[dkfick]

Hey All,

Well I've been getting alot of negative comments around the NHC and the AHA in general from many local people I've spoken with.  They often say things like "The AHA's just being greedy and making a money grab by removing the social packages."  I try and point out some of the things the AHA does with the money it raises but you know... I can't say I actually know that much.  I looked around on the website and couldn't really find much info about it either.  I know the money is being put to good use but is there anywhere I can reference to let people know where?  Thanks.

[udubdawg]

there certainly is a vocal negative group, isn't there...

I tried to explain things to some of them, but eventually gave up.  They're holding tightly to their perceived injustice so I can't do much to pry it away.  Along the same lines I have people complaining about how long it takes to grade a set of BJCP exams.  HA! - they couldn't pay me enough to make grading these things my full time job, but I'll keep donating dozens of hours every month to grading.   

cheers--
--Michael

[kylekohlmorgen]

Is the NHC a profitable event for the AHA?

I always assumed they struggled to break even. In comparison to other (professional) conferences I've attended, the NHC seems to occupy a LOT of space for its relatively small attendance.

As a response to the complaining: the full package really isn't THAT much more expensive in the grand scheme of things. Either pout about the small change OR submit seminar/daytime activity ideas that interest you. You've made the trip; might as well dive in during the day!

[dkfick]

Oh I agree... I just found when people asked me what the AHA did with "all it's money" I didn't really have an exact answer to give them... I was just wondering if there was a page out there on the site that basically said "here is what the AHA does for homebrewers"... If not maybe there should be?

[morticaixavier]

I can't say for your situation in particular but it seems to me that a lot of the time when people say things like that about not for profit organizations they are just not doing the math very well.

A couple hundred bucks for NHC and 35$ a year for membership seems like big money, especially when you multiply it by the masses but I think people fail to multiply the associated costs along with the income in their estimates.

In terms of resources on AHA to explain what they are doing with the money, the Governing Committee reports are all available for everyone to view on the AHA main site, the legislative activities are also documented there pretty well. The whole site is more or less an explanation of where the money is going.

[Slowbrew]

Point how expensive it is to publish and ship a high quality magazine on good paper and ship it all over the world.

The AHA also built and maintains a top notch website and a very good forum.  Internet services to provide 7x24x365 web presences are not cheap.

How about advocating for home brewers at the local/state/national level, not just once in awhile, but all the time.  That takes dedicated and knowledgeable staff.  People who can do this type of work deserve to get paid a decent salary.

A fair amount of the "profit" from the conferences likely goes to advertising them, securing them and putting up signage to direct people from place to place. 

Just a few things off the top of my head that cost serious money to do correctly.

Paul

[riceral]

there certainly is a vocal negative group, isn't there...

...as there is in most every group.

I don't know the financial status of AHA. I do know that I get value out of my membership and dues. And that is what I care about.

That's why I didn't complain when dues went up this year.

As long as AHA stays viable and gives me value.

[dkfick]

I can't say for your situation in particular but it seems to me that a lot of the time when people say things like that about not for profit organizations they are just not doing the math very well.

A couple hundred bucks for NHC and 35$ a year for membership seems like big money, especially when you multiply it by the masses but I think people fail to multiply the associated costs along with the income in their estimates.

In terms of resources on AHA to explain what they are doing with the money, the Governing Committee reports are all available for everyone to view on the AHA main site, the legislative activities are also documented there pretty well. The whole site is more or less an explanation of where the money is going.

The subcommittee reports state the AHA profits off the NHC.  I didn't really see anything in there on the kinds of things the AHA is spending it's cash on though.

Point how expensive it is to publish and ship a high quality magazine on good paper and ship it all over the world.

The AHA also built and maintains a top notch website and a very good forum.  Internet services to provide 7x24x365 web presences are not cheap.

How about advocating for home brewers at the local/state/national level, not just once in awhile, but all the time.  That takes dedicated and knowledgeable staff.  People who can do this type of work deserve to get paid a decent salary.

