is submitted directly to the Stake Clerk, the clerk may have a tendency to challenge the figure rather than turning cartwheels to make it happen.  Unlike the President, the Clerk doesn't benefit from the FHC's success, so there seems to be less incentive for a Clerk to push through a high FHC budget than for a Stake President to do so.

Finally, a sixth factor must be addressed, namely the fact that I did not submit a written request.  Unbeknownst to me then, this is vital.  A written request can include items which a phoned estimate cannot; namely, the five elements of a good budget proposal.

Elements of a Good Proposal

During the latter half of 1997, as the FHC's funds dwindled due to my lame budget, I was given a long time to think about how to make the 1999 proposal better.  Here are the items that seemed worthy of inclusion in future proposals: 

1. A discussion of goals the FHC met using last year's budget.  If the last budget was small, this discussion can be focused on the FHC's efficiency (expenditures per operating hour, per patron, or per name cleared for temple ordinances).  If the budget was large, total output numbers should be the focus (Total number of operating hours, patrons served, or names cleared for temple ordinances).
2. Itemization of every single item needed.  Developing  the itemization helps the Director include things he would have overlooked, and the itemization itself makes the budget proposal far more convincing to whoever analyzes its legitimacy.
3. A description of the genealogical and spiritual value of each item needed.  An itemization that says the FHC needs the SourceGuide doesn't accomplish much if the Stake President doesn't know what the SourceGuide is.  He needs to know this to understand the legitimacy of your numbers.  If you can't imagine him nodding his head over the description of each item, you need to add an explanation.
4. A discussion of the stake-wide goals that can be achieved with the materials which the budget will buy.  These should be discussed as they relate to the three-fold mission of the church.
5. A note of gratitude for your position as Director.  This calling, like any large calling, stretches you, making you a better person.  Thank your Stake President for giving you a calling that forces you to grow so much.

After blowing the first budget proposal, I aced the second one.  The beginning is still too abrupt, but at least the 1999 proposal incorporates the elements detailed above.  Take a look -- it may give you other ideas I've not yet considered.  If you want to draft a truly exceptional proposal, additional ideas can doubtless be found in a text from a business administration or accounting course.   Remember, it's easier to spend a few hours preparing a good proposal than spending a slew of hours worrying about the money disappearing halfway through the year.