By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade
Jan 9 2009, 12:05 PM |
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The Log Cabin Republicans, hampered by lackluster 2008 fundraising, is facing financial difficulties and ended the year at least $100,000 in debt, according to Patrick Sammon, the organization’s president, who spoke to the Blade Friday.
Sammon said he expects the organization to have around $100,000 in debt or “maybe a little more,” adding that the figure is made up of consolidated debt.
“It’s not like we’re not paying the rent or not paying the phone bill or anything like that,” he said. “We’re current on the bills that we owe, but we do have some debt that’s consolidated.”
Sammon said the organization expected donations would be higher last year because of the presidential election.
“Really what we anticipated was that 2008 would be a better year fundraising-wise based on what we’ve seen in other presidential election years,” he said. “We just didn’t see the fundraising materialize the way that we expected.”
Sammon said the economic downturn in the past year “certainly has affected” Log Cabin’s ability to raise as much as had been forecast for the year. He added that other gay organizations and non-profits are facing similar challenges in the current economy.
“I think we’re in a place that’s similar to other organizations,” he said. “It’s a difficult time for the economic situation and we’ll make decisions accordingly and in a responsible way.”
Log Cabin began noticing the economic downturn last year and cut expenses by 20 percent compared to 2007, Sammon said.
Sammon said he expects Log Cabin to set up a reduced budget for 2009 at a meeting scheduled to take place in Atlanta the weekend before Inauguration Day. Based on preliminary budget drafts, Sammon said he expects the organization to have a budget that is 35 to 40 percent less than what it had in 2008.
“We’ll expect to spend 35 to 40 percent less because, again, I think, we have to be prudent in battening down the hatches in figuring that the economy is not going to turn around overnight,” Sammon said.
When asked whether he had been taking reduced salary from Log Cabin, Sammon said he has “not been getting fully compensated.” He declined to elaborate.
Sammon said Log Cabin is not in danger of losing its office space, but is looking at the possibility of renting another office that is less expensive.
“That’s one of the things we’re looking at, but we will certainly have some sort of office here in Washington,” Sammon said. “We’re not barring the door and shutting down. We absolutely will have an office here in Washington.”
Sammon said the organization has left some open positions unfilled to keep expenses down. Log Cabin currently has two full-time staffers and one part-time staffer, which is three fewer than what it had just one year ago, he said.
In a follow-up e-mail, Sammon said that one of the two full-time staffers, Scott Tucker, Log Cabin’s communications director, has been given a greater role for the next year in the Liberty Education Forum, Log Cabin’s tax-exempt organization. While last year Tucker had been doing one-third of his work for Log Cabin and two-thirds for the Liberty Education Forum, he now will be doing 90 percent of his work for the Liberty Education Forum.
Sammon said the Liberty Education Forum is “in pretty solid financial shape,” adding that he expects year-end financials to show the organization remained the “in the black” for 2008.
He also said the number of sustained donors, or people who give at least $100 to Log Cabin, has jumped from 40 to 100 since he took over the organization. Sammon said as president of Log Cabin, he takes responsibility for the organization’s finances. Sammon announced late last year plans to resign; he is scheduled to depart at the end of January but said he would likely stay involved as a consultant to the group.
“Ultimately, I’m in charge and I take responsibility for the position, but we’re committed to working through where we’re at,” he said.
Chris Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@washblade.com.
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