As most of you know by now, our Executive Director, Dr. Stella Kafka, has resigned effective January 2nd, 2022. That came as a surprise to us all. However, she has an excellent new position as the Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society. We are excited for her and wish her continued success in this new endeavor. Stella also plans to remain as a Sustaining Member of the AAVSO, and she has assured me that we can look forward to seeing her at future meetings. The Board of Directors and AAVSO Staff along with Stella are rapidly working to ensure a smooth transition. An Acting Director will be appointed before Stella’s departure. A Search Committee is in place and we should have the Executive Director’s job description and the application process posted in multiple sites this month. I am optimistic that we will have a new Executive Director on board over the next three to six months. I know that a change in leadership can be stressful, but it also offers opportunities for the AAVSO to grow in new directions. You can anticipate multiple updates from me as the transition process evolves.
I also wanted to discuss with you the status of our finances. Thanks to Gordon Myers, Stella Kafka, and many others, we have completed an extensive Strategic Planning Process aided by a pro bono consultation from the Harvard Business School’s Community Action Program. As part of that plan, we recognized that the purchasing power of our endowment had decreased by about 20%. To ensure our economic sustainability in perpetuity, we have initiated multiple action steps: unneeded expenses have been cut, draws from the endowment have been reduced to ~4%/year, our endowment is smartly managed to include enough cash on hand to cover expenses for ~18 months, and our existing Headquarters Building (which has dramatically increased in value) has sold with the proceeds to be added to the endowment. This makes sense when you realize that our operations have become mostly virtual. We will plan to move our headquarters into local rental space over the next six months. With these steps accomplished, the AAVSO is once again on a solid economic footing. That being said, we still need to grow our scientific and educational activities, and that will require additional capital. A Development Plan is underway which will include fund-raising and grant projects. More on our Development Plan to follow as well.
Our future is bright. Our membership is ~1400 and trending upward. Our link to professional astronomers is stronger than ever. New observers from the amateur astronomy community are being drawn to the AAVSO because we offer them the opportunity to make a real contribution to science. I encourage each of you to please donate generously and to promote the AAVSO at every opportunity.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Good Year (including clear skies),
- Dave