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From the ILCA Treasurer

Treasurer's Report: 2024 Review
By Bertie M Werley
Posted: 2025-01-31T16:29:00Z

Still feeling like I’m relatively new at this job, I was uncertain as to how much of our Class financials I was at liberty to disclose in my 2024 review. Then, as part of investigating a potential LOYALS project, I came upon the Feb 2010 Flashes on the Lightning Class website. (As an aside, if you’re looking for a scavenger hunt exercise, try to find it!) And lo and behold, the entire 2009 Profit & Loss statement and Balance Sheet were published in full. Uncertainty vanished!


I won’t go into that much detail (please feel free to contact me if you’d like to go deeper), but just the highlights: we operated at essentially break-even for 2024, with total income of $90,100 and total expenses of $89,985 (vs. 2010: $119K income, $117K expense). I think it’s interesting that the North American Skipper dues for 2024 generated income of just over $37,000, while in 2010 it accounted for $36,000. The number of skippers has declined, but the increased fee for skipper membership has helped us maintain our ability to invest in the Class. 


To help drive membership in 2024, we initiated a Lapsed Membership drive, consisting of both emails and a physical mailing, along with some personal phone calls as part of a LOYALS project. Our Merchandise sales were very healthy in 2024, contributing over $15K in income – thank you Laura! 


Key investments in the health of the Class have been made by both the ILCA Fund committee and the Boat Grant committee, including but not limited to investments in our International programs in both Finland and Chile, as well as mains, spinnakers and a mast for the Boat Grant boats. 


Lastly, we created a Finance Committee, which includes the Treasurer, Class Secretary and 1-2 members who are financial professionals. The Committee’s goal is to help guide the Class with long-range financial goals and planning, and to ensure we are investing our funds wisely. 


2025: Our outlook for 2025 is to continue the drive for membership, and given the strong showing of our U32 initiatives, we’re confident in our continued success. Look for some fresh approaches to donations as the LOYALS embark on a 2025 Revenue Generation project – we believe we’ll have something for everyone! 

Sponsor Number URL address
Sponsor 1 https://www.marksetbot.com/
Sponsor 2 http://www.onedesign.com/Default.aspx
Sponsor 3 https://www.thesailinginc.com/lightning
Sponsor 4 http://nickelsboats.com/
Sponsor 5 http://awardandsports.securesites.net/
Sponsor 6 http://www.capitallogoinc.com/shop/pc/home.asp
Sponsor 7 http://www.rookesails.com/
Sponsor 8 http://www.sailorstailor.com
Sponsor 9 https://www.harken.com/
Sponsor 10 http://www.sailorstailor.com

Lightning Class Supporters