FFSC Financials
Our Minister of Exchequer counts everything (except how many mushrooms we collected...)
Have a better photo? Photo by Fungibartl
FFSC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. (Learn more about FFSC and our mission.)
How We Use Fees that We Collect
Santa Cruz Fungus Fair: This is our primary fundraising event of the year. In addition to raising money for scholarships and to pay our speakers, this volunteer-run event supports our community with three days of fun, food, entertainment and education.
Scholarships and Grants: We use a portion of our membership fees, event fees, and other fundraising to support students and researchers who are expanding the world's knowledge of fungi. Learn more or apply for funding on our Scholarships page.
Educational Speakers: The fees also fully or partially subsidize the cost of bringing in guest speakers to present a variety of topics to the general public and our members. These include our FREE Monthly Speakers events, as well as speakers at other events like the annual Santa Cruz Fungus Fair.
Event Tickets: FFSC's event fees (when charged) typically cover external costs such as optional accommodations (for long-distance forays), venue rentals (for classes and dinners), each venue's liability insurance requirements, charitable fundraising, and/or guest chefs.
Product Inventory: We offer club T-shirts, stickers, and other items for sale to members and the general public at cost (or with great discounts). We use some of our fees to pay vendors up front to make the items, or to reimburse volunteers for the cost of out-of-pocket supplies.
We also buy mushroom books to sell at or near cost to members and the public at our events.
Operational Costs: The remainder of the fees cover costs such as venue rentals, equipment rentals and decor for club dinners, liability insurance requirements, legal fees, and (rarely) vendors/contractors when none of our volunteers are qualified or available to do certain work.
Plus, we pay for storage units to hold FFSC inventory, booth equipment (signage, tables, chairs, etc.), customized Fungus Fair decor and more, in cases when volunteers don't have room in their own garages.
What about Staff? FFSC's club leaders (ministers), trip leaders, ID class instructors, event organizers, and event staff are all unpaid volunteers! We do this because we are passionate about mycology!
Here are some of the past financial statements for the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz.