Have you ever wondered what we do with 50/50 proceeds? Or how the fall silent auction turns into caching goodness? Well, wonder no more – in an effort to be transparent the NoVAGO board wanted to share some highlights of how NoVAGO’s funds are used – both now and in the future.

First – NoVAGO currently has about $2,000 in its coffers. Our account stays relatively stable – keeping about the same amount of funding – having expended roughly $200 more than we’ve taken in so far in 2016 (given that the fall is our big fundraiser, this is expected).

Our quarterly events are some of our bigger outlays. Where possible we do in-kind services (e.g. do a CITO or put on a geocaching 101 class for use of a shelter). That doesn’t always work, and we’ll rent a shelter for our festivities. Most food and utensils are donated by members.

We also spend money for hosting our website (novago.org) but those expenses are relatively small.

NoVAGO purchases the annual cache awards swag (have you seen this year’s coin? It is pretty slick – Dephogration did a great job on the design!) NoVAGO also has a small complement of GPS units, and we’ve occasionally outlaid money for items such as new chargers and batteries.

As we work toward making NoVAGO a 501 (c)(3) organization we have focused on the community service and education elements of our hobby – hosting more CITOs. We’ve recently purchased trackable banners for those events. Again, Dephogration’s art is top notch. While we don’t have any immediate forecasted expenses for this endeavor, where there is an intersection of our mission and the need for items (cleaning supplies, publicity, etc) we may invest in growing our community.

There are some expenses in pursuing 501 (c) (3) designation – one time fees approved by the previous board and endorsed by this one (an update and poll on that coming soon…) These fees will be beneficial for NoVAGO in the future, as businesses and organizations are far more likely to donate to NoVAGO with this designation.

Your board members are happy to answer any questions you may have. If you have ideas on other items NoVAGO can support (seminars, CITOs, etc) please let us know. We’re here to support you.

We plan to announce the date and location of the fall event in the near future. It will be in a central location like last year’s event, and there will be food, geocaching swag, and fun galore.