Biophysical Society Bulletin | October 2022

President’s Message

BPS Budgeting andWhere the Money Goes President’s note: In response to questions I have received from members wondering where all the money from meeting registration and membership goes, I asked Jennifer Pesanelli , BPS Executive Officer, to provide a report of our Society’s income and expenses, and the driving forces behind the budgetary decisions. I think you’ll find it illuminating. — Gail Robertson , President “A budget is more than just a series of numbers on a page: it is an embodiment of our values.” — Barack Obama

Gail Robertson

Like any academic institution or corporation, the Biophysical Society has an annual budget cycle. Our fiscal year runs from January to December to coincide with our annual membership dues. August marks the start of our budget “season” as BPS Director of Finance and Operations Harris Povich calculates mid-year financials and starts the process of preparing year-end estimates and budgets for the following year in conjunction with the other department directors. Program staff, Subgroup Chairs, and most committees are involved, to varying degrees, in the budgeting process. Requests to sup port new initiatives or expand programs are considered. Cost increases are examined, and expenses are trimmed where appropriate. After a series of internal meetings, the estimates and budgets for each functional area are compiled and sent to BPS Treasurer Samantha Harris for an in-depth review. The Fi nance Committee, comprising BPS members and staff, meets in October to review the projections and discuss the proposed budget. With Finance Committee approval, the budget goes to Fall Council, usually in late October or early November, for formal approval, concluding the annual budgeting process. What’s in the BPS budget? For 2021, BPS total income was $3,093,000. The Society has three primary sources of income: membership dues, income from the Annual Meeting, and income from Biophysical Journal (BJ). We also receive some income from advertising, the job board, donations, interest and dividends on investments, and occasionally from grants. Some important points about Society income: • Membership dues account for less than one-fifth of income for the Society. In 2021, they amounted to $543,000, or 17.5% of our income. One Subgroup membership is included in the cost of membership, and $10 from each member’s dues are allocated to the Subgroup of their choice (for Regular and Early Career Members; Students and Emeritus Members may join as many Subgroups as they like for free).

• Historically, the Annual Meeting has been a good source of net revenue, earning the Society $400,000 to $500,000 per year in net revenue. Most of the income for the Annual Meeting comes from registration fees, exhibits, and sponsorships. • BPS’s largest source of net income for the past several years has been BJ, averaging $1.1 million each year. BJ is hybrid, meaning it is a subscription journal with an option for open access articles. Nearly 70% of the revenue from BJ is generated through subscriptions while the remaining 30% is a mix of page charges, open access charges, copy right fees, and advertising. We partner with Cell Press to publish BJ, and our contract with them has guaranteed BJ as a stable source of income for the Society since 2008. Changes in open access policies will affect that income, perhaps significantly, and we are currently working on some analyses that will guide future decisions around the policies and business model of BJ and the impact on BPS. What about expenses? For 2021, BPS total expenses were $3,157,000. This includes administrative and operation al costs for running the Society such as staff, information technology, legal fees, insurance, rent, etc. It also includes the expenses that go into running the Annual Meeting, the journals, and all the programs we provide in support of BPS’s mission and values. Programs include new Student Chapters; poster and science fair awards; educational sessions, career webinars, and networking events in support of student and early career members; Thematic Meetings and BPS Confer ences promoting scientific excellence and sharing knowledge; The Biophysicist —our education journal which reinforces our strategic goal of sharing knowledge in and about biophys ics; the BPS Ambassador program and Biophysics Week to engage and foster our global community; numerous programs to support inclusion and diversity such as travel awards to the BPS Annual Meeting for attendees at ABRCMS and SACNAS working in biophysics; the BPS Congressional Fellow and communication tools to help advocate for biophysics; and the list goes on.

October 2022

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