Year in Review 2008 | Page 14

Financials 2008 Financials 2008 Introduction 2008 was a difficult year for many non-profit organizations, but SACC-Philadelphia still managed to grow from previous years. Therefore, the Chamber would like to send its sincere thanks and gratitude to all the members and individuals who contributed to its success. SACC-Philadelphia was able to stay profitable despite growing expenses such as J-1 Visas for the interns, increased occupancy costs, and a significant yet important investment in a new website. The members’ and sponsors’ support enabled the Chamber to host a wide variety of events in 2008 and continue to expand and improve its services. Entering 2009, the financial condition of SACC-Philadelphia remains stable. With the launch of the new website and an impressive event calendar planned for 2009, the future seems bright despite a gloomy economy. The Year in detail 1st Quarter A change in membership structure and an increase in visa costs contributed to a slow start of the year. However, investing in interns from Sweden is crucial for the chamber and over the year this investment was well spent. 2nd Quarter SACC-Philadelphia generally generates strong revenue numbers in the 2nd quarter due to the highly successful annual SACCPhiladelphia Golf Outing. In addition, a significant part of the membership dues were being paid during this quarter which made it the most profitable of the year. 3rd Quarter The result for the 3rd quarter was greatly influenced by the enormous success of the Crayfish party at IKEA. The low cost and having sponsorship tables played an integral part in generating a highly profitable event. 4th Quarter Although hosting a number of successful events such as the Glögg event at SCA’s Cira Center and the Christmas dinner at IKEA, the 4th quarter still presented a negative result. The negative outcome was due to a number of expenses that ended up being due in this period such as, the interns’ J-1 visa charges to SACC-USA, reimbursements for the E-Days event in Sweden, and a partial payment to Guavabyte for the new website. Future From a revenue standpoint, 2009 is looking to be a very interesting year for SACC-Philadelphia. The re-launch of the chamber’s website is creating a lot of buzz and will serve as an excellent tool for providing better service for corporate members, as well as bringing in sponsorship and advertising income for the chamber. In addition, SACC-Philadelphia has initiated a number of interesting partnerships and developed its co