Greetings unto the Populace!
I am pleased to report that the Kingdom has not only survived 2020 financially, but actually ended the year with a bit more in our Unrestricted Funds that we started with! This could not have happened without the generous support of local groups, events, and individuals who contributed to help keep the Kingdom in the black. For that, I offer my sincere thanks! Following the schedule given in the Kingdom Financial Policy, I am posting the 2021 Kingdom Budget in the February Northwatch.
2021 will likely be another challenging year, financially. First, we must forgo events until at least June. That means we will not be holding Kingdom A&S, Spring Coronation, or Spring Crown. All of these events have been well supported by the populace, and usually provide a good portion of the funds we count on to support the kingdom budget. Second, the current economic conditions mean that bank CDs are paying very little interest. As I write this, the US Bank CDs are returning only 0.10% per year. Given that Society policy limits us to investing in CDs from our bank, we cannot look to our investments to help us meet our budget. That means we will again be dependent on the generosity of our people to stay financially afloat.
A word to my local Exchequers. As we are now into January, your Q4 or Domesday reports are due by the end of the month. However, a draft of your report is due to be sent to your Regional Exchequer by the 20th. They will need to see your December bank statement and your ledger or checkbook register to determine if the draft is complete and correct. Please do your best to submit them on time! Also, remember that Domesday reporting includes a current inventory listing of the items your group owns and a budget for 2021 approved by your financial committee and signed by your Seneschal and yourself.
A number of folks have raised concerns that their budget for the year may not be balanced, given that their usual event may have been cancelled due to Covid. Society and Kingdom policies do not require that you have a balanced budget. They only require that you inform your financial committee that the budget they are approving will reduce your reserves by the amount of the loss, and that you maintain reserves sufficient to continue operations for at least 2 years. While we hope all our local groups can at least break even in the coming year, we also recognize that 2020 and 2021 are far from normal years, and that you will need to do what you can to carry through them.
Again, my thanks to all who have contributed, financially and in other ways, to help make 2020 as normal as possible in these trying times.
Bayard