The Board of Governors of the Pen and Pencil Club is pleased to announce that we have garnered $1,040 in membership renewals and raised more than $6,000 in donations since we began our emergency fundraising campaign on March 29th.
Many members have rightly asked for more information on the club’s current financial situation and how we intend to use the funds we are collecting.
Our needs are both immediate and long-term. In normal times, it costs between $30,000 and $35,000 a month to run the club, and after a few consecutive years of losses we broke even in 2019. At the end of February we had just under $48,000 in the bank.
Fortunately, through the foresight of previous stewards of the club, we own the building. We do, however, still pay real estate taxes — and this year’s $10,500 went out the door just two weeks before we shut down. We had also just paid a $4,500 federal tax bill and spent more than $4,000 on beer and liquor to stock up for a St. Patrick’s Day rush that sadly never happened.
As of the morning of April 4th, our bank balance was $28,000, which includes the majority of the donations and renewals mentioned above. (Some checks are on their way.)
With the club in a mothballed state, we estimate that the monthly carrying cost (including insurance, reduced utility costs, vendor contracts we’re not able to defer, banking fees, and health care and retirement contributions for one long-time unionized staff member) will be around $4,700.
Currently we are continuing to pay our general manager and five of our six part-time staff members (one is deferring payment at their request), at an additional $1,550 per week net, or $6,200 every four weeks.
Our longer-term needs include catching up on much-deferred maintenance on the building’s HVAC systems and bathrooms, replacing some kitchen equipment, and making general physical plant repairs — some of which it makes sense to do once we are allowed to but before the club reopens.
But we also have a long-term challenge. The P&P has always been and will always be a club for Philadelphia’s journalists, but many of our active members are not aware that for the past couple of decades our survival has relied heavily on our associate members, many of whom are hospitality workers who come in late night after their own employers close. Even once the city is back in full swing, an industry that was essentially shut down overnight will need an extended period to recover, and we have to anticipate severely reduced patron revenue as a result.
We are taking all the steps we can to reduce and defer monthly costs, and the Board has set up a committee to investigate fundraising and grant/assistance opportunities. We welcome all suggestions and leads for additional revenue and fundraising ideas — please email treasurer@penandpencil.org.
Our goal for now: raise an average of $7,500 a month through membership signups and renewals, donations, and ticketed virtual events through the end of the shutdown so that we can continue to support our staff while working to make the club an even better place for our members.
Thank you to everyone who has answered the call so far — please encourage your colleagues to join, renew, and/or donate as they are able. With your continuing help, we will be here for you when this is all over — and we’re going to throw one hell of a party.
Bobbi Booker, President
Maiken Scott, Vice President
Tim Haas, Treasurer
Sandy Smith, Secretary
Danya Henninger
Samantha Melamed
Darryl C. Murphy
Julia Terruso
Sean Walsh |