The Brookfield Citizen

News & Features
July 2005

Income Versus Outgo: Keeping the Citizen Afloat
By Philip Peirce

Each year, as I review the financial picture of this undertaking, I struggle to present a fresh view of how it all works. I’m trying a different tack, this year. For the past 10 years, I’ve appealed to your generosity to keep us afloat, and one way or another, we have managed to keep an even keel. But this last year and one half, during the economic downturn, our revenue from grants took a noticeable dip, and the inevitable pressure on the funding apparatus brought the onset of instability. Let me give you a more graphic picture of out financial situation.

Over the last fiscal year, which ran from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005, our costs were as follows:

Postage	$2,754.57	From Checking Acct.
Printing	$4,980.00
Internet	$145.00
Fees	$226.00
Misc.	$37.00
Printing	$1,740.00	From Grants
Total Costs	$9,882.57
Revenue	***	***
Ads	$6,049.92
Donations	$1,952.00
Grants	$3,100.00
Total Revenue	$11,109.92
Net Favorable Balance	$1,227.35

As of April 30, 2005, the above balance would have to carry the Citizen through to at least the September production costs, offset somewhat by some advertising revenue. September or October is when the Greater Worcester Community Foundation releases its grants. Then, we have to wait until January for the Community Club grant releases. Monthly costs run about $800. Our donations since the end of the fiscal year total $45.00. The donations are what will make or break this enterprise.

I have bared my soul, so to speak, to illustrate the importance of you, the readers, in this equation to keep the Brookfield Citizen the newsletter that it has grown to be. I hope you all will be as generous as you have in the past, and for those of you who have not yet found the time or inclination to help out, won’t you please reconsider, and join in? As I have mentioned in the past, if everyone just donated $5 a year, this paper would be self-sustaining. If all or most of you would help out, $5 or $10 would work if money is tight. Anything you can afford would be most appreciated.