Currently, the squadron’s annual operating budget is in the neighbourhood of $45,000 per year. The committee is responsible for raising these funds through a variety of fundraisers including:
- tag-days
- spaghetti dinner and auction
- golf tournament and auction
- walk-a-thon
- cookie-dough sales
- soliciting corporate sponsors
- soliciting private donations
The money raised by these activities pays for:
- rental of the school for:
- parade nights
- ground school
- drill team
- band
- etc
- fly days
- band supplies
- facilities for bush weekends
- transportation for some events
- effective speaking
- mess dinner
- year end activities
- parties
- squadron exchange
- year end activities
All fund raising, activities, and expenditures are approved by the committee to ensure that the money is well spent and that the integrity of the organization is maintained.
Some would expect that the cost of these events should simply be borne by the parents, however, one of the mandates of the cadet movement is universal access. We should not and will not exclude participation due to some cadets’ families not having the means to pay for participation in an event nor will we single anyone out.
We are always on the lookout for new fund raising ideas and/or corporate sponsorship and/or ways of reducing some of our existing operational costs.