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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: TREASURER

1. Briefly describe what the Treasurer does.
​The Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the finances of the Carlisle Garden Club. This includes developing the annual budget, monitoring and reporting budget vs actuals, paying bills, depositing checks, maintaining financial records, and filing annual reports with the Garden Club Federation of MA, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the IRS, and paying taxes. 
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2. Is there a specific schedule you follow in order to know when to submit dues, taxes, etc.?
For for IRS, the state and the Federation filings are due in October. There is another report due to the state in January. Sales taxes for the club’s fiscal year, which is July 1 to June 30, must be paid by the end of June.

3. Why is the Treasurer imporant to the garden club? Are there any special skills required?
  • In order for the club to maintain nonprofit status and membership in the Federation, the annual filings listed above must be submitted. This requires maintaining records that show our commitment to our mission.
  • For the ongoing viability of the club, it is important for both the board and the members to understand our financial position. It is difficult to make decisions on where to spend our money and focus our efforts without a basic understanding of funds coming in and going out.
  • It is helpful if the Treasurer has an understanding of finance, familiarity with MS Excel and Quickbooks, and is organized.
 
4. What do you enjoy about the garden club and the Treasurer role?
I enjoy using numbers to tell a story and l like setting up systems. The past two years have been challenging as I have migrated the club’s finances to Quickbooks and transitioned record storage from paper to online. But it is rewarding to apply my expertise to an organization that is important to me. 

5. Do you have any advice for a member who may want to take on this role?
This is a great position for a person who enjoys numbers. I like that it provides me the opportunity to interact with a wide range of members and it allows me the flexibility to work around my busy schedule.  

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: VICE PRESIDENT