Faculty Center Finances

Life preserver needed?

The email below to Faculty Center president Claudia Mitchell-Kernan was forwarded to yours truly by a member of the Faculty Center - not the author of the email.  Estimates apparently are that if the Faculty Center loses money at the current rate, it will run out of funds in about five years.  The email also notes the problem raised by the coming of the UCLA Grand Hotel as competition:

December 15, 2014

Dear Claudia,

I remain deeply concerned about the long term future of the UCLA Faculty Center.  I believe that this institution remains an indispensable benefit to faculty and a unique asset on campus.   Although the hotel will open in 2016, I believe that we can continue to attract meetings and events and sustain our revenue, if we emphasize our unique advantages of offering daylit meeting spaces with garden access, with a private, less institutional service environment and home-like setting. 

I respectfully propose the following for closing the deficit by $100,000 per annum.

1.  We call on members to donate a total of $33,000 by January 1.  This should not be too difficult to achieve.  I suggest that we conduct a fundraising drive by email and at the year-end party. If you are willing to consider this I will pledge initial $1,000 and perhaps more.

2.  I respectfully request hat you and the board please find places to cut $33,000 from the budget.

3.  I respectfully request that you and the board please raise revenue by $33,000; consider that while this seems to be a large sum, it could be found by increasing lunch revenues by $100/day, and raising dues of members by roughly 1$ per month.

Even if we are only partially successful and, say, close the deficit by only 50%, it has the potential to extend the lifetime of operations and financial reserves from 5 to 10 years, allowing time to find a permanent solution.

Thank you for attention and consideration and wishing you a happy Holiday and prosperous 2015.

R. Michael Rich

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A related earlier blog post is at http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2014/11/faculty-center-troubles-once-again.html