Who We Are
The Finance committee is responsible for keeping the OTW’s financial records accurate and ensuring that the OTW meets all its tax filing requirements. We make and track payments by the OTW, work with the OTW Board of Directors on creating and updating the budget, and prepare accurate and informative financial statements for public release.
We work with every OTW committee to manage their expenses and make sure the bills get paid. Committees consult us regarding resources they would like to buy or if they are planning a new avenue where they expect to spend money. In a typical week, we devote time to answering questions from other committees, take part in internal discussions about the OTW’s financial future, and review payment requests to determine if they are in line with the OTW’s financial policies and procedures. Sometimes, we may have follow-up questions regarding a volunteer’s request, or send requests to Board for review.
Outside of tax season, our busy season coincides with the OTW’s donation drives led by Development & Membership. Donation drives take place twice a year in April and October and contribute a large portion of our annual income each year. The OTW is fan-run and entirely supported by donations from our members. If you have questions about donating or membership, check out the Donations and Membership FAQ.
Internal Structure
Finance is led by typically one chair, who manages a small team of typically less than 10 volunteers.
The Finance chair also serves as the Treasurer for the Board of Directors. They’re responsible for overseeing the committee’s work, carrying out recruitment, ensuring the OTW’s financial accounts are reconciled on a regular basis, making payments, and communicating with banks where the OTW may be an account holder regarding any issues.
Administrative assistants help the committee run smoothly by taking care of tasks that don’t require financial knowledge or accounting expertise. They help organize the software tools, update the OTW newsletter, take minutes for Finance meetings, step into liaison positions, and work on documentation.
Finance also usually has one liaison with Development & Membership, who acts as a regular point of communication between the two committees regarding each other’s ongoing plans and all matters with a financial impact on the OTW.
Additionally, Finance has Financial Analysts who are responsible for keeping the accounting books and records accurate, tracking payments, contributing to the annual budget process, ensuring the OTW meets its tax filing requirements, and creating internal documentation for Finance Committee policies and procedures.
Public Budgets and Financial Statements
In connection with OTW Donation Drives, Finance publishes the OTW budget (during the April drive) and an update on the budget (during the October drive). This is intended to help us remain transparent and connected to our users and members, giving them a glimpse behind the scenes. We also work with the Translation committee to get the budget and its updates translated into as many languages as possible.
Pre-2016, our budgets were not published publicly. Some years had a budget planned internally, some were less well-planned. However, since then we have published a budget each year. You can find our more recent budgets and the updates on them on the OTW website. These reports lay out the sources of our income as well as how we spend it each year. They provide a good overview of our financial situation as an organization.
In addition to publicly sharing our budget, we also publish each year’s Form 990 and a copy of our audited financials for the year. Form 990s outline information about a nonprofit organization and is an official form for the IRS. Our audited financial statements are prepared by the finance committee and then sent to an external auditor for review before they are published. You can find our Form 990s and audited financial statements on the Reports & Governing Documents.
Contact Us
If you want more information about OTW Financials, you can reference the Finances questions in our FAQ. However, you are also welcome to contact us directly—about the Finance committee or further questions about the OTW’s finances—we will be happy to hear from you.