2020 FNA Book Of Reports

2020 Florida Nurses Association
Mavra Kear, Treasurer
A special thank you to the FNA Finance Committee who faced the challenge of monitoring our budget during an
unprecedented time in the history of the association. The COVID-19 pandemic required us to be nimble as we
were forced to cancel or innovate planned programs. Balancing program revenue losses, an ANA partnership
with Hilton Hotels created new opportunities for growth during the pandemic. This tremendous community
service allowed front line workers to stay at Hilton Hotels at no charge when they needed to quarantine away
from family or travelled to help at COVID-19 units across the country. Nurses seeking to take advantage of this
opportunity, joined ANA/ FNA and the Membership Committee stepped up retention efforts to keep these new
members.
With the sale of the building in 2019, we strengthened our investment portfolio and created an Innovation
Fund for special projects or emergency needs. A small portion of this was used to subsidize a Board
Orientation and Retreat in October 2019 where the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan was drafted. Aligning with
the new Nurse Development and Support pillar of the plan, the Board voted to convert the Special Interest
Group (SIG) Fund to a Leadership Development Fund. This will provide for professional growth and succession
planning, such as supporting elected representatives to attend the ANA Membership Assembly. This decision
was made because the SIG Fund was largely unused since established in 2009 because activities are almost
entirely virtual. SIG activities will continue to be supported and funded, if requested, as a general membership
service expense.
As usual, The Board and staff remain vigilant in monitoring association finances. Following the 2019 audit, we
implemented the recommendation for more stringent oversight of financial processes in the office, such as
weekly check-ins by the Executive Director with the contracted bookkeeper. The sale of the building provided a
safety cushion for our financial stability, although our goal is to not use those funds and allow the investments
to grow. The Finance Committee recommended shifting from in-person to virtual meetings due to pandemic
isolation requirements. FNA staff successfully re-negotiated conference contracts that minimized cancellation
costs and then selected a cost-effective online conferencing platform. The unwavering dedication of our FNA
staff is sincerely appreciated. Without their hard work to support us, our association would fail.
Our first ever Virtual Research and Evidence Based Practice Conference in July saw a much higher attendance
compared to previous years. The interactive platform was easy to navigate and well-received, enabling
delivery of cutting edge service to our members, another pillar of our Strategic Plan. Participant feedback
was very positive and gave way to optimism that a virtual Membership Assembly could succeed. We had a
hearty schedule of webinars before the pandemic and those continue with the advantage that it is now a
more commonplace activity for all. FNA hosted free weekly webinars through the spring that saw our highest
participation rate ever. The COVID-19 webinars were timely, widely appreciated by nurses within and beyond
Florida borders, and a service to the nursing community that earned FNA recognition from the American
Society of Association Executives (ASAE). An additional three Strategic Pillars were upheld: Professional and
Public Awareness, Nurse Advocacy, and Professional Unity. More recent webinars returned to broader topics for
a fee as the intent of our education programs is to generate revenue for the financial health of the association.
Our new membership management system allowed us to reduce costs in areas such as web design services
and web hosting. In addition, a more cost-effective software was implemented for our website legislative
engagement program. Our current staff remains stable and continues to diligently cut costs on postage and
lower costs on equipment rental leases were recently negotiated. Strategic Pillar: Organizational Excellence.
Now three quarters through the 2020 budget year, we have a balanced budget with the only deficits created by
unrealized loss in the market which we expect to stabilize in the near future. We are happy that we were able
to make necessary cuts without staff reduction or visible impact on member services. However, the COVID-19
pandemic impact on conference revenues may still force some tough decisions to maintain a balanced budget.
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