Where the Money Doesn't Go...

Now that you've seen where the money goes, we think it's important to mention where the money doesn't go.

No salaries. Secretariat members, committee members, and all support staff are volunteers. There are no expense accounts, and all reimbursements are supported by receipts and approved by the voting members of Secretariat.

No decorations. Except for a few balloons and streamers for the Agape Feast, all decorations are considered extras and must be donated as palanca. This includes those for the window and tables in the dining room, the break room, the door tags, the name tags, and the Weekend sign.

No frills. Candy for the Rollo Room, flowers for the dining room, hats/costumes for the Auxiliaries, photographer for the Weekend, placemats, table coverings, Scripture/trinkets on the table at meals, real flowers for the Mananita, etc...are all given as palanca each time.

No specialty foods. Sponsors are expected to make sure their Candidates bring any specialty food they need for their Weekend (ie allergen free, kosher or halal, low sodium or low carbohydrate, etc.). These items should be clearly labeled for the Candidate only.

No food Thursday night, or Break food, or snacks at Secuelas. All the food provided on Thursday night is optional, and is needed to be brought by Sponsors with their Candidates. The Team usually chips in and provides a large hero and beverages in order to make sure there is enough food for those attending the Weekend, but realize that this is palanca on their part. In addition, the Team is asked to bring two bottles of soda/juice with them to the Weekend as palanca. If beverages run out, the Chief Kitchen is given funds to meet that need. Break food is also palanca, but Secretariat does allow the Chief Kitchen to send out for some things to provide for a needed balance (prunes, for example!), and if there are no suitable items for the Mananita participants the Chief may send out for donuts or such. The special cake for Saturday night dessert is palanca too. Secuela snacks are 100% palanca, brought by those in attendance.

As you can see, without palanca we would have a very different Tres Dias experience! It is important to see that we all have a part to play in the support of each Weekend, from our physical presence (living Palanca) to our financial support, and our material support as well. Maybe you can't give your time or a scholarship, but maybe you can buy a bag of candy for the Rollo Room, or provide a basket of fresh fruit for the Break Room. What about a casserole for Saturday lunch? The possibilities are endless!!

Any questions? Did I miss something? Please leave a comment. Thanks!

Where Does The Money Go?

This post contains corrections and additions to the original text published in the Long Island Sound for Jesus, Jan 2009 edition.

What does the money we collect at Tres Dias get spent on?
Good question! Tres Dias could not exist without the support of pescadores like you who give so generously. You deserve to know where your money goes! Here is a breakdown of our annual expenses:

First, we pay for the Weekends. Recently we were asked, "What are our expenses for a Weekend, yearly?"

The cost of each set of Weekends (Men and Women make one set) goes beyond what the team and candidates pay directly to Montfort (currently $235/person, or $7,050 per team of 30, plus candidates' donations). The additional expenses of our Weekends are as follows:

Chiefs Money: Chief Aux and Chief Kitchen are given a total of $600 ($50 Aux, $100 Kitchen, per Weekend) to provide for items such as Communion needs, Thursday night and Sunday lunch tableware, beverages, break room needs, printing of address lists & 4th day packet items, Agape supplies. All purchases must be supported by receipts, and the leftover money goes back to the general treasury.

Bibles for the candidates $5-$6 ea.
Tres Dias Crosses for candidates $4.50 ea
Pilgrim's Guide $.80 ea
Closet Supplies $400- $500 per year (candles, tissues, matches, Rollo Room supplies: pencils, markers, poster paper, table covers, notebooks/paper/folders, tape, glue, chalk, helium, some balloons, ribbons, blank name tags, flashlights, batteries, etc.)

Spiritual Advisers (Montfort no longer waives their fee for Spiritual Advisers, however LITD continues to cover our own precious Spiritual Advisers): $1,880 per year
Candidate SCHOLARSHIPS for the Weekends $1,880 per year (2 men and 2 women per weekend)

GENERAL FUND: We also have other expenses, such as the yearly mailing of our newsletters and post cards $1000,00 per year
Secuela expenses:

DONATION TO HOST CHURCH ($50 per Secuela, if they accept it)

Secuela general supplies: coffee, tea, sweeteners, milk, paper goods

Printing of the newsletter $ 800 per year
International dues and support $ 240 per year

International Representative travel & lodging expenses to International Secretariat meetings held around the USA (varies, paid by reimbursement with receipt).
CCLI license $150 per year

As you can see the cost of a weekend can be up to $8-9,000 a year, depending on the number of candidates. That is why your palanca is so very important.

REMEMBER YOUR WEEKEND AND HOW YOU WERE IMPACTED.
WHAT A PRIVILEGE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT AND MAKING TRES DIAS POSSIBLE!

We want to encourage you to palanca part or all of the above items. You can send your donations marked PALANCA to the current Financial Secretary (please see the Secretariat list at http://www.litd.org/ for the current information). Please make all checks payable to Long Island Tres Dias.

Long Island Tres Dias is a non-profit organization, recognized as a 501(c)3 charity by the IRS.