Analysis of 2014 Toastmasters tax return 990

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dollar_noteThe 2014 990 tax return for Toastmasters International has been released.  Total program revenue was up 7.5%, but salaries were up 17.5%.  The number of employees increased from 161 to 179 (11%).

Expenses and vendors

Payroll was by far the largest single expense, at $9.1M (up 19%).  Travel expenses were up sharply, from $610K in 2013 to $1,377K, a jump of 126%, but this would be because the 2013 international convention was in Malaysia.  Internet services cost $78K (presumably hosting and/or connectivity to WHQ).  $19K was spent on “speakers”, and $11K on translations. Continue reading “Analysis of 2014 Toastmasters tax return 990” →

How can Toastmasters districts encourage clubs?

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trophyAlmost every district has their own local awards to encourage and recognize clubs to do their best (not coincidentally helping the district itself to be distinguished).  There are good ways and bad ways to do this though.

First, avoid competitive recognition, where there is only one winner. There are competitions where there’s a fixed threshold, and any number of winners (like the DCP, or the district recognition program since 2012), and then there’s competitions where there’s only one winner (or some fixed number of winners, like 3 or 10), and the rest get second place or nothing.  Clubs should compete against a fixed goal, or against their own past performance, not against other clubs.
 Continue reading “How can Toastmasters districts encourage clubs?” →

2015 Toastmasters annual business meeting proxy returns by district

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CheckMarkThe annual business meeting is where we elect the board of directors, international officers, and amend our governing documents.  This year, Proposal A was on the table for small changes to the nominating process, district leader titles, and creating new legal entities.

In previous years, we’ve occasionally seen a district that collected 100% of the proxies, but this is quite rare.  In 2013, the average was 74% (and there was a Proposal A to amend the club constitution), but this year, it was just 68.4% (quorum is 33.3%). Continue reading “2015 Toastmasters annual business meeting proxy returns by district” →

Toastmasters urban myths and legends

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myths bustedIt’s really interesting how certain “rules” get made and passed around, and eventually these myths are thought to be fact.  Here’s a few I’ve found.  These are all FALSE.  If someone tells you what’s below is required, they are incorrect, and I’ve included links where possible to the TI web site.  Many of these were gathered from a discussion on the Facebook members group. Continue reading “Toastmasters urban myths and legends” →

Absolute minimum for a Toastmasters speech contest?

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trophyHow do you hold a contest in a small club or area?  What’s the absolute minimum number of officials to run it, whether by the book, or just to be fair?  Does having just one contestant make a difference?

Club contests

The 2014 speech contest rulebook says a club contest needs:

  • contest chair
  • chief judge
  • at least five voting judges
  • tiebreaker judge
  • three counters
  • two timers

Continue reading “Absolute minimum for a Toastmasters speech contest?” →

Analysis of Toastmasters International form 990 tax return for 2013

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dollar_noteI’ve received and reviewed the 2013 tax return for Toastmasters International. It appears to identify the Revitalized Education Program (at least in 2013) as NogginLabs of Chicago, “your guide to building the best e-learning in the world”, a “certified women-owned small business”. Toastmasters is included on their web site’s client list, and they appear to have a few employees in Toastmasters clubs, based on LinkedIn profiles. Continue reading “Analysis of Toastmasters International form 990 tax return for 2013” →

Analysis of Toastmasters International form 990 tax return for 2012

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dollar_noteThe 2012 form 990 tax return for Toastmasters International has some interesting data in it.  Total program revenue increased by 21.6%, due in large part to dues increasing by 33% (from $54 to $72/six month) on Oct. 1, 2011 (this was the first full year with the increase).

Expenses did not increase as much, by just 17.6% from the previous year, mainly “district expenses” ($7.6M), salaries and wages ($6.3M), and the magazine ($2.1M). Continue reading “Analysis of Toastmasters International form 990 tax return for 2012” →

Flashback: Toastmasters Distinguished Club Program, 1989-90

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trophyHow did we measure Toastmasters club success before 1999?  There were several versions of the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) before the 10-goal system we now know and love was put into place.  Let’s look at how the DCP worked in 1989-90.

Points were awarded for educational awards: 750/CTM, 600/ATM, 400/DTM.  Only one award of a given type per member (per club/per year) was recognized for DCP purposes, just as today (but there was no total limit).  Presenting educational programs like Success/Leadership, Youth Leadership, and Speechcraft earned 100-250 points each when registered with WHQ. Continue reading “Flashback: Toastmasters Distinguished Club Program, 1989-90” →