Common Questions about our Club Management and Annual Reports:

Questions and Answers about our club and this Annual Report:

1. Do you actually receive all that money you requested?
2. What falls into each of your expense categories?
3. How does the club fundraise?
4. Why does the club rent vehicles?
5. How does the club control costs?
6. How does the club determine the price of trips or activities?
7. How did the club have more trips this year even though there was a reduction in AUSA allocation money?
8. Does someone need to be a member to be involved with the club?
9. How is Risk managed considering the dangerous activities the club does?
10. Who leads the Alpine Club?
11. Where can I find more information?

 

• Do you actually receive all that money you requested?

No we do not. We request a specific amount of money based on what we think is actually possible in a given year. The budget request is just gives us an idea of programming and does not mean we will actually hold that specific program next year. To keep track of our spending once the budget money is allocated we use a highly developed tool called a "Trip Cost Report" that is used to control our trip spending.

• What falls into each of your expense categories?

Here is a break-down of our expense categories:

• Rental Vehicles: What we pay in terms of car rentals and insurance costs to Enterprise.
• Fuel: All money spent on fuel for trips.
• Educational: Money spent on trips that are guided or educational based. Ellington beginner skier/boarder trip, Ouray Ice-climbing, Silverton guided backcountry, Wilderness First-Aid, Drivers courses, Avalanche 1, first-aid and CPR courses, educational programs, and any other similar courses that we do in a given year.
• Activity Expense: Anything spent that is related to activities and does not fall into the other categories. Items such as lift tickets, food, entrance fees, equipment rental, audio/visual rental, etc.
• Lodging: Most fees come from winter trips; however campground fees also amount to a significant portion of expenses.
• Promotional: Any expense that is related to promotions. This includes t-shirts, nalgenes, advertisements, flylow jackets, free items at meetings, membership cards, stickers, and similar items. These costs are always covered by our membership dues and fundraising activities and never come-out of AUSA funding.
• Operational: These are expenses that are crucial to operations but do not fall into the other categories. Costs for the Tennis Tower, engraving of Ellington plaque, and various other small expenses.

• How does the club fundraise?

The club fundraises money through two major activities: membership dues and charging for event participation. To be a member of the club there is a low annual fee of $30; members get a club t-shirt, nalgene, discounts at sponsors and discounts on our trips. We also collect money from participants. Nearly every one of our trips requires a fee to participate in; we consider this fundraising money and as evident from our numerous trips and waitlists, students are more then willing to be involved in our club.

• Why does the club rent vehicles?

The club rents vehicles because risk management policies require us to rent vehicles. As stated in the Alpine Club Administrative Manuel “Renting a vehicle from Enterprise is the required method of transportation for the Alpine Club”. Each year we rent numerous vehicles; for 2005-2006 we rented 71 vehicles and collectively traveled over 38,000 miles.

• How does the club control costs?

The club uses a highly developed forecasting system for each of our trips. We call them “Trip Cost Reports” and they are Microsoft Excel sheets. Each trip leader can enter in number of participants, miles, vehicles, and other expenses to give us a very accurate view of the costs well before we finalize those costs. We use these forecasts to understand how much money it will cost to run the quarter and where we can cut costs. So far these reports have been incredibly accurate.

• How does the club determine the price of trips or activities?

Pricing is determined based on two main factors: total cost of trip and demand. For the most part the club prices trips where we will make back at least 50% of the total cost of the trip. Additionally we price trips based on demand; some trips are so heavily demanded that we have to increase the price just to control the demand.

• How did the club have more trips this year (2006-2007) even though there was a reduction in AUSA allocation money?

For this past year the club has focused on providing many more day trips then it ever has before. These day trips are relatively inexpensive and are a good way for someone to “feel-out” the club. Also since they are so inexpensive many more people are attracted to them, and thus raising our participation levels. Additionally we put trip participant caps on all of our more expensive winter trips which helped us control our costs with the side-effect being that we had to turn away numerous students.

• Does someone need to be a member to be involved with the club?

No, anyone can come on any of our trips or participate in any of our activities. Membership does have its advantages as members get a t-shirt, Nalgene, discounts at sponsors, discounts on trips, and various other hook-ups.

• How is Risk managed considering the dangerous activities the club does?

Risk management is a top concern for all the officers in the club. Our officers are heavily involved in the outdoors and thus have a lot of knowledge in handling groups in the outdoors. However we still extensively train our officers throughout the year and require that all our officers are CPR and First Aid trained. In addition all of our drivers must pass DU’s Defensive Driver course and internal club requirements based on the trip requirements.

• Who leads the Alpine Club?

The club is lead by 15 officers each year. Each officer comes from a very diverse background and they are some of the top student leader’s on-campus. Each officer will lead at least one trip a quarter and each has position responsibilities as well. These officers are highly dedicated as in the past year they oversaw 26 trips, 8 programs, 26 Wednesday night general club meetings, and 28 Monday night officer meetings.

• Where can I find more information?

Our website at http://DUAlpineClub.org is a wealth of information. Everything from our Annual Reports, to officer bios, membership details, trip information and trip photos can be accessed here. With over 1,000 unique visitors a month we are really drawing attention.