Follow the Bouchercon money

Want to know how much is taken in and spent at a Bouchercon? Al Navis and the folks who ran BCon 2004 in Toronto have released some financials, available at Jon Jordan’s Central Crime Zone. Bottom line? Revenue, in the form of memberships, banquet tickets, program advertising space, dealer room space rentals & auction proceeds totaled $302,729 CDN. Expenditures totaled $272,729 for a cool $30,000 surplus.

A surplus that was then donated to various literary groups in Toronto. Specifically, 25 grand to the Frontier College Foundation and $5K to Parkdale-Project Read, a 30 year old literacy program.

And to quote from the press release – since they say it better than I could – “by

running a totally transparent convention, financially speaking, and by

donating all surplus funds to legitmate charities, it is the fervent

wish of the Toronto Committee that past Bouchercons who haven’t yet made their financial positions clear, do so now and that all future events operate in a likewise transparent manner.”

A manner that will be repeated for the 2008 Bouchercon in Baltimore, and hopefully, those that follow thereafter. And maybe the release of public information will serve as a good kick in the butt for those who ran past BCons and haven’t anted up any info of their own….