Treasurer’s Report Highlights
Submitted by: Kate Flewelling, AHIP, MLA Treasurer
At the 2026 Annual Business Meeting, I provided the annual Treasurer’s Report. Below is a brief summary of the report and my answers to a couple follow-up questions.
Key Points:
Operating revenue declined in 2025, but the Annual Conference remains a major revenue source. Several major revenue drivers were affected by Executive Orders, and we also saw:
- Lower Annual Conference attendance and vendor revenue
- Fewer overall members
- Fewer individual donations
MLA continues to manage expenses carefully in the face of inflationary pressures in areas such as staffing and Annual Conference expenses, including AV and hospitality.
Our partnership with MCI remains important to MLA’s financial stability. The scalable staffing model helps us control costs while providing flexibility and access to expertise across several areas.
The Board unanimously approved a Finance Committee motion related to recognitions and the endowment. The overall impact will strengthen net assets, provide a larger number of award recognitions (quantity and amount), and help control administrative expenses
Revenue diversification will be a priority in 2026 and beyond. We will explore:
- An individual giving strategy
- Grant opportunities with philanthropies
- Collaborations with like-minded organizations
While 2025 brought financial challenges, MLA continues to take thoughtful, proactive steps to control costs, strengthen net assets, and support the association’s long-term sustainability.
And now your questions:
- 1) How much do the in-person board meetings cost, and is that cost sustainable since we had many years off not meeting in person? Great question! Since the pandemic, the MLA Board has met only once a year in person at the annual conference. This year, we added an additional in-person meeting in Chicago. The meeting cost about $15,000, which covered all expenses including staff and Board travel. MLA Board and staff members met for a very busy day and a half and drafted a strategic plan for 2026-2028. This kind of work is almost impossible to do over Zoom and will have significant impact on the long-term sustainability of the association. Read Past-President Health Holmes’s summary of the meeting.
- Has the board studied how lowering conference registration fees could increase attendance at conferences – and maybe increase revenue? Thank you for the suggestion! MLA is able to offer virtual meeting attendees a lower registration fee, but most in-person costs for MLA are fixed by vendors and there is very little negotiating room. For more information, read Past Treasurer Tony Nguyen’s excellent primer on conference registration fees.
Do you have a question about MLA’s finances? I may answer your question next!