A fair amount of the "profit" from the conferences likely goes to advertising them, securing them and putting up signage to direct people from place to place. 

Just a few things off the top of my head that cost serious money to do correctly.

Paul

I agree that all that stuff costs money etc... I just think it would only benefit the AHA to publish a page with a list of things the AHA does to help the homebrewing community at large.  This year certainly isn't the first year I have heard grumblings about how the AHA does nothing for 'us' and how they just take and take and take.  I'm just saying some information could go a long way.  I was actually surprised when I went to the site that I couldn't find anything with this sort of information.

[HoosierBrew]

The whole site is more or less an explanation of where the money is going.

^^^THIS^^^.     There will always be naysayers.

[dbeechum]

One of the big tricks for the AHA is that until relatively recently - it wasn't really solvent. The AHA was effectively propped up by the BA and kept alive.

The last conference I know that money was lost on was the Orlando conference and it was disastrous.

The org has finally reached a point where there is sufficient savings to weather a few bad events. That savings is critical to helping the AHA take risks and continue as an org with the support of the BA. With that fund in place, the AHA is in a great position to return value to the members.

Until recently - the AHA has consisted of 2.5-3.5 staff members. Now with the growth of the org and the increased efforts there's more staff. The funds pay for things like Gary to fly to states and speak to the legislatures as an authority figure. It pays for the generation of economic and demographic data that shows who is homebrewing. (Very useful to persuade people with).

It now pays for additional staff to help plan events and increased content here on the website. It's also paying for the Research and Education Fund, where any AHA member can get money from the org to experiment and provide new homebrewing knowledge.

And right now, it's helping members in other states, like California, to ensure that the things we want to do are possible to do. (Cali's in a bit of a fight at the moment. Oh boy!)

One of my goals, if I get re-elected, is to develop new ideas to provide more AHA provided benefits and interactions.

[dkfick]

Thanks explanations like this is what I was hoping for in this thread.  I still think a more clear outline of what the AHA does would be beneficial for members and those looking to become members.

[theDarkSide]

Gary Glass' house...just sayin' 



 

[dbeechum]

One of the things we do every year for the annual GC meeting is go through the AHA financials.

That's a whole ball of fun, lemme tell ya

And there's not enough money in the budget for the bullets that are flying at Tony Stark's mansion let alone the Malibu cliffside estate!

[hopfenundmalz]

The conference has also hired a cellar crew to keep and track the beer, deliver it to the right places. In the past that was done by people in the host club area, who had tickets, but spent the time throwing kegs around in the cooler. Money well spent.

The AHA is not that many head count, what 5.5 or 6? If you have been to an NHC you see many more than that running registration and other functions. Many of the name tags of those can be recognized as BA staff. I don't think they are working the conference for free. Correct me if I am wrong, anyone.

There are other costs that most never think of. Security staff for the conference. Cleaning costs for all of the beer that ends up on carpets. There have to be other costs that go with the conference, that I am not aware of.

Sure they gross a lot of money at he conference, I don't think the net is as huge as many would think. If the conference did not run in the black, how many years would it take before there was no conference?

Edit - You could also say that the NHC has removed the social package for those that just wanted to drink beer and eat at the banquet, to a full ticket for AHA members that are serious about the seminars and getting the most education out of the conference. Of course there is nothing to keep anyone from becoming an AHA member and just drinking beer and eating at the banquet. If one likes the fact that the competition is limited to members this year, what is not to like about the conference being limited to members with a full package.

[HoosierBrew]

Funny, as a long time AHA member it never occurred to me that the AHA owed me a detailed financial report to justify my membership.  As mentioned, if you take a long, thorough look at this site and honestly come away needing to be sold more on the merits, then you're blind, dumb, or not serious about membership. Go to work and ask your boss how long he would keep running his company at a loss or break even, all the while having more and more asked of him